People of Cebu Asked to Donate 100p
to save Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC)
Cebu City Mayor Osmeña has proposed to sell a public hospital. This hospital, Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), is the primary provider medical care for the poor Filipino of Cebu. The mayor went on to indicate that he was unhappy with the workers at the hospital as they had become unmotivated and too comfortable in the positions with no threat of serious disciplinary action. The language by the mayor was quite harsh, much more harsh that any expat should use while a visitor in another land. He can say those things, I can’t, or shouldn’t, even if I knew them to be true. I don’t know for myself but as a career US Federal Employee, I can relate to what the mayor is saying. He believed that making the hospital private would solve this problem. He is probably correct but he also wants any buyer to guarantee that Cebu’s indigent citizens will continue to receive care from the hospital. I don’t understand how introducing a profit motive into a hospital can also make it a charity hospital. The only way would be to make it so superior to other hospitals that it would draw the rich that would be willing to pay more than average cost in order to fund the care of the poor. Even that idea seems unlikely to me. I don’t think it is possible to do what the Cebu City Mayor wishes to do.
A group of Sister’s from the Netherlands offered to renovate and modernize the emergency room but that went no where. Dr. Pek Eng Lim, Chairman of the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (Eruf), stated that Cebu could handle this locally at the same time asking the public to donate 100 Peso each.
What? They have a source of outside funding and they are not taking it? Instead they turn to the poor people of Cebu for funding? Dr. Lim expressed concern about the 100p donation to the hospital making it into the pockets of administrators, rather than going to the hospital. The poor wont make that donation, if it happens, it will be the more wealthy people that do it and they will give more than 100p. The poor of Cebu, cannot spare 100p. Also, with the threat of the hospital being shut down, that will make it even harder to raise money for the hospital. With statements like that, I’d have to say they are not trying to fund the hospital. Sounds like a case of let the people handle it and when they don’t, the powers can say but you had your chance, we tried to get you to fund it. They are not describing a scenario that makes me want to give.
I would like to see the public hospital to stay public if at all possible and I just do not understand why the funds from the Sisters in the Netherlands was not fully pursued. Instead the rich turn to the poor to fund the hospital with their donations. I just don’t get it. The Sisters were attaching stipulations that may have interfered with plans to privatize the hospital.
I have no doubt the people of Cebu can rise to and meet the cause, but they need to be sure the hospital will stay public and they need to know that everything that could be done is being done. Why not pursue the funds where ever they come from? The Philippines needs outside dollars, this is another way to obtain that and improve the health care for everyone in Cebu. Make the hospital the best in Cebu and make the others compete with it.
Some information from The Cebu Daily News
Tagged with: Cebu • Living in Cebu • philippines cebu ctiy • public hospital
Filed under: Living In The Philippines • Medical Treatment In The Philippines
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Hi, My name is Rose Lee, actually I been looking for CCMC phone no. but I ended up in this site.
Actually I am looking for some help. My family are now has a health issues that hit us like a tornado.
My father name is Filemon Granzon, he has emphysema for I think 20 yrs. now and constantly hospitalize since early 2000. My father of course don’t have job since he has that illness so everytime he is hospitalize we, his children shoulder all the expenses plus his maintenance when he’s out of the hospital. He has oxygen and medications maintenance that we his children are suffering financially because we have our own family and children also.
Rightnow he is confined in Chung Hua Hospital since his pulmunary specialist assigned in this specific hospital. He is almost a month since he was admitted, he has NGT AND INTUBATED but he can’t have those for longer time so the Doctor try to wean him but unfortunately he can’t breathe by his own. We’ve been planning to discharge him since last week but he is not capable yet. So in order for him to go home, first they will put a tracheostomy on him but we don’t have the money to pay all these bills since it’s getting too much now, plus they wanted us to put more money as another down payment so they can put the tracheo on him but since we don’t have the money we can’t decide yet.
Our other problem is my brother in law name Fredo Ostria who is at Cebu City Medical Center rightnow for a surgery fighting for colon cancer. You know why people goes their instead of other hospital that means they don’t have a choice because of financial matter.
My husband try to donate blood for my brother in law but it turns out that he has a positive reaction of Hepa B. and that disgust him since he can’t think of any reason to get that kind of disease except from the barber that he got cut once before.
So because of all these things going on, my GERD try to attacked me for 2 weeks, the stress trigger this, but I’m not very concern of me rightnow even though I should go to see a Doctor for having this shortness of breath but I am more concerned of my father and brother in law rightnow. We need to pay the hospital bills and the maintenance for everyday when they get out of the hospital.
I hope and pray that there is someone out there who can help us financially.
anybody wants to help can check the hospital for their names.
Thank You so much and God Bless You!
Sincerely.
Rose Lee
Hey Rose, sorry to hear about your troubles.
Where in the Philippines are you?
Hi Rose, did the doctor in the hospital tell you that if your father has a tracheotomy, you’ll need an oxygen tank and suction equipment to maintain him at home? You’ll need the oxygen tank in order to suction his secretions, otherwise he can choke on them and still die anyway. Also there is the high risk of infections when trying to maintain a tracheotomy at home. I suggest you ask as many questions as possible. I know this would sound uncaring, but one must think of the living. Have you actually discussed “Donot resuscitate” issues with the doctors? I don’t know if this is an issue in the Phil. being a stongly catholic country? If you are having shortness of breath with or without a cough, you should have a chest x-ray. Hope this helps.
I strongly agree with Mayor Tomas to convert this public hospital to private. I find some big public hospital in the Philippines specially in Manila quite similar with the CCMC in terms of employees performance. That is why even expensive I prepared private rather than public. Simple the reason is RESPECT.
Frequently the client of public hospital are very poor Filipino everywhere in Phils. So these hospital personnel become arrogant, disrespectful and disappointing. I do not know how to describe them. But if you got trouble Rusty, make sure not to be rush to public hospital or your life will become 50/50.
I do not said all for i know some are good. Yet if you do not have relatives nor politician backing, then treatment will change surely.
I don’t think I gave my opinion on the subject. It would be out of place for me to do so.
I wont need to use the public hospital myself but I do hope there will be some place for those that can’t afford private or semi-private hospitals. I can afford to go to Chung Hau (sp) but it is not myself I’m worried about.
Dear Sir/Madam:
Good day! I am trying to find a website about CEBU CITY CHARITY Medical HELP.This is because when my dad died, we don’t have any one here to go to and ask for help. My died died on DIABETES. As the doctor explains, his heart has been eaten by the sugar and started to spread on his heart to create a holes in it. Kaya tuloy we were very UNFORTUNATE to think that there are some CHARITIES here in CEBU that might help those people who have almost nothing to pay or their income has been put to the bills of your LOVE ONES. I do hope you can help me in the near future and I or anybody in the FAMILY will try to ask your help in case of any EMERGENCY OF LIFE. Maraming SAlamat po! And i do hope we would communicate more.
Thank you for you time. Just in case you have other website that you know about CHARITIES, do post it here and tell us about it. THank you again and have a nice day…
Sincerely yours,
Eduardo COnsolaion
I have seen in Cebu Daily News listings for people asking for donations. Other than that, I don’t really know of any charities. Did you check at your local parish? Seems like someone there would know.