MANILA, Philippines - ActiveOne Health, a premier company specializing in workplace health services and resources, and global pharmaceutical company MSD are working in tandem in a bid to help out different companies in protecting the health of their employees.
Dubbed “The Wellness Initiative: Healthy Worker, Active Business,” the partnership aims to raise health awareness among employees and promote best health practices in different work settings.
“It is often said that employees are a company’s best assets, but even of greater value are employees who are healthy and thus are able to perform optimally,” says ActiveOne medical director Dr. Gia Sison.
“In an increasingly competitive corporate setting, protecting these assets — and keeping them healthy for that matter — has become paramount to steering a company towards business success,” she adds.
To launch the initiative, executives of BPOs and other top companies gathered in an evening of interactive learning on common health risks today. A panel of medical experts from the fields of pulmonary and reproductive health was on hand to discuss common viruses and bacteria such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
“We at ActiveOne and MSD found it crucial to hold this initiative, as there are many in the workplace who may unknowingly be at risk of reproductive and respiratory diseases,” says Dr. Des Billones, clinic operations senior manager of ActiveOne.
Hosts Bernadette Sembrano of ABS-CBN and Tony Toni of Magic 89.9 facilitated the discussion with the panel of experts composed of Dr. Billones; Dr. Sison; Dr. Isagani Rodriguez, head of ambulatory medicine at UERMMMCI; Dr. Ricardo Manalastas Jr., section chief of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the UP-PGH; and Mike Blanch, business unit director of MSD.
The panel discussed how the sexually-transmitted HPV is the leading cause of many reproductive diseases, including cervical cancer in women and genital warts in both men and women.
“HPV usually does not manifest symptoms but when it does, it becomes genital warts or worse, cancer. You cannot be tested for HPV, and vaccination is the most effective way of preventing such diseases as genital warts, cervical, vulvar, vaginal and even anal cancers,” explains Dr. Manalastas of UP-PGH.
“There are a lot of social repercussions and stigmas when it comes to HPV. Your personal relationships are at risk as well. It is also a significant financial burden, where one session of chemotherapy can cost up to P50,000 while a full course of chemotherapy can cost up to half to a million pesos depending on the cancer stage,” shares Dr. Sison.
Respiratory wellness was also tackled, with Dr. Rodriguez revealing that “pneumonia is the most common illness among Filipinos and the fourth leading cause of death in the country. Streptococcus pneumonia, otherwise known as the pneumococcus, is the most frequently identified microorganism responsible for pneumonia. Other ailments caused by this bacterium include sinusitis tonsillitis, and middle ear infection (otitis media) which are among the more common diseases in the country.”
“But while cervical cancer and pneumonia are serious diseases with dire complications, there are now effective ways to prevent them. ActiveOne and MSD are one in offering companies optimized health programs that allow them to demonstrate their culture of caring for the long-term health and well-being of their employees (and their families). We share the strong belief that the work environment should be free of health hazards so that employees can maximize their potential and always perform at their best,” says Mike Blanch of MSD.
To know more about HPV and streptococcal infections, consult your doctor. You may also visit www.helpfighthpv.com to find out ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from HPV. For more information about ActiveOne’s health services and programs, visit www.activeonehealth.com.