First Day

Good evening from Manila! Today was my first day of a 4-week rotation at the Philippines General Hospital (PGH). The hospital is the largest in the country and provides healthcare for Manila's poorest community members. Most of my day was spent meeting with my advisor, Dr. Antonio Dans, who is a trained cardiologist who decided to switch his focus to primary care 15 years ago. Talking with him was refreshing. He explained that he left his specialty after realizing the extreme lack of primary care within the Philippines. He is now a powerful advocate for primary care, medical ethics, and was also behind the sin tax, which doubled the tax on tobacco and decreased the number of smokers by a couple million. This resulted in funding for healthcare for the lowest two quintiles of Manila. I am planning to work with him in developing what he calls a "blueprint" for the implementation of a primary care plan for the presidential candidates for next year's election. Stay tuned for more on this.

I also had the opportunity to meet the residents and tour the hospital. Take a look at this shot I took with my point and shoot of a typical ward: 50 beds in an open room sans air conditioning.

I did not have the opportunity to visit with any patients today, however tomorrow is a new day.

Thanks for reading :-)

Kyla