Eastern Visayas Medical Hospital deploys personnel to quake-hit Myanmar

REGIONAL HOSPITAL. The Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) in Tacloban City. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)

TACLOBAN CITY — A team composed of 18 medical personnel from the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) based in this city was deployed to Myanmar on April 1 to provide humanitarian aid after the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country and neighboring Thailand on March 28.

The deployment is part of the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT) under the Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent.

The EVMC team is one of three PEMAT groups recognized by the World Health Organization, alongside teams from Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Metro Manila and Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital in Pampanga.

Department of Health medical officer Marc Capungcol commended the EVMC team for their dedication, stating that it is on a “mission of compassion and service, bringing hope and healing to disaster-stricken communities.”

Capungcol, in an online interview on April 3, said the EVMC contingent consists of 18 medical personnel, including three doctors led by Dr. Ma. Ivy Lozada.

The team also includes nurses, a medical technologist, a pharmacist, a physical therapist, a midwife, nursing attendants, as well as logistics, administrative, finance staff, and a social worker.

“In 2013, the Eastern Visayas Medical Center was devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda. With global support, it rose from the ruins—stronger, wiser, and full of hope,” Capungcol said on his social media account.

“This is more than a mission. It’s a powerful reminder: In helping others, we honor the help once given to us,” he added.

The team will be stationed in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, for two weeks to assist in relief operations.

READ: Myanmar quake death toll passes 3,300 – state media