H&L to award ‘healthy lifestyle exemplars’

MANILA, Philippines - A healthy lifestyle and other health promotion activities are considered important treatment strategies to prevent non-communicable diseases like heart diseases, strokes, chronic lung diseases and cancers. Hence, these diseases are also called lifestyle diseases.

On the 10th year anniversary of H&L (Health & Lifestyle) magazine, its medical advisory board and editorial board have decided to recognize individuals, organizations and institutions whose sustained programs and activities on healthy lifestyle and health promotion have benefited the community or a big segment of the population.

These staunch advocates and champions of a healthy lifestyle will be given the “Healthy Lifestyle Exemplar” awards on Nov. 27 at the One Esplanade in the Mall of Asia Complex.

The first batch of awardees consists of Dr. Adolfo Bellosillo (for excellence in public health education), Dr. Willie Ong (for excellence in health journalism and public health), missionary couple Lanie and Ely Latuga (for excellence in community service), the National Center for Health Promotion (for excellence in health education and public service — government institution category), the Philippine Heart Association (for excellence in public health education — professional organization category), and “Salamat Dok” of ABS-CBN (for excellence in public health education — mass media category).

Aside from the six awardees, four other groups will be given plaques of commendation for their meritorious programs and activities on healthy lifestyle promotion.

These are the Manila Adventist Medical Center (for integrating healthy lifestyle education in patient care), Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates International, Inc. (for their health education and public service programs), Novartis Healthcare Philippines (for its health promotion program “Be Healthy”),  and GMA Network’s “Pinoy MD”   (for health education and public service).

This year’s panel of judges was chaired by Ramon Abarquez Jr., MD, emeritus professor of the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine and the past president of the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Heart Association, and Philippine Society of Hypertension.

The other judges were Abdias Aquino, MD, past president of the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Neurological Society, and Philippine Society of Hypertension;  Ramon Arcadio, MD, immediate past chancellor of the UP Manila campus and past dean of the UP College of Medicine; Rebecca Castillo, MD, fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians and Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and consulting editor of FAME Publishing; Fernando Melendres, MD, former director of the Lung Center of the Philippines and consultant in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the Philippine General Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and Manila Doctors Hospital; Camellia Posoncuy, MD, the first Filipina neurosurgeon and past chairperson of the Philippine Board of Neurosurgery; Francisca Roa, MD, past president of the Philippine Dermatological Society and current head of the dermatology section at the PGH; and Antonio Villalon, MD, past president of the Philippine College of Physicians and Philippine Society of Medical Oncology.

H&L is a monthly, full-color, glossy magazine which provides doctors and health care professionals informative scientific and clinical updates.

Another major mission of the magazine is to constantly remind the medical and health care community of their important role of being vanguards and staunch advocates in health promotion activities.