Hospice Movement in the Philippines
by Catherine L. Krinks, MD
Caring for a very sick or dying family member is one of the very strong forces that bring the family closer. The family, and sometimes the community, pools their resources together to bring comfort to their loved ones. It is a core Filipina value to provide assistance, be it financial, spiritual, or emotional, to a family member who is in need. This assistance is not limited to immediate family members but can extend to other members of the community.
“It is a core Filipina value to provide assistance, be it financial, spiritual, or emotional, to a family member who is in need.”
It does not come as a surprise that when the modern concept of hospice and palliative care was introduced in the Philippines and was accepted as a better way of caring for ill. What we have culturally is enhanced by the hospice concept of care.
The hospice concept of caring for the ill was first introduced in the Philippines when Hospice and Palliative Care was integrated into the Family Health Care Program of the Department of Family and Community Medicine of the Philippine General Hospital in 1989. The training in hospice care was limited to medical students and family medicine residents.
Old Photo with Hospice Philippine first President- Atty. Sione Kalalo, together with Founding Board Members Dr. Luz Kwong, Dr. Dory Ocampo and Dr. Agnes Bausa and Family Medicine Specialists Dr. Elisa Allado and Dr. Nanette Cruz
It was the Philippine Cancer Society who started the first hospice home care program in 1991. It implemented a home care program, where a team composed of a medical doctor, a nurse, a social worker and a volunteer would visit a patient in his home and assist in his care and train his family in the proper care of their loved one. Over the next ten years, the Society had served more than a thousand patients and their families. The Society initiated a series of training and education sessions nationwide. It has solicited the expertise of Dr. Josefina B. Magno, a Filipino hospice pioneer in the United States.
Dr. Josefina B. Magno is a pioneering figure in the hospice movement, known for her significant contributions to the development and promotion of hospice care both in the Philippines and the United States.
The training sessions have been instrumental in the establishment of hospital-based hospices like the Makati Medical Center Hospice Care Program (1994), and the University of Sto. Tomas Hospice Program (1997). The success of the trainings also resulted in the formation of several other hospices like the Madre de Amor Hospice Foundation in Laguna and the Ayala Alabang Hospice in Muntinlupa in 1994. With the recognized need for training in hospice and education and the growing number of interested organizations and communities, the Philippine Cancer Society renewed its thrust and now serves as an intellectual resource for the hospice movement.
The Department of Health integrated Pain Control as an essential component of the Philippine Cancer Control Program in 1984. This resulted in the allocation of government funds for the procurement and distribution of morphine to DOH accredited hospitals nationwide. This Program was harnessed by the Philippine Cancer Society, other medical societies and agencies involved in cancer care, by liaising with DOH in organizing education and training in pain control.
The hospice concept of care has been applied to respond to the various care needs identified throughout Philippine society.
The Kythe Foundation (1995), a volunteer group started by psychologists from Ateneo de Manila University, a strong support for the cancer services of the East Avenue Medical Center, caters mainly to children stricken with cancer.
The Canossian Sisters of Charity (1999) also incorporated hospice care its community programs in Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao.
The Starfish Program was initiated in 2001 at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila. The Program provides hospice care for patients with infectious diseases.
A private endeavor, Home, Inc., was established in 2001. This is the first and only pay hospice service in the country.
Hospice training and education has likewise evolved through the creation of the first post-residency and fellowship program in Hospice and Palliative Care at the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital in 2000. The Madre de Amor Hospice Foundation, as one of the longest running hospices in the country, has become a valuable resource and regularly conducts the Volunteer Training Program to interested communities. PALCARE (2002) and the Department of Family Medicine (UP-PGH) also conduct regular hospice training.