Support for the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (NARS) program, which has already deployed more than 5,000 unemployed registered nurses nationwide, continues to "snowball" with a healthcare foundation committing to sponsor the deployment of an additional 100 nurses to another 20 needy municipalities.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation (Phils.), Inc. entered into an accord with the DOLE and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), on Thursday (August 20, 2009) to provide for its sponsorship of 100 unemployed registered nurses who would be deployed to 20 poor municipalities under Project NARS.
Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said that the latest support follows the earlier commitment to the Project NARS forged by the PHAP Cares Foundation, Inc. which assured the deployment of a similar number of nurses in an accord inked on May 21, 2009.
Amidst the development, the PhilHealth has positively expressed support towards the deployment of another 220 unemployed registered nurses to more poor municipalities under the NARS program.
Significantly, the growing support to the program both from the private pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, as well as the government sector, is expected to increase the number of poor municipalities targeted under Project NARS from the original 1,000 nationwide.
A number of local government units (LGUs) have also provided additional support such as transportation allowance ranging from P500 to P2,000 per month, free board and accommodation, and free food when on duty.
The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation (GSKF) is a non-stock, non-profit organization whose mission extends the company's medical and research commitment to community service and corporate social responsibility.
Roque said that GSKF president Roberto C. Taboada, together with PHAP president Oscar J. Aragon, signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which affirmed the foundation's support and commitment to the Project NARS. Roque and PRC Chairman Nicolas P. Lapeña, Jr., also signed the MOA.
Subsequently, the document was presented to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacañang Palace.
The President had earlier launched Project NARS during the successful Multi-Sectoral Summit on "Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis" in Malacañang Palace on February 9 this year.
The latest MOA underscored the importance of the Project NARS in mobilizing unemployed registered nurses to the poorest municipalities in the country in response to the global crisis. The Project aims to mobilize nurses as "warriors for wellness" in poor municipalities to initiate primary health, school nutrition, maternal health programs, and first line diagnosis; inform about community water sanitation practices and do health surveillance; immunize children and mothers; and act as roving nurses for rural schoolds.
Under the project, the nurses would undergo training and development for competency enhancement in accordance with the training program designed by the PRC and the Board of Nursing in collaboration with the DOH. The nurse trainees receive a monthly P8,000 stipend during their training period, and under the signed MOA, the GSKF will shoulder the monthly allowance for the 100 additional nurse-trainees.
Thus far, the first batch of 5,000 nurse-trainees with a six-month tour of duty under Project NARS had been successfully deployed to the 1,000 poorest municipalities for a six month tour of duty beginning last April.
Meanwhile, the on-line application for the second batch beginning October 2009 has commenced. Project NARS website and pertinent information are accessible in the Internet at www.dole. gov.ph, or www.nars.dole.gov.ph.
Source: Information and Publication Service
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