Samar Provincial Hospital was able to materialize a major face lift thanks to the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through its donations to the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
H.E. Hamad Saeed Hamad Obaid Alzaabi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of UAE to the Republic of the Philippines, graced the ceremonial turnover of the health facility which has now a 100-bed capacity.
The hospital also got 100 new adult beds, 20 high-rail children’s beds, orthopedics beds, and emergency transferring and hydraulic stretchers.
Also present in the turnover were Dr. Mohamed Ateeq Sultan Zayed Alfalahi, Secretary General of the Red Crescent Authority, UAE; Fahad Abdelrahman Yousif Ali Binsultan, Deputy Secretary General for International Aid; as well as some representatives of Samar provincial government, including Vice Governor James Tan, board members from the two congressional districts of Samar and officials of the hospital led by Dr. Maribel Pedrigal.
Tan thanked the UAE government and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement for undertaking the major repairs of the hospital and for donating new equipment.
“Although Catbalogan City, where the hospital is located, was not damaged by super typhoon Yolanda, still the UAE committed to improve the conditions of the hospital. The UAE also built new school buildings and a gymnasium in Basey town,” Philippine News Agency quoted Tan as saying.
According to Pedrigal, some of the equipment donated to the hospital are anesthesia machine, patient monitor, hydraulic operating table incubator with photo therapy and infant warmer, and ultrasound machine, among others.
(Mark Nituma with reports from Philippine News Agency. Photo credit: Gov. Ann Tan Facebook)
