Kibungan, Benguet topped the major awards with an outstanding health system during the 2nd Stellar Health Achievement Yearly Awards (Shayaw) 2023.
Mayor Cesar Molitas led the town in receiving its trophy, certificate of recognition, and check worth P200,000.
This was the se-cond time the municipality received the accolade. Molitas said they are hoping for a third time for the hall of fame award.
Kibungan Municipal Health Officer Ivy Bacasen-Pasigon was also adjudged as the outstanding public health nurse while the Benguet General Hospital was conferred the outstanding hospital award.
The different district hospitals, rural health units, municipal health offices, health workers, and private health sectors in Benguet were awarded during the ceremony dubbed Stellar Health Achievements Yearly Awards 2023.
Kibungan also bagged first place in best implementer of nutrition program, first place in best implementer of program in population and development, first place in best implementer of adolescent health and development program, second place in best nutrition action officer through Histerlyn Amayag and awarded as best implementer of adolescent friendly health facility level 2.
The other major awardees were Leonida Ordinario as outstanding bedside care nurse of Kapangan; outstanding midwife, Nora Taquio of MHO-Atok; outstanding barangay health worker, Marites Taguibos of Camp 4, Tuba; nutrition honor awardee, Tublay; best nutrition action officer, Cathrine Ome; outstanding barangay nutrition scholars, Esther Carpio; and doctors to the barrios, Dr. Uriel Cachero of Mankayan RHU.
The first placers in the minor awards were Tuba with its Municipal Epidemiology Surveillance Unit, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health (DRRMH), and the Adolescent Friendly Health Facility, Level 1; Atok with its Health Emergency Surveillance Unit (HESU) fromAtok District Hospital; and the Municipal Health Promotion Unit; while the Hospital Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health (DRRMH) and Hospital Health Promotion Unit (HEPO)-Public Health Unit were both awarded to BeGH.
First place in the minor awards were Sablan for its field health services information system, tuberculosis program, zero open defecation, and smoke-free program; Tublay for its family planning program; Kapangan for its blood services program; La Trinidad for its maternal and child health and oral health program and mental health program; Bokod for its immunization program: Itogon for its rabies prevention and control program: Itogon; and Mankayan, Bokod, Bakun, Itogon, and La Trinidad for their adolescent-friendly health facility level 1.
Department of Health-Cordillera Director Rio Magpantay urged all the awardees to not rest on their laurels but to take it as an inspiration to do better in their respective areas of work.
“When you receive the award, you will feel happy. But what will you do with it? You must do better,” Magpantay said. – Ofelia C. Empian
