P’que rescue unit truimphs

 The Parañaque Emergency Response Unit (P.E.R.U.) did the city proud by winning First Place in the 20th National Inter-City First Aid/Basic Life Support Skills and Benchmarking Olympics which was held on July 28, 2011 at the Marikina Sports Complex.
 
     Organized by the Department of Health through the Center for Health Development, the annual competition aims to hone skills of emergency medical technician-rescuers of LGUs and public hospitals; enhance teamwork; provide technical updates; and strengthen network ties among the various rescue units.
     The P.ER.U. EMTs who compose the Parañaque team were Gian Carlo Mahusay, Mary Jo Matullano, Juanito De Leon, Levi De Loyola, Mike Allan Teodoro and Mark Alvin Zerrudo. They did well in the splinting and bandaging; lifting and moving; extrication; situational analysis/BLS; triage and mass casualty incident (MCI) events to win top honors.
     Formed in 2007 on orders of Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Jr., the Parañaque Emergency Response Unit has since become the frontline medical emergency service unit of the Parañaque City Health Office and the Parañaque Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. In service 24/7, its TESDA EMC II-accredited EMTs have staged numerous rescue sorties, many of them medical emergencies, road accidents and flooding incidents and in the course saved many lives.
     P.E.R.U. is headed by P’que Medical Officer Dr. Ted Gonzalez under the supervision of City Health Officer Dr. Olga Virtusio