Newborn Screening Facility

For the first time once again, the Rural health Unit of Candoni became an accredited Newborn Screening Facility today. The mail came last Friday and this morning, I went to Iloilo to, firstly, attend the launching of the Center for Health Development Western Visayas HL 2 D Max at the Iloilo Sports Complex and secondly, to get our 25 filter cards for NBS at the West Visayas State University Medical Center Newborn Screening Center. A month ago, I went to the same facility to follow up our request to be accredited as a Newborn Screening facility which I initially sent to the Regional Office at the desk of the Regional Newborn Screening Coordinator last November 2008. I was informed that our facility was yet to receive its facility code number which meant, the Regional NBS coordinator failed to process our application. Luckily, I brought extra copies of our application forms and duly signed Purchase Order. Immediately, the NBS center staff sent a fax to their central office in Manila. Less than a month later, we received the information from the NBS center in Manila informing us that the Rural health Unit of Candoni is now an accredited Newborn Screening Facility. This is yet another milestone in the history of Candoni.

So, after the Hataw Exercises during the HL 2 the Max launching, I went to the nearby WVSUMC NBS Center where I met the same staff who facilitated our request. They gave me our 25 filter cards, including lancets, IEC materials and newsletters. I immediately texted our staff at the RHU informing them of the good news.

In 2007, our NBS coverage was only a meager 2%. It modestly increased to around 7% in 2008. Now, that our facility is capable of rendering NBS service, we are hoping that our NBS coverage will increase this 2009. Our plan is to have at least 85% NBS coverage within the span of 5 years.

The challenge now is how to advocate to our mothers to have their newborns undergo NBS. The test would cost them 600 pesos. Having already foreseen this challenge, one solution is to have our facility accredited by PHILHEALTH, especially in the Maternal Care Package. Philhealth members will have their NBS for free since they will be covered by PHILHEALTH.

Another solution is the proposal to implement reward system for mothers with complete pre-natal care, ferrous sulfate and folic acid and tetanux toxoid, to have their NBS for free. The budget will be taken from our ECCD fund, which was already alloted even before I was deployed as DTTB.

Of course, the last solution is really intense advocacy for support. It may be impossible, considering that many of our clients are still poor and could not even afford to save money for their incidental expenses during normal delivery, but that is what they once said when we advocated for facility-based delivery.

Before I was deployed as DTTB, the number of deliveries conducted in health facility is only 24%, majority still prefer to have their babies born at home. To address this problem, I gathered all traditional birth attendants in the town, together with their barangay captains, and introduced to them the new policy when it comes to delivering children. TBA's could no longer handle normal deliveries at home. All normal and uncomplicated deliveries must be done in the health facility. It was an uphill struggle at first, considering that what we were trying to change really was cultural behavior. But, it was successful. All 9 barangay captains supported the move with their respective barangay resolutions. So, from 24% in 2007, our facility-based deliveries increased to 74% in 2008. Our number of deliveries attended by skilled health workers also increased to 79% in 2008.

I hope our newborn screening program in Candoni will also be a success, through the help and support of the community at large.