Tzu Chi Eye Center partners with Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for free surgical mission

The Tzu Chi Eye Center is teaming up with the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation Transformative Leadership Institute for a surgical mission from 20 to 21 February 2024.

As host of the event, Tzu Chi will provide the necessary facilities and equipment for the surgeries. The procedures will be conducted by Dr. Tadashi Hattori, a Japanese ophthalmologist and humanitarian who was the recipient of the 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award. Tzu Chi's volunteer eye surgeons will also be involved in the surgical mission.

In preparation, Tzu Chi has been screening new patients and informing previous ones about the free surgeries, requesting them to prepare their laboratory and diagnostic tests and secure their medical clearances to avail of the service. Tzu Chi decided to provide these services for free for patients who lack financial capability.

Volunteers and staff seized the holiday on 9 February to hold this undertaking.

Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines Vice President Dr. Robert Sy coordinated with the Subic Bay Centennial Lions Club's Second Vice District Governor Tess Pronto Endaya, who owns a medical facility called Lab1 Medical and Diagnostic Center. She agreed to send a mobile clinic and a medical team to cater to Tzu Chi's patients. They had run laboratory and diagnostic tests, namely, Complete Blood Count (CBC), Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Electrocardiogram (ECG), and X-ray on 111 patients.

Knowing that the patients were required to fast for the blood tests, Tzu Chi volunteers and staff cooked and served hot soup and bread.

Dr. Elena Enriquez and Dr. Gina Ang also volunteered to advise and prescribe medications to hypertensive eye patients, preparing them for surgery. Eye Center Medical Director, Dr. Bernardita Navarro, and Deputy Medical Director, Dr. Susan Lapid-Lim, were also present to reassess the patients.

Once the test results are released, Tzu Chi's volunteer Internal Medicine doctors will evaluate each patient to determine if they are healthy enough to undergo surgery next week.