By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino New mechanical ventilators procured by the Quezon provincial government for QPHN-QMC provide breathing suppo...
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| New mechanical ventilators procured by the Quezon provincial government for QPHN-QMC provide breathing support for critically ill patients and will help expand the hospital’s intensive-care capacity. (Quezon PIO) |
LUCENA CITY, Quezon - Giving premature and critically ill newborns access to screened donor breast milk closer to home, QPHN-QMC has opened the first Human Milk Bank in Quezon Province. The facility gives the provincial referral hospital a dedicated system for collecting, processing, storing and distributing donor human milk to infants who cannot receive enough from their own mothers.
Milk donated by mothers can be collected through hospitals and rural health units, stored at local hubs and brought to QMC for processing when needed. Some supplies collected outside Lucena are used within their communities, while others are sent to the provincial medical center for patients requiring donor human milk.
The August 25 opening places QPHN-QMC within a growing network of human milk banks serving mothers and newborns across the country. The facility is the fourth of its kind in CALABARZON and the 43rd in the Philippines, while Quezon plans to extend collection through its 41 component municipalities and cities.
Governor Angelina “Doktora Helen” Tan said increasing the volume of processed human milk is among the immediate goals of the program as the province continues addressing equipment and infrastructure needs in its hospitals. She also credited private organizations, including Rotary Club International, for helping provide resources that provincial funds alone could not immediately cover.
“Marami pa po tayong kailangang gawin dahil hindi pa po natatapos ang pangangailangan ng ating mga health facilities. Ang goal po natin ay maparami ang volume ng processed human milk at maipamahagi ito para sana maabot natin ang lahat ng nangangailangan,” Tan said.
Tan said the next step is to widen collection beyond QMC by bringing the province’s municipalities, cities and community health workers into the system. Barangay Nutrition Scholars are expected to work with provincial health personnel on training, health education, monitoring and collection as the program reaches communities farther from the medical center.
“Sana mapalawak natin ang programa sa tulong ng ating 41 component municipalities and cities at maging partner natin sila sa collection para maproseso natin ang gatas at maabot ang mga geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. Makikipag-partner tayo sa Barangay Nutrition Scholars para sa training, health education, monitoring at collection hanggang makarating dito ang gatas,” Tan said.
Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Kristin Mae-Jean Villasenor traced the milk bank to a smaller breastfeeding initiative that began with milk bags, breast pumps and freezers purchased by the provincial government. Doctors and private organizations later joined the effort, allowing the program to grow from basic collection and storage into the milk bank now operating at QMC.
“Maliit lang muna ang mga gamit at napaka-simple lang — mga milk bags, breast pump at freezer. Mula roon, sa magagandang ideya ng ating mga doktor at sa tulong ng mga private organizations, nabuo at nakumpleto natin itong milk bank,” Villasenor said.
The province has since extended milk-donation services beyond QMC by providing refrigerators and other storage equipment to hospitals and rural health units with active donors. Villasenor said those local hubs either send milk to the medical center or use the supply within their own areas, depending on where it is required.
“Mayroon po tayong mga RHU na very active ang kanilang mga nanay kaya binigyan din po natin sila ng mga gamit para makapag-store sila ng milk. Ang ilan sa mga hubs na ito ay nakakapag-supply ng gatas dito, habang ang iba naman ay direktang nagagamit sa kani-kanilang lugar,” Villasenor said.
Supported sites include QPHN Doña Marta Atimonan, QPHN Polillo, QPHN San Narciso, RHU Infanta and RHU Agdangan, where storage equipment has been provided for milk collected from local donors. Some of these hubs supply QMC, while others use donated milk within their respective areas.
DOH CALABARZON Nutrition and Breastfeeding Program Manager Jellie Anne Palencia said the opening fulfilled a long-standing goal of strengthening breastfeeding support in Quezon. She stressed that equipment alone cannot sustain a milk bank because its operation depends on mothers who are able to donate and local hubs that can collect their milk.
That dependence on donors was underscored during the inauguration, when the province recognized its Top 10 Human Milk Donors led by Kathleen Janet A. Abdone with 42,088 milliliters. Krisha Jane A. Dedase contributed 26,740 milliliters, Chrissa Jane A. Delica gave 20,900 milliliters and Francine Joy Miranda donated 18,020 milliliters.
The ceremony also included the turnover of medical equipment for QPHN-QMC’s neonatal and critical-care services, including mechanical ventilators and infant incubators. Ventilators provide breathing support to patients unable to breathe adequately on their own, while incubators give premature and medically fragile newborns a controlled environment for maintaining body temperature and receiving care.
Tan said the provincial government procured seven incubators and 14 additional mechanical ventilators as part of its hospital equipment program. The ventilators will augment eight existing units as QMC prepares to expand intensive-care services for medical and surgical patients.
An infant warmer was also among the equipment formally turned over for the hospital’s neonatal care area. The device provides controlled heat to help newborns maintain their body temperature while allowing health workers access during examination and treatment.
For QPHN-QMC, the milk bank adds a service that begins not with a machine but with mothers willing to share what their own babies do not need. Their donated milk can now move through collection hubs and the provincial hospital to newborns who cannot get enough from their own mothers.
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