Pediatric Neurosurgical and Craniofacial Operating Unit

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The story behind the Pediatric Neurosurgical and Craniofacial Operating Unit of PGH.

VIEW presentation:  PNCOU to PNCMMT

Created a few years ago, PNCOU’s goal was to shorten or eliminate the 2 year waiting backlog of Congenital Neurosurgical patients needing surgery at PGH. This was accomplished by dedicating an Operating room for Hydrocephalic babies, Encephalocoeles, Craniofacial anomalies, Complex cleft lip and palates and brain tumors, and to keep it running 8 hours a day 5 days a week. In order to achieve this, 2 OR nurses and a utility worker have to be paid by private donations at a cost of P600,000 a year or roughly $12,000.   The rest of the patient basic needs are taken cared of by Philippine General Hospital (Room, basic labs, medications, Physicians).   

Each year, the office of the PGH Director, Dr Gap Legaspi, would pool donations from every different sources and hope that there is enough to keep this project running. When the funds run dry, the room closes and surgeries get delayed.   The PNCOU performs around 300 cases a year.   Since the inception of PNCOU, the waiting time has been drastically reduced. “Families no longer camp out along Taft Ave, waiting for their turn for surgery”.   The accompanying slide presentation are their stories.

The UPMASA Chicago NW Indiana & Milwaukee Chapter has adopted the initiative to help PNCOU get funded each year. Please join the UPMASA members and their friends who have started donating to this worthy project.  

There are 2 ways to donate.

• Send checks written to UPMASA to Chapter treasurer, Henry Echiverri MD at 3s161 Williams Road, Warrenville, IL 60555. Write PNCOU in the memo. 

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