To visiting westerners, the Philippines provincial life is idyllic, full of natural beauty and smiling people content with the simple, slow-paced life. It’s glamorized and antithetical to the hustle and hamster-wheel existence of the West, even envied as a destination for retirement – until they realize the dismal healthcare offerings in some of these rural communities.
Only half of the Philippines’ 117 million people have access to a primary care facility within 30 minutes, according to Undersecretary for Health Facilities and Infrastructure Development Lilibeth David, in part due to the country’s inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
David said there are currently 2,593 government primary care facilities and around 1,500 private facilities nationwide. Compare those numbers to Japan with a similar population size at just over 120 million but boasts more than double the number of hospitals at 8,372.
The Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teddy Herbosa said they are working on health care gap areas called Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), locations that the World Health Organization (WHO) says lack healthcare infrastructure-facilities and medical staff, mostly in rural areas. Even if hospitals or clinics and staff were available in GIDAs, many residents there do not have health insurance or sufficient resources for medical care, or in some cases, enough money for long-distance transportation to the nearest health facility, according to the WHO.
Philippines healthcare advocates have been calling for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to prioritize the health sector and increase the national health budget. Under such dire conditions as it is in parts of the Philippines, healthcare officials call the situation a public health crisis.
Ohana Medical Mission, Inc. While the Philippine government and international healthcare organizations work to target interventions to bridge healthcare gaps in GIDAs, the Hawaii-based Ohana Medical Mission, Inc. (OMM) has been actively providing free medical care during their 21 trips since 2009 throughout the Philippines, serving mostly provinces and municipalities with inadequate access to hospitals or clinics.
“OMM’s mission and vision is to provide healthcare and health education to indigent patients in communities in the Philippines. It is committed to providing quality medical, surgical, optical, dental and humanitarian services to the less privileged so that no patient is denied treatment because of financial, social or political circumstances,” said Ian Guerrero, M.D., President of the OMM.
OMM has done a total of 65 mission days covering almost 100 urban and remote places serving an average of 1,000-2,000 patients per day. At the end of a mission week, close to an average of 6,000-8,000 health services are rendered. Besides their free medical labor of love, OMM has donated hundreds of thousands worth of medicines, medical equipment, eyeglasses, vitamins and essentials like food.
2024 Charity Masquerade Ball/Fundraiser To help support the organization’s missions, OMM (the missionary arm of the Philippine Medical Association of Hawaii) is inviting the community to its 2024 Charity Masquerade Ball/Fundraiser on October 26, Saturday, 5 p.m., Hilton Hawaiian Village, Tapa Ballroom. This is OMM’s second Charity Ball.
Planners of the event say the Charity Masquerade Ball will be a stunning and elegant event embellished with red carpet, have a silent auction and dancing.
JP Orias, OMM’s executive director, said “OMM developed the Masquerade Ball theme, which is envisioned to have more color, glitter and fun than the previous Ball. OMM believes that the up-beat presentation is more appropriate for the fundraiser.” The first Charity Ball was held in February 2023 with a different theme entitled “After the Loving.”
Part of the proceeds of the Charity Ball will go toward OMM’s 2025 Medical Missions (its 22nd and 23rd) on February 1-9, 2025, in Gerona, Paniqui, and Santa Ignacia, Tarlac and Urdaneta and Lingayaen, Pangasinan and Bagong Silang, Metro Manila. OMM’s 23rd trip will be the Bicol Express run in July/August 2025 from Naga city to Sto Domingo Albay and Payatas, Quezon city.
“We are now in the planning stage of setting up the venues [for the upcoming missions], establishing connections through communications with the local counterparts through zoom meetings,” Dr. Guerrero said.
“Through the years since its inception in 2009, Ohana Medical Missions Inc, has been innovating ways in soliciting help from donors and the community. And the Charity Ball is by far the most enjoyable and fun-filled way of gathering donors, sponsors and the community all sharing the common passion of helping OMM realize its goals.
“The Charity Ball’s proceeds go directly in procuring much needed medications, medical supplies in support of the nature of our missions that will benefit the underserved areas in the Philippines and beyond,” Dr. Guerrero said. “The Charity Ball is our opportunity to share our blessings, big or small, that will benefit countless indigents to whom OMM serves its missions. Your donation will be tax deductible. It is also a time to relax, enjoy and have fun for a very worthy cause.”
Orias said the annual Charity Ball is the only fundraiser for OMM that supports its medical missions. “The magnitude and the number of the medical missions depend largely on the revenues generated by the fundraiser. OMM aims to do two medical missions a year,” he said.
Hermie Gaspar, secretary of OMM, and her husband William are OMM volunteers. They plan to attend the Charity Ball. “We are joining and inviting friends and families to the Charity Ball for a couple of reasons. OMM goes to missions to the Philippines to render medical services free of charge. Without events like the Charity Ball to raise funds, it would be impossible for OMM to meet its goal to help medically underserved families. We’re also going to the fundraiser to meet other people, enjoy, have fun and have a nice dinner.”
OMM Volunteers and their mission experience OMM volunteers over the years have been physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and lay staff support. Often volunteers also include doctor’s medical staff and family members. OMM volunteers pay for their own airfare, transportation and lodging.
Dr. Guerrero, a board-certified Internist and primary care provider in the west side of Oahu, first got involved with OMM as a volunteer packing medications and supplies in December 2013 for a humanitarian mission to support Typhoon Yolanda victims. Yolanda is one of the deadliest typhoons in the Philippines on record which killed over 6,300 Filipinos hitting Cebu and Leyte. A follow-up visit to those areas was made in July 2014.
“I was just a newly arrived immigrant and part of the Hawaii preceptorship program of Dr. Charlie Sonido who headed this mission. Countless of people were helped by missionaries amidst the rubbles and makeshift tents and schools,” he said. “It was a humbling experience for all the missionaries on that trip.”
His experience was overwhelmingly satisfying that he made a second mission trip on February 2015 with OMM to Gerona, Tarlac, Agudo in Mandaluyong city, Bagong Silang in Caloocan city, Naga city in Camarines Sur, Legaspi city and Bacacay in Albay, Philippines.
In 2021, he became director of OMM under the presidency of Dr. Carol Divide, when OMM because of the pandemic, conducted its first and only virtual mini mission at Bagong Silang, Caloocan city serving the poorest of the poor families during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Guerrero became president of OMM on 2022 and since then had done medical missions in Bagong Silang and Payatas in January 2023 and La Union and Cabugao, Ilocos Sur in January 2024.
The OMM veteran shares his most memorable mission that happened in Bacacay, Albay in February 2015. “I saw a 58-year-old male, the sole breadwinner of his family who travelled by way of a wooden boat several hours away from the mission site just to avail of the free service. The man’s place of origin doesn’t have access to adequate healthcare services. Unfortunately for him, I determined he had heart failure that required him to be hospitalized. His symptoms were so severe and ongoing for several months, the patient said. All his family members who were beside him became emotional when I was with the patient as he is the only one supporting them.
“After hearing my diagnosis, he was thinking of the expenses of hospitalization and became hesitant of going to the hospital because of financial reasons. We coordinated immediately with the Bicol Medical Center to accommodate the patient to be hospitalized as an indigent. I gave a little amount [of money] to the family to let them be helped in their daily lives as the head of the family was in the hospital. This has been most memorable to me since I empathized not only with the suffering of the patient but on the impact of his suffering to his family.”
Volunteers express various reasons for going on OMM missions. Some doctors and nurses find it fulfilling to offer their valuable talents to the poor outside of traditional medical insurance-based settings. Some lay and medical volunteers are originally from the towns and provinces OMM visits. They talk about giving back to the communities and country they left. Some younger volunteers eventually become healthcare professionals themselves following in the footsteps of their OMM volunteer-parents.
Volunteers Hermie and William “Bill” Gaspar The Gaspars have been seasoned OMM volunteers since 2019. Hermie is grateful to OMM for the opportunity to render help to her entire barangay. “My husband and I together with all my siblings will not forget these OMM supported missions. Our barangay was so grateful to OMM,” Hermie said.
In another mission to La Union Hermie recalls how she assisted in two minor surgical procedures that involved removing huge cysts that were in their lower extremities. The cysts prevented them from doing some of their daily work. “I saw the two patients cry with joy after these cysts were removed. And I shared tears of joy with them,” Hermie said. Her husband Bill said what strikes his memory is the huge number of people coming for medical care.
Typically, on these medical missions, crowds come in the by the thousands that planning for each mission takes extensive coordination. OMM reaches out for help from local governments in the Philippines, hospitals and clinics (public and private), families and organizations. OMM also works with the local medical community in Hawaii to acquire medical supplies to be given out at the mission sites.
OMM has covered provinces as far as Ilocos Norte and Isabela from the north to Cebu, Leyte and Davao in the south traversing corners of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The very first medical mission of OMM was held in Santiago, Isabela in 2009. The most recent one was held in San Fernando, Bauang, Bacnotan and Balaoan in La Union from January 8-12, 2024, and in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur from January 13-14, 2024.
Volunteers Jacob family The Jocobs is another volunteer family with OMM. Marianela Jacob, MSN, APRN is President of the Philippine Nurses Association of Hawaii (PNAH), CEO, Healthcare school of Hawaii LLC. She is a volunteer along with her husband Jose “Joe” Jacob, MSN, RN, and their daughters Elizabeth and Vanessa.
“All three locations left a small spot in my heart that I will treasure for the rest of my life,” said Marianela Jacob who has made three OMM trips. Her first was in Santiago city, Isabela, then Bicol Region, and the last one was in La Union.
Marianela elaborates, “I assisted in triaging patients with their ailments and sent them to appropriate practitioners for immediate care. We had a lot of limitations since locations are mostly makeshifts and we have limited PPE’s. This was before COVID, but we managed to function the best we could. I appreciate the hard work of all the volunteers, working long hours from 7 a.m. -7 p.m.
“In Bicol, I was working in between the Pharmacy and as a clinician. It felt great, since one of the towns served by the mission was Nabua, Camarines Sur, my husband’s birthplace. I was glad to see familiar faces. My last OMM was in La Union. We drove from Bicol to La Union, and it took us about 16 hours to get there. The most rewarding experience was to see my family working together for the good of the community. My husband was in the Pharmacy, my two daughters and I were in the Dental department. We were happy to serve,” Marianela said.
Joe Jacob had volunteered as a nurse at OMM. His first experience was in the Bicol region about five years ago. “I assisted in several minor surgeries, wound care, treatments and care of pediatrics and adults. The surgeons of OMM are experienced, skillful, and resourceful, as we performed our surgery in a local community clinic. The patients were very thankful and appreciative of the services they received. It was a rewarding experience serving the poor people who have no access to healthcare.
“Last January 2024, the OMM was in La Union. My two daughters, Elizabeth and Vanessa and my wife, Marianela, also joined this community outreach. I was assigned to the Pharmacy. I’m glad that we had a lot of medications to give away, especially for those people who were buying their medications from out of pocket. We try to provide a 3-month supply of medications with the instructions that they need to continue taking their medications to maintain health and prevent complications.” He adds, “Most patients understood that we care for their health and well-being, and we as practitioners also understood that we can only do so much to provide for their basic medical needs.
“My most touching experience was to witness the young taking care of the old and the old taking care of the young. It was a reinforcement and reminder that the family is intact. I truly appreciated the culture of this local community. I was grateful to serve and hope to join future activities of OMM here in Hawaii and abroad.”
Vanessa had been on three OMM missions. Her first was in Isabela, then to the Bicol Region and the last was in La Union in January 2024. She was assigned to assist in the dental outreach section of OMM in her last mission.
“I did not know what to expect but the local volunteers worked with me and made me feel comfortable triaging possible candidates for tooth extraction. I assisted with registration, consents, and setting up patients to each cubicle prior to the procedure. I was worried in the beginning because I had never had any of my teeth extracted before. We had a long line of people patiently waiting for their turn to see the dentist. I’m supposed to line them up and assign them to each dentist. Since the wait was long, we had the chance to give a short dental hygiene education to the young kids and give them a free toothbrush.
“My sister, Elizabeth Jacob was with me in this section, and she initiated the dental hygiene instructions. We ran out of toothbrushes in a flash. Meanwhile, I got to observe injections of local anesthesia, tooth extraction, cleansing, packing, in a matter of about 10 minutes. The dentists are awesome. I hope to return next year, create a simple teaching tool, with the goal to help kids get a better understanding of dental hygiene so they can save their teeth for old age,” Vanessa said.
Sponsorship, donations Dr. Guerrero says the community can help OMM by donating monetarily, becoming a volunteer or spreading the word on social media about what OMM is all about, its mission and the people and places OMM has helped.
OMM is accepting donations through Zelle via PMAH Ohana Medical Missions, Inc. with number 808 518 8929. It is also seeking sponsors for the Charity Ball. For inquiries about the Masquerade Charity Ball, sponsorship or to become an advertiser for the event, contact JP Orias at 808-518 8929 or 808 387 8297.
The current list of sponsors of the Masquerade Charity Ball include Hawaii Filipino Healthcare, PMAH, Bayanihan Clinic Without Walls, Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology Services (HDRS), Hawaii Medical Association McMann Eye Institute, Freedom Equity Group, Family Pharmacy, Waipahu Therapy Center, Movement Plus, East West Center.
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