Doc cures healthcare ills

DR. LOLITA CUI. Contributed photo

Carcar, then a fourth-class municipality of Cebu province in the 1960s, could hardly attend to the healthcare needs of its residents.

But a doctor stepped up and was able to provide a cure to the problem.

For 30 years, Dr. Lolita Cui had served Carcar, now a city located 40 kilometers from Cebu City, although she could have gone into private practice and earned more. Now retired at 83, she has no regrets because she found satisfaction with what she did.

If she would have another chance to do what she had done in the past, she said she would do it again—even better.

Cui started working as Carcar municipal doctor in 1962. At that time, maternal and infant mortality rates were high.

The town had a small 10-bed hospital, but it was not enough to accommodate people who needed medical assistance from the government.

A majority of pregnant women availed themselves of the services of “hilot” (traditional midwives) and their often risky and unsanitary practices. Many women and their babies died, mostly from tetanus.

The problem was daunting for Cui, who was the only public doctor. Aside from her usual work of holding consultation with patients and attending to the sick at the hospital, she had to go around the barangays to train the hilot on the proper way of child delivery.

Through her perseverance, the mortality rate eventually dropped, but not without some hitches.

At one point, the soft-spoken and amiable doctor had to ask the local police to arrest a hilot who gained notoriety for the number of patients who died under her care. The hilot just had to be taught a lesson so she would be more careful next time.

Eventually, the hilot was released before Cui and the arresting officers could be charged with arbitrary detention.

The strategy worked, because thereafter, the hilot became extra careful in handling patients.

In those years, it was rare to have health clinics in the barangays, and rarer still to have those in sitios. But with her diligence, Cui led the construction of  Tapal Health Center in Barangay Guadalupe.

The community chipped in, working in the spirit of “bayanihan.” Aside from toiling in the site, men and women gathered indigenous building materials and contributed money.

For their involvement, the project won as best health center in the country in 1972, besting hundreds of other facilities nationwide.

While attending a meeting of health professionals  in the ’80s, Cui overheard one doctor saying that the municipal government of Carcar had not done anything to attend to the residents’ health needs. She was hurt by the remarks, especially since her husband, Cristino Sr., was the town mayor at that time, so she decided to do something.

The opportunity came when the national government was giving funds for the construction of hospitals in several towns in the country. She and her husband then started looking for a site suitable for a hospital.

But the problem was a bit complicated since the municipality hardly had  enough money to buy a lot. Fortunately, a family donated a piece of land to settle differences on inheritance.

Jesus M. Paras Memorial Hospital is now a mute testament of Cui’s perseverance to be of service to the people. Today, it is a 100-bed facility, catering not only to the medical needs of residents but also of those from adjoining towns.

For her silent effort, Cui received the Ganti Pamuno Mariano Mercado (Mayor Mariano Mercado Award) in Carcar City on Sept. 8 from Catalina Mercado-Lucero, the 95-year-old daughter of Don Mariano Mercado.