DOLE deploys 170 nurses to Eastern Samar towns

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE, PIA Eastern Samar
February 14, 2011

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar  –  Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Provincial Chief Alexi Abellar confirmed today that 170 nurses have been deployed to all 23 municipalities in Eastern Samar under the Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement and Local Service (RN HEALS) Program.

The nurses went through an orientation on Friday and Saturday to prepare them for their assignment.

Wevina Cainday, one of the nurses under the program, got ready as early as 3:00 AM because she had to take a four-hour trip to her assignment. Although Cainday is from Borongan, her assignment is in San Policarpo town.

Abellar, in earlier interviews, said that although ideally the nurses are to be assigned to the town where they are from, some applicants from Borongan and Guiuan were assigned to other towns that had few applicants, or some none.

Cainday and the other nurses in the program were promised an P8,000 allowance from the Department of Health (DOH) monthly for the whole year in the RN HEALS Program. The DOH also confirmed that it has encouraged the local government units where the nurses are assigned to add P2,000 to the allowance.

Abellar said that the nurses will also be enrolled under the Phil Health.

Towns under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), like Jipapad and Maslog, will have 10 nurses assigned to the rural health units.