PVAO TO CONDUCT MEDICAL MISSION IN BATAC CITY

Veterans and their beneficiaries from Ilocos Norte will be given free medical consultation and medicines in this year’s OPLAN: PAGKALINGA Medical Outreach by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office at the Ricarte National Park and Shrine on July 31, 2009, from 9:00 am – 12:00 NN.

The outreach will be held simultaneously with the commemoration of the 64th Death Anniversary of Gen. Artemio “Vibora” G. Ricarte by PVAO, The Military Shrines Service (MSS), the local government unit (LGU) of Batac and all educational institutions within the city.

Defense Usec. Ernesto G. Carolina, PVAO Administrator, will grace the occasion. He has directed Dr. Pilar Ibarra, Chairperson of the Disability Rating Board and Chief of the PVAO Medical Section to lead the PVAO Pagkalinga Team from Field Service Extension Office No. 1 San Fernando City, La Union and Vigan City, Ilocos Sur & Batac City, Ilocos Norte.

The Medical Team will be composed of physicians, nurses and aides from the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and the City Health Office of Batac. Medicines, vitamins and food supplement will be provided by PVAO’s Medical Section.

PVAO also tied up with Abbott International for the conduct of free digital rectal examination (DRE) to the veterans for the monitoring of their prostate health and electrocardiogram screening (ECG) to both male and female patients.

Approximately 300 patients are expected to benefit from this project which was become a yearly tradition of PVAO in Region I.

PVAO will also put-up a separate ID booth to facilitate application for the issuance of the Unified Multi-Purpose (UMID) PVAO identification cards, free of charge for its pensioners.

OPLAN: Pagkalinga is an initiative of PVAO Field Service Extension Office No. 1 that seeks to make the veterans and their dependents feel the warmth of PVAO’s TLC or tender loving care by offering them free medical services. It is made possible by pulling together resources from health institutions, private firms and local government units that selflessly render free services to patients. Since the year 2005 when it started, OPLAN: Pagkalinga has become a yearly tradition, a testimony to PVAO’s commitment to serve our living heroes and their families.