Villar vows to help nurses become entrepreneurs

SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar has vowed to help set up a pilot nurse clinic for nurses who want to become entrepreneurs, which could also help reduce the number of unemployed nursing graduates.

Villar said she is just waiting for the feasible proposal, "so we can start working together on it."

"Feel free to approach me if you have a good proposal on this. I want it to succeed so that it can be duplicated also, like what we did in my livelihood programs," Villar told nurses during the 3rd Mindanao Nursing Summit of the Southern Philippines Medical Center Nurses Association at the SMX Convention in Davao City.

She noted that establishing nurses clinic or specialty clinic for nurses is similar to the other livelihood enterprises which she had built, except that the former will use the professional qualifications and competence of nurses.

She expressed her belief that nurses becoming entrepreneurs is one way to address the issue of unemployment in the nursing sector.

"I hope you know that I and my husband, former Senate President Manny Villar, are advocates of entrepreneurship," said Villar.

She said nurses can actually put up specialty clinics and become entrepreneurs. The services nurses can provide in nurse clinics are health and wellness therapy, emergency response, baby care, private nursing for the sick or the elderly, among others.

She related that during her interactions with several nursing groups, she found out that many nurses want to establish the so-called nurse clinics.

"We have already pilot projects for this like the one built in Leveriza, Pasay City and at the University of the Philippines" said the senator.

"We can put up more nurse clinics in other places. And you nurses can manage these clinics. You can also come up with a partnership among yourselves to put up nurse clinics," said Villar who filed Senate Bill 1266 or "A Nurse in Every Barangay Act', seeking to give employment to nurses, assigning one registered nurse for every barangay.

Villar said her proposed measure intends to urgently address the problem of unemployment and underutilization of thousands of unemployed nurses. It urges the government to mobilize and utilize these unemployed nurses by dispatching at least one registered nurse to every barangay in the Philippines.

"We have 42,000 barangays nationwide, and not all of these have a registered nurse," said Villar.

She admitted this would be a difficult task, but assured to push through with the measure which is in Committees on Health, Local Governments, and Finance.

She also pointed out we still do not have the ideal nurse-patient ratio of 1:4 per shift in our hospitals.

Aside from providing employment, her bill will also improve the delivery of public healthcare ser4vices.

"The duties of each dispatched nurse are not only to address the immediate medical needs of the community, but also to educate the barangay residents on the importance of health, hygiene, sanitation and wellness--particularly in the remotest and poorest communities. Their goal is not only to address the immediate medical needs of the community but also to prevent illnesses through education," she said.

According to Villar, there are other bills filed in the Senate which will benefit nurses. She assured to help for their passage into law, and vowed to support moves and efforts to promote the welfare and interests of nurses.