[Editor’s note: Several private companies have been supporting our government hospitals and health workers by providing funds, food, and medical supplies. Here’s a story from the SM Group.]
MANILA, Philippines – The SM Group has announced that they will be allocating P100 M to support government hospitals including the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
PGH has recently called for donations of PPEs or personal protective equipment and other medical supplies such as surgical masks and 70% ethyl alcohol.
“To ensure the safety of medical frontliners, SM is bringing in personal protective equipment – face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, as well as urgent medical supplies to help government hospitals who badly need them,” said SM Prime’s Hans Sy.
Assistance has also been extended to PGH and RITM for their urgent needs and for improving their laboratory testing capacity.
SM has also allocated PPEs and medical supplies to the UP Medical Foundation, Inc. to reach a wider network of hospitals. The UP Medical Foundation, Inc. is also on the frontlines in developing COVID-19 detection kits.
While the UP-developed detection kits are yet to be rolled out, SM is also aiming to improve the availability of tests. They have reached out to Manila Healthtek Inc. to distribute 20,000 tests for free to government hospitals, once approved for use. – Rappler.com