Jollibee and PCMC: Hand-in-hand for children's welfare

MANILA, Philippines - For the last 30 years, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) has been committed to providing Filipino children a brighter future by giving them improved access to quality medical care. In celebration of this milestone, the hospital acquired brand-new equipment and renovated its emergency room (ER) to unveil a new and much improved Pediatric Acute Care Center.

“The funds for this project came from the sale of the Jollibee Hug and Share dolls sold in celebration of our 30th year as a company in 2008,” said Jollibee Foundation executive director Gisela Tiongson, during the inauguration of the refurbished facilities. “Through the generosity of the Jollibee customers and the Jollibee Franchisees Association, we raised enough money to support eight organizations and institutions catering to children’s welfare. PCMC was one of the chosen beneficiaries, the only hospital in the roster.”

The hospital used to struggle in accommodating an influx of patients in the ER. They only had four charity beds and four pay beds, while they were getting as many as 50 patients at a given time. This forced three to four patients to share one bed.

Today, the hospital is able to extend its loving care to more children in need as the ER can now accommodate more patients – two for critical care, three infants, seven charity, one isolation and three pay patients all at once. The grant from Jollibee was also matched by the PCMC, and the hospital now has two blood pressure apparatuses, three portable suction machines, two pulse oximeters, an ultrasonic nebulizer and a cardiac monitor.

“We are truly grateful that Jollibee is our ally in improving our healthcare services,” said Dr. Lucio Lecciones, PCMC’s executive director. “In return, we will take good care of the medical equipment and facilities that the Jollibee Foundation had donated to us, so we could be of service to more sick children.”