Work continues at Foundation University to ensure the timely completion of the Edgar Sevilla Pasimio Memorial Clinic, that will be open to the public.
University officials and members of the late Edgar Sevilla Pasimio’s family led the “topping off” ceremony at the two-story building which will house the clinic “that will cater to outpatient care utilizing advanced technologies”.
FU President Victor Vicente Sinco said the clinic will have examination rooms and a pharmacy on the ground floor, and offices on the second floor.
The rest of the building will be for the cafeteria of the Foundation Preparatory Academy (formerly the FU Grade School and FU High School), Sinco added.
According to him, the building will have centralized air-conditioning, will be fully powered by solar energy, with the concrete slabs reinforced by the local bamboo — just the way he wanted it. Sinco pointed out that the almost-complete structure does not have any one crack, a good sign of well-reinforced walls and ceilings.
The FU President said the basis for putting up a memorial clinic is just one of the many things the University does to further efforts in providing services to the community, and improving quality education by allowing nursing and medical students use the facility.
The medical clinic is also the University’s way of expressing gratitude to the late Edgar Pasimio who has shown a great deal of generosity to Foundation.
His son, Dr. Edmund Pasimio, who flew all the way from the United States for Friday’s activity, disclosed that he and his siblings had decided to give back to Foundation University, apparently for sentimental reasons.
“Our family decided to perpetuate and build this clinic in his memory,” said Dr. Pasimio, a pain management doctor, who will be at the forefront of running the medical clinic.
Pasimio fondly recalled that after their mother died in 2011, their father’s medical condition also started to go on a downward spiral.
However, Dr. Pasimio said their father who was US-based was able to reconnect with his “long lost love” here in Dumaguete, which changed his life for the next four years until he died in 2015.
Dr. Pasimio was referring to Dr. Mira Dragon-Sinco, former FU president, whom the late Edgar had “actually proposed marriage to, some 60 years ago”.
After being reconnected with Mira, Dr. Pasimio said his father showed a great improvement from being “wheelchair-bound (and) complaining all the time” to someone who regained his vitality and having a positive outlook in life. “We believe that was because Tita Mira gave our father another passion in life — helping others.”
In the last four years of his life, the late Edgar Pasimio donated to FU computers, sharing with the kids his life stories, and became an active contributor in the life of the University.
Dr. Pasimio, meanwhile, lauded the design of the building, saying the construction surpasses even other medical clinics in America.
In a couple of months’ time, they will be shipping donations they were able to secure from different donors in the United States to help furnish the medical clinic.
The services, such as consults, will be offered for free to indigents, but the facility is open to anyone who wishes to come and avail of the medical services the clinic offers, said Dr. Pasimio.
He announced that he is looking for a qualified local doctor who would be interested in managing the clinic, as he is based in the U.S. with his family.
FU President Dean Sinco disclosed the building will be turned over on March 30, but will need at least two months to set up.
The facility will be made available for medical missions as well, especially for US-based doctors known to Dr. Pasimio, according to Sinco. (PNA/JFP)
