The Department of Health in the Negros Island Region on Tuesday assured the delivery of health services to grassroots level in Negros Oriental through its flagship program, Purok Kalusugan.
In an interview, Dr. Deab Eltanal, acting chief of the Local Health Support Division of DOH-NIR, said the program will have special focus on hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.
Along this line, DOH-NIR celebrated Philippine Heart Month with emphasis on hypertension and cardiovascular diseases at the Negros Oriental Convention Center with some 100 health workers from all over the Province participatingg.
Dr. Eltanal said this is to empower the health workers with the proper information that will be cascaded to the purok, the smallest unit in a barangay.
“We will go down to the ground and we also give services such as screening of patients who are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and who need medication which we will provide,” Eltanal said.
“That way, we can curb one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity which is heart disease,” he added.
Dr. Eltanal said information dissemination at the grassroots level is also key in making people aware of the dangers of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
He encouraged people to monitor symptoms such as shortness of breath and dizziness and regularly check their blood pressure.
To have a healthy heart, he said one should have proper diet and exercise, stop smoking, only drink alcoholic beverages moderately, and use only small amounts of salt.
Dr. Eltanal said they will fully implement Purok Kalusugan next month in different barangays with the help of health workers hired by the DOH and local government units, as well as barangay nutrition scholars and volunteers. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
