Baguio’s Covid, mental health programs win national awards

CITY HALL BEAT 

Aileen P. Refuerzo

Baguio City's coronavirus disease (COVID-10) response and mental health programs won recognition during the first Healthy Pilipinas Awards held virtually on March 4, 2022.
    City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo said the city's mental health program was adjudged as one of the top 5 entries in said category while the city's COVID-19 response was one of the finalists in the COVID-19 Prevention Special Award category.
    The competition was participated in by more than 100 local government units.    
    Mayor Benjamin Magalong attributed the achievement to the health care providers, public and private sectors and the community who he said contributed to making the city's programs a success.
    The city's mental health program was cited for the “preventive, promotive, treatment and management” approach to realizing its objectives to maintain the psychiatric, neurologic, psychological and mental stability of citizens, provide community and resilience-based approaches and deliver culturally-appropriate mental health care services.
    "Baguio City raises the level of public awareness through heightened quad- media campaigns, provision of mental health and nutrition, stress management and guidance and counseling.  They have a dedicated mental health hotline, and they provide school and workplace-based mental health services;
    "Under the treatment and management approach, they provide services for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental and neurologic disorders and prevention of development of substance abuse and other forms of addiction in family, school, workplace, community, and industry settings;
    "The utilization of available resources was maximized through public-private partnership creating a collaborative and multi-sectoral approach in dealing and understanding mental health."
    For the COVID-19 program, the city’s strategic interventions employed by the city government in preventing and managing cases from the start of the pandemic were recognized.
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The city government has implemented the recommendations of the person with disability sector on making sidewalks in the city PWD-friendly.
    Mayor Magalong said based on the report of City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña, measures are now being undertaken by the city government in collaboration with the Dept. of Public Works and Highways to comply with the suggestions of the sector particularly on the removal of obstructions along the roads, installation of more cut-out curbs, railings and ramps.
    Audio visual aids for crossing which was also included in the four recommendations are now being designed.
    To address complaints on the danger posed by the slippery tactile pavement, through the City Engineering Office and DPWH had removed the tactile installed along sloping and skiddy areas for the safety of pedestrians. 
    “The city is adhering to the four recommendations of the affected sector coursed through the Persons with Disability Affairs Office  (PDAO) and in line with the Pambansang Batas Blg 344 (An Act to Enhance the Mobility of PWDs by Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities and Utilities to Install Facilities and other Devices),” the mayor said.
    PDAO Head Samuel Aquino  who was tasked to gather inputs from the different groups of persons with visual impairment on how to improve the tactile installations along various roads said that with the recommendations taken into consideration, his office will continue engaging with the affected sector on the implementation of projects to make the city PWD-friendly.
He said orientation and familiarization sessions on the sidewalk development works and appropriate tactile use will be made a regular activity among the visually impaired groups starting March 28. 
    The familiarization activity will be done onsite particularly in places where most of the visually impaired conduct their livelihood.  
    “We will do actual walk-throughs from their homes to their workplaces to orient them properly and at the same time determine problematic areas again for action by the city government,” Aquino said.   
    The city and the DPWH incorporated the tactile technology in the city’s sidewalk rehabilitation project s to raise the city’s standards in providing accessibility, protection and security to PWDs.
    Issues arose however on the safety of the tactile but the city took measure to address them.