St. Luke’s Medical Center celebrates 119th anniversary with its Culture of Care’s sustainability and community development initiatives
In celebration of St. Luke’s 119th anniversary, the institution launched a line of eco-friendly room amenities sourced from communities in Zamboanga, Aklan, Bicol, La Union, Benguet, Kalinga, Apayao, Sagada, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas and Payatas.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—As part of its 119th anniversary celebration, and its endeavor to take a holistic approach in green healthcare, St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) recently introduced sustainability efforts centered on helping address the country’s plastic waste pollution, and empowering partner communities with livelihood opportunities as part of its Culture of Care CSR program.
The institution has launched a distinctive line of environment friendly room amenities specially made by partner communities from Zamboanga, Aklan, Bicol, La Union, Benguet, Kalinga Apayao, Sagada, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas and Payatas. Among these locally made, eco-friendly products are handcrafted bath soaps, shampoo and conditioner bars, soap dishes, handwoven blankets, burlap slippers, coco sugar and drenched coffee, that ensures patients’ comfort, while reducing the adverse environmental impact and waste generated during their stay, and providing partner communities livelihood programs that can improve their quality of life.
Aiming to help address the plastic waste problem of the country, and to support partner communities through livelihood opportunities, this Culture of Care CSR program is St. Luke’s take on a holistic approach in green healthcare.
St. Luke’s has also partnered with Benguet farmers to give them an avenue to sell their products, and with Aetas in Tarlac to provide them poultry-related resources—livelihood opportunities that cultivate the communities’ strengths, and give them a sustainable source of income.
The farmers of Benguet would serve as the partner of St. Luke’s in providing healthy food options for the patients as they become the hospital’s direct source of fresh produce. Furthermore, they were also given space in the hospital’s cafeteria to sell their products.
Meanwhile, St. Luke’s also extended its assistance to the Aeta community by providing them with solar powered street lights, deep well water source and a communal area which will serve as their mini class room. St. Luke’s is also now working on the requirements to provide the community with a poultry farm. With this resource, they will be able to produce an average of 30 trays of eggs daily, which will be procured by St. Luke’s and used for its daily food production.
“It is crucial for all societal stakeholders to work together in promoting sustainability to reduce the harmful impact on the environment, but most importantly, to help promote social enterprises and provide livelihood opportunities to communities in need” De La Peña added.
“Our sustainability initiatives contribute to the betterment of not just the country’s healthcare system, but also to the making of a greater society. We thank our patients, our partner communities, and our medical professionals within our hospitals for helping make these initiatives happen,” De La Peña concluded.