The event also
coincided with the town’s 61st founding anniversary celebration.
Abarratigue recounted
that when he started to serve as Mayor three years ago, Hinabangan had
no doctor. His repeated pleadings for a doctor paid off when a ‘Doctor
to the Barrios’ Dr. Rhee Tecson was sent to Hinabangan to serve as the
Municipal Health Officer.
Tecson in an earlier
interview with PIA claims he is from the city but accepted the post as
he feels challenged with his job as a rural health officer.
Today, the young doc
is one of the mayor’s favourite ally in providing health services that
he devoted two pages of praises for the young physician whom the mayor
mentioned literally hiked and trekked through mountains to reach the
most remote barangays called Cabang and Tabay.
PIA learned that it
takes a half day climb through Samar’s rugged terrain to reach Tabay.
Tecson, the mayor said
initiated blood letting in this town and has established a blood bank
in Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVRMC), the biggest government
hospital in the region.
Another plus which the
mayor thanked DOH was for giving them a Health Manager Ms. Steph
Asence, to this he credited DTTB Coordinator Dr. Genelyn Herrera.
The new Rural Health
Unit, said Mayor Alex, has lab tests very useful to his poor
constituents who do not have to go to Samar’s capital town nor to
Tacloban city for the needed services.
He also mentioned the
sufficient medicines for the disposal of his people with “no color
coding, basta nangangailangan, pinagbibigyan.”
The RHU has also a
resident medical technologist.
Mayor Abarratigue also
thanked the national government for the Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas
(NARS) program as it gave his Hinabangan three young nurses as
committed as the young DTTB Tecson in providing the best service.
As DOH Regional
Director Dr. Ed Gonzaga was present, Abarratigue gave recognition to
the additional Botika ng Barangay allocated by DOH 8 which does not
only provide cheaper medicines but gives additional income to a few
Hinabangnon operators.
To show how much he
values his leading health service providers and the volunteers
assisting the medical personnel, Abarratigue announced that he was
giving additional honorarium to his 100 Barangay Health Workers (BHWs).
