On the morning of January 18, 2024, the University of Santo Tomas opened its doors to the general public for the three-day Alaga at Tulong Tomasino medical-surgical mission spearheaded by the UST Hospital in collaboration with alumni, corporate partners, the media, the Santísimo Rosario Parish, and the academic units of UST.
Offering consultation services and medicine for neurology, dermatology, internal medicine, pediatrics, ophthalmology, orthopedics, cataract surgery, general surgery, and ENT, the mission brings together the expertise of hospital and academic staff and alumni, as well as the vigor of student clerks and interns to cater to patients from Luzon.
According to UST Hospital CEO fr. Julius Paul C. Factora, O.P., JCD, the mission, now on its second year, is the latest initiative to help those in need, in keeping with the Church’s mission. “Time and again since the Hospital was established, we have been serving poor and indigent patients. [But since last year] meron tayong malakihang medical-surgical mission para hindi lang ma-service ‘yung [nakatira] around the UST area but also those from Luzon. We have patients from Bulacan, Cavite, and Pangasinan.”
UST Hospital Medical Director Charito Malong-Consolacion, MD also shared that the medical-surgical mission would not be possible without the joint efforts of various stakeholders: “We want this to be accessible to a lot more people, [so we] struck partnerships with our students from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, and the College of Education, as well as our alumni spread all over the world.”
Fr. Factora expressed his commitment to continue the mission annually, during January, as part of the Church’s and the Hospital’s mission to help those in need.
