455 workers avail of free health screening

A total of 455 Filipino contract workers availed of the free health screening yesterday provided by volunteer doctors and nurses, as well as staff of the Philippine Consulate General and affiliated offices at the Marianas Business Plaza in Susupe.

This is the highest turnout for the quarterly health screening in recent years, considering that the average number of workers who came for the free quarterly check-ups is placed at 390.

Philippine labor attaché Joan Lourdes Lavilla said the heightened awareness among Filipino workers about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the fact the services offered are free contributed to the high turnout.

“Health services in the CNMI are expensive and given the current economic situation, a lot of them realized it’s better to avail of free health screening,” Lavilla said.

She said another factor is the fact that this is the first health screening for the year.

“This is a big success because of the spirit of ‘bayanihan,’” she added.

This quarter’s free health screening also included for the first time a lecture about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing diabetes, among other things, provided by Dr. Elizabeth Hernandez of the Commonwealth Health Center. Dr. Gabriel de Guzman of Pacific Medical Center, a longtime volunteer doctor for the free health screening, also assisted in the program yesterday.

Of the 455 participants, 374 underwent blood pressure and blood sugar check provided by at least 12 volunteer nurses from the Commonwealth Health Center led by Susan de Veyra and Ernie Molina.

“I’ve been a volunteer nurse for this program since 2000 because I want to help my fellow Filipinos and others in the community,” she said.

Nieves Nekaifes, one of the local nurses at CHC, joined the Filipino nurses for the volunteer program for the first time.

“It’s an experience for me,” she said, adding that she will be volunteering again on the following health screening next quarter.

The other 81 underwent vision checkup courtesy of five volunteers from Hardt Eye Clinic led by Ruel Balboa.

Ruel Bince, 53, underwent a blood sugar and blood pressure check because of a history of high blood pressure. “I want to know if I’m making progress about my health,” said Bince, who has been working on Saipan for 20 years as an aircon technician.

Manuel Domingo, 44, has been working on Saipan as a janitorial and ground maintenance supervisor for 19 years, but this is only his first time to avail of the free health screening.

“I know I am growing old so I have to be more alert about my health,” he said.

Besides the health screening, the Philippine Consulate General, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office also put up a help desk so that Filipino workers with queries about consular services, labor matters and other issues will receive help.

In 2008, the Philippine Consulate General said 1,586 Filipino workers availed themselves of the free blood pressure/blood sugar and vision checks-ups.