wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 3400

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3499 notes).

Note 3499 by UMNS on March 18, 1997 at 16:27 Eastern (3394 characters).

CONTACTProduced by United Methodist News Service, official news
agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville,
Tenn., New York, and Washington.

:    Ralph E. Baker                          145(10-33-71BP){3499}
          Nashville, Tenn.  (615) 742-5470          March 18, 1997

Public health nurse has
mission to Philippines' poor

by Mike DuBose*

     MANILA, Philippines (UMNS) -- Public health nurse Filipinas
Reynes, dressed in a spotless white uniform and clutching an
umbrella, makes her way through the littered streets of one the
cityþs poorest neighborhoods. 
     Children run to meet her, shouting  þBig sister!, Big
sister!þ Reynes greets each child by name, recalling them from the
health and nutrition classes she teaches at nearby Mary Johnston
Hospital, the only United Methodist hospital in the Philippines.
     She is making her regular rounds in the Tondo neighborhood,
checking in on new mothers, mothers-to-be and recently released
hospital patients. She knocks on the door of a tin-roofed shack. 
þThe public health nurse is here,þ she calls.
     An elderly couple lets Reynes and her entourage of midwifery
students and their instructor into their tiny kitchen, which
provides the only access to the 15-year-old prenatal patient from
another family living on the second floor.
     The group climbs a steep wooden ladder to the patient whose
exam is performed on the floor.
     Exiting back into the kitchen, Reynes finds a group of
neighborhood women has gathered, hoping to have their blood
pressure checked.  She sets up an impromptu clinic in the doorway
and puts the students to work examining the women.
     þItþs very fulfilling working in the community.  They know
me,þ Reynes said.  þMy father was a Methodist minister, so Iþm
very much oriented to this work -- mission work.þ
     A sense of mission is central to the work of Mary Johnston
Hospital, according to Myrna Velasquez, medical director.  þWeþre
in the poorest area in the metropolis.  Our target clientele here
is the street children that live around the hospital.  We give
them a Sunday school class in the hospital and education to
improve their health habits,þ Velasquez said.  þYouþd be surprised
that these children really improve a lot, not only physically, but
spiritually, as well.þ
     The 150-bed facility is accredited in surgery, internal
medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, she said.
     Money to update the non-profit hospitalþs antiquated
equipment has to come mostly from outside donors because many of
the patients cannot afford to pay, Velasquez said. 
     þBecause our mission is serving the depressed people of the
city, we are not competitive [with for-profit hospitals],þ
Velasquez said.  But, she added, þMoney is not everything.  It is
service to the less fortunate ones.þ
     As for Reynes, she goes into her second year at Mary Johnston
Hospital knowing the need for her ministry is growing.  þWe have
so many patients who are suffering in their homes,þ she said.

                              #  #  #

     * DuBose is staff photographer for United Methodist
Communications in Nashville, Tenn.

EDITORS NOTE:  The Mary Johnston College of Nursing, Public Health
Program that supports the work of Filipinas Reynes and others is
Advance special project #012392-1RA.  The Mary Johnston Hospital
Communication System is #012396-5CN.

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