On August 2, 2018, Department of Health appointed Dr. Rakiin as MEdical Center Chief of Amai Pakpak Medical Center per department order 2018-3437. Dr. Rakiin shall perform the mandated functions vested in the position of Medical Center Chief II.
Acceptance Message of Dr. Shalimar Rakiin
“Upgrading its infrastructure, its physical landscape, equipment, service capabilities ad responsiveness to public needs will be continued with more vigor and determination. Accountability of performance and transparency of all transactions in consonance with Duterte’s administration’s thrust of eliminating graft and corruption shall be the silver lining of our programs and services. We can make APMC greater than it is. Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; and Working together is success (Edward Hale).
As I take on the of heading the Amai Pakpak Medical Center today, I wish to emphasize that my mission is to implement hospital plans and projects in line with the FOURmula1+ of our Department. I have envisioned a healthy Lanao del Sur and Marawi constituents with access to quality health care. In short, a genuine Universal Health Care that will preserve life and health as inalienable right of every Filipino. The service delivery of the hospital must be geared towards attainment of people-centered, responsive & compassionate institution and workers that respect the dignity and rights of every patient.”
Marawi siege is one of the most difficult challenges that our country is facing today. War in Marawi has catastrophic effects and leaves psychological and physical trauma that has an impact to its people which may or may not heal after a long time. Families, communities, and the socio-economic fabrics are destroyed. Devastations in all forms in Marawi are so severe and unimaginable. Atrocities of war have relationship between physical and mental health of civilians, particularly the Maranaos. Depression, anxiety, fear, insomnia, and other psychosomatic disorders are most likely to occur among individuals who experienced the brunt of war. More than 400,000 individuals were forced to leave Marawi City and evacuated in Provincial Capitol, Marawi City, in nearby municipalities in Lanao del Sur such as Bubong, Balindong, Tamparan, Poona-Bayabao, and Saguiran, municipalities in Lanao del Norte like Pantar, Balo-i, and Pantao-Ragat, in different evacuation centers in Iligan City such as Barangays Tibanga, Maria Cristina-Fuentes, Santa Elena, and Buru-un, and many localities in Cagayan de Oro City. Miserable living situations in the congested evacuation centers have aggravated the psychosocial and mental health problems of survivors. This is a psychosocial plan which is a Maranao culture-sensitive that may be implemented by health workers in different evacuation centers where the survivors have resided. It aims to keep the locals abreast with the valuable cultural and religious attributes while they are struggling to revive for their personal beings, stabilize their families, secure resources, adapt to crises, and empower themselves for recovery and rehabilitation.
Warning: You are what you breathe. Okay, maybe that’s pushing it too far. However, it’s just a stone’s throw away from an undeniable truth: The air you breathe contributes to your health and well-being (or lack thereof).
Polluted air has been identified as the culprit in many health crimes; unfortunately, you might not know exactly why. The good news is, that can change today, once you check out this short list of surprising things about air pollution.
Surprising fact #1: Eating meat contributes to air pollution.
Self-confessed meat lovers, here’s another reason for you to eat more vegetables! Raising cows and pigs actually produces almost 20 percent more carbon dioxidethan car emissions, according to Livestock’s Long Shadow – Environmental Issues and Options, published in 2006 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Livestock also contributes more than half of the nitrous oxide we produce, the report said. Given how nitrous oxide is actually almost 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming, that’s definitely meaty news.
Surprising fact #2: Breathing in polluted air can give you senile dementia (pagka-ulyanin) at a younger age.
The smaller the particulate in polluted air, the more it can reach your brain and cause havoc there, reported Jennifer Ailshire and Philippa Clarke in a 2014 study published in The Journals of Gerontology.
People living in highly-polluted cities made about 150 percent more mistakes on memory and mathematics tests than those living in less polluted areas. This holds true when it comes to polluted areas with at least 15 mcg/m3 of pollutants measuring 2.5 microns or smaller.
Surprising fact #3: Air pollution may lead to lethal lung clots.
Small particulate matter in the air may be linked to blood clots in the lungs, according to a 2014 study by Ai Milojevic and colleagues published in Heart. Called pulmonary embolism, this condition can lead to death within one hour in 40 percent of cases.
Surprising fact #4: There’s an air pollutant in your home… and it’s alive.
Who said air pollution involves only inanimate particles and toxic gases? Look around your house and you might find one common air pollutant: mold.
Mold doesn’t just affect food or clothing; it also affects you. Breathing in mold canlead to lung infections among people with weak immune systems, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unfortunately, you’re not exempted from the effects of mold because you’re healthy! It can cause pneumonitis, shortness of breath, and a slew of many other signs and symptoms, even among healthy children and adults.
Air pollution is a pervasive problem affecting both rural and urban areas. With some air pollutants invisible and odor-free, raising awareness can be life-changing and life-saving. Now that you know more about air pollution than the average joe, you are armed with information that can protect your health and even your family’s.
There are many ways you can prevent air pollution. Regardless of what steps you take to keep air pollution to a minimum, here’s one easy way you can get others to do the same: Share this article with your friends!
Amai Pakpak Medical 
Center (APMC) is a renationalized government hospital created into law in 1985 by virtue of RA 7943. Long before its renationalization, this Medical Center was a living witness to the memoirs and rich culture of Marawi City.
Originally, the hospital was built in 1903 by the US Army’s 27th Infantry Cavalry Division under the leadership of Captain John “Black Jack” J. Pershing within the sprawling 20 hectare land in what used to be called Marahui which later became Camp Keithly. It was in 1903 that this medical facility was organized into a 25-bed hospital by Captain James Ames, during a cholera outbreak that caused the death of many US servicemen and locals. The health facility was then named as Lanao General Hospital which became popularly known to the locals as Public Hospital. The integration program of the health system of Lanao Province came into existence in 1984 which brought the hospital into the supervision of the Integrated Provincial Health Office of Lanao del Sur.
Like gold refined into a furnace, Amai Pakpak Medical Center has as well surpassed many obstacles that made this Medical Center strong and steadfast. One of which was the October 16, 2013 fire that razed down the century old hospital building into ashes. That experience was never made a hindrance to continue our commitment in bringing quality health care closer to the people.
