They reiterate Master Cheng Yen’s teaching that helping someone in need is not a privilege of the rich alone. The Eye Center was set up and is run with donations from kind-hearted individuals. Tzu Chi volunteers share with patients the principle of giving without expecting anything in return. The other part is to treat their spiritual illness by changing the way they think. Treating patients for their physical illness is part of the Tzu Chi Eye Center’s mission. That they traveled so far for the free checkups and surgery underlines how desperately they need help. Others are from as far as Aparri, Leyte, Bohol and Lanao del Norte. Most of the patients live in Metro Manila. Every week, doctors at the center treat hundreds of patients, some of whom wait outside as early as 5 a.m. This diverse medical team enables the center to deal with almost all kinds of eye problems. The ophthalmologists offer an array of specialties: glaucoma, anterior segment surgeries, cataracts and refractive surgeries, corneal and external diseases, oculoplastic and orbit surgery, pediatrics and vitreo-retinal surgeries. These doctors have their own private practices, but volunteer regularly at the center and for medical missions out of town. It also encourages more medical practitioners to serve.Īt present, there are 14 eye specialists, five optometrists, a pediatric doctor, an internist and three anesthesiologists at the Eye Center. The foundation uses top-of-the-line medical equipment to provide quality medical care. The Eye Center, like Tzu Chi’s six hospitals in Taiwan, is anchored on Tzu Chi founder and Buddhist nun Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s principle of patient-centered medical care that respects all lives as equal. All services are free for indigent Filipinos. It has consultation rooms, diagnostic rooms, a pharmacy and four state-of-the-art operating rooms featuring advanced optical equipment. In 2016, this clinic turned into a three-storey Eye Center. It gives free checkups and treatment for indigent patients with dental and eye problems. In 2007, Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines built its first charitable clinic, located on its premises in Sta. It has given thousands of patients consultation and treatment in ophthalmology, dentistry, minor and major surgery, pediatrics, general medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Since that challenging start, Tzu Chi’s Philippine chapter has undertaken 242 medical missions, from the northernmost province of Batanes to General Santos City in the far south. Doctors carried patients in their arms to the makeshift recovery room after the surgery there were no stretchers. Intravenous fluid bags were held by standing medical volunteers. Surgeries were done in a school classroom using flashlights as improvised surgical lighting. The medical team had only scant resources in the beginning, but it did not stop team members from doing their work. Leh Siu Chuan, who was the hospital’s deputy director. Doctors and nurses of Chinese General Hospital were led by the late Dr. In April 1995, Tzu Chi volunteers held their first medical outreach in Baguio City. One of these is through its free clinics. The charity foundation also actively serves poor communities in other ways. In the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Leyte, the Buddhist charity group’s emergency relief efforts reached over P1 billion. Tzu Chi Foundation is known for its disaster relief works. A Tzu Chi volunteer serves a hot meal to a patient waiting to see the doctor (below right). The Tzu Chi Eye Center pharmacy provides medicine for the patients. Established in 2007 and renovated in 2016, the Tzu Chi Eye Center is a three-floor structure that features consultation rooms, diagnostic rooms, pharmacy and four state-of-the-art operating rooms (above).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |