JEDDAH, 9 April 2003 — A community leader in Jeddah yesterday said Filipino groups organizing medical missions in the Kingdom need to conduct periodic out-of-town visits for the benefit of compatriots who have little or no access to hospitals.
Arlen Sallador, a leader of the Circulo Ilonggo Saudi Arabia (CISA), made this suggestion after joining an outreach mission in Jamoom recently. Jamoom is 100 kilometers south of Jeddah.
Close to 50 OFWs, mostly trailer drivers, were given free medical and dental services during the one-day mission held at Biyaheros, a restaurant that serves as stopover point for Filipino trailer drivers plying various routes around the Kingdom.
CISA and the Alyansa umbrella group organized the mission in response to a request by Joe Paduga, president of the Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative, who reported the plight of many Filipino trailer drivers.
Dr. Ramon Moreno, resident physician at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, led a small group of medical and dental volunteers. He was assisted by Dr. Maria Hida Esperida and Dr. Rohani Abdullah, dentists from King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, and Jenny Dagani, another volunteer.
During the medical mission that Arab News covered, Dr. Moreno observed that most of the OFWs he examined were hypertensive.
There was one driver who had a blood pressure reading of 180/140. When Dr. Moreno asked him how he felt, his curt reply was “I don’t feel anything.”
Moreno pointed out to him that it’s a problem because with such a high blood pressure, he must already feel something abnormal. He dispensed some medicines to the patient and requested him to seek medical attention as soon as he can. “As you do your best to maintain the engines of your trucks or trailers, you must do the same to your bodies. Your bodies must be well-maintained, and you can do this by eating a balanced diet, getting ample rest, and regular exercise,” he told the drivers.
Dr. Abdullah, a first-time dental volunteer, said: “I’m excited to participate in this, the very first medical mission here in Jamoom. I’m very happy, as well, to be able to help my fellow OFWs.”
Aside from medical and dental services, OFWs were vaccinated and given medicines for common colds, flu and vitamins.
Some workers of different nationalities, upon learning that there was a doctor around, also came for medical check-up.
Paduga said he had long been calling for out-of-town medical missions because there are many OFWs in far-flung places who are not covered by health insurance.
