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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Private hospital network honors nurses thru 'Project Nightingale'

Private hospital network honors nurses thru 'Project Nightingale'

Published Oct 27, 2023 07:56 am

The Metro Pacific Health (MPH), the country’s biggest group of private hospitals, launched the “Project Nightingale” initiative to empower Filipino nurses and nursing students in the country amid the current nursing shortage observed in the healthcare industry.

The project is a three-day event that occurred during National Nurses Week, involving a MPH Healthcare Expo, a nursing school quiz bee, and a nursing excellence awards ceremony.

At the expo on the first day, MPH partner hospitals, various healthcare institutions and universities were able to engage with students and other healthcare officials and personnel on career opportunities and partnerships to strengthen nursing education.  

MPH Chief Nursing Officer Dr. Annabelle R. Borromeo said the expo provided nursing students and experienced professionals with a support system and a platform to succeed.

Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE) takers were also given hospital care packs as part of its Nursing Board send-off program at the expo.  

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The Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU) team, who won 2nd Place in the first National Championship of the Metro Pacific Health Battle of the Nightingales, correctly answers a question during the quiz bowl proper of the event, held last October 20, 2023

The second day featured the National Championships of the Metro Pacific Health Battle of the Nightingales (BOTN), a flagship program of the MPH, which is an inter-nursing school, quiz-based competition participated by 500 students in 200 schools across the country in the hospital-level rounds.

Winners from 12 schools who won the BOTN hospital-level rounds competed in the national championships. 

The schools that won the national championships are Our Lady of Fatima University – Lagro (champion or first place), Sultan Kudarat State University – Sulu (second place), and Cor Jesu Colleges (third place). 

Borromeo said the quiz bee is able to “fortify the groundwork for the next waves of nurses and building our current line-up of practicing professionals as well, in order to augment the healthcare industry as a whole for the next few years.”

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The  Awardees of the 2023 inaugural Soledad Velez-Pangilinan: The MPH Nursing Excellence Award received a bespoke trophy commissioned from local artist, Yvette Co, and made of local, sustainable materials. The three Awardees (5th from left)—Daryl Gaba, Excellence in Nursing Leadership 2023 Awardee, Melanie San Francisco, Excellence in Clinical Nursing 2023 Awardee, and Joshua Nario, Excellence in Nursing Education 2023 Awardee—pose for a photo with their trophies and two Members of the SVP-NEA Jury, namely Mr. Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., Vice-Chairman and President of MPH (3rd from left), and Dr. Annabelle R. Borromeo, Chief Nursing Officer of MPH (4th from left). They are also joined on stage by (L-R) Marc Ayende, Learning and Development Lead of MPH; Dana Macarilay, Public & Media Relations Lead of MPH; and Dr. Harish Pillai, CEO of MPH.

To culminate the project and the event, the MPH held its inaugural Soledad Velez-Pangilinan: The MPH Nursing Excellence Awards, to recognize and honor exemplary individuals in the field of nursing. It is named after Velez-Pangilinan who was the mother of MPH Chairman Manny Velez Pangilinan, and a staunch supporter of the Philippine healthcare system. 

Three out of 47 nominees across 18 MPH hospitals including Melanie M. San Francisco, RN, from Riverside Medical Center, Inc; Joshua Jaime P. Nario, MA, RN, CLDP, from Makati Medical Center; and Daryl Jeremiah R. Gaba, MAN, RN, CLSSYB, from Makati Medical Center were honored for Excellence in Clinical Nursing, Excellence in Nursing Education, and Excellence in Nursing Leadership respectively.

“We wish to express our deep gratitude not only to the winners today, but truly and sincerely, to all nurses around the Philippines for their unwavering commitment. This award is more than just a recognition; it's a testament to the invaluable contribution of nurses in shaping and uplifting the Philippine healthcare landscape. Here at MPH, we definitely plan to continue this program in the coming years, in order to sustain our full support for our local nurses," said Borromeo. 

The MPH said it remains committed to help develop healthcare in the Philippines through more recruitment and talent development programs to ease the nursing shortage in the country. 
 

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