From the Desk of PNAMDC President

Carol Robles, BSN, RN, DNS-CT, RAC-CT

Email: c.robles@pnamdc.org

Dear PNAMDC Family,

It was on June 12, 2021, when I took the baton from Lourdes Careaga, and the journey started . . .

To Lead with Innovation, Grit, Humility, and Transparency. Let me share with you PNAMDC’s SPARK stories.

PNAMDC started with a WHY. It began with one very noble mission: to serve those who serve. With that simple but profound mission, it curated the vision of how it has become today, fifty years from its inception… an organization that is not merely thriving with the times but flying high with a SPARK. It is a movement on a mission to create a paradigm shift in the lives of its very own – its members. As a member of the Philippines Nurses Association of America, we embrace and model PNAA’s SPARK mantra by giving credence to the Stories of People, Achievements, Resilience, Kindness. And in our continued effort to evolve into the state of becoming and not simply of being as an organization, we are living the call for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by welcoming nurses of different races as associate members. 

Today, I stand on the shoulders of giants as I lead this organization. I aim to “Be the LIGHT: Leading with Innovation, Grit, Humility, and Transparency. This mantra will light our way in the next two years as we champion through leadership, membership growth, continuing education, and community outreach.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to double our membership as of yesterday.   I’m anticipating more will sign up in the following days and months ahead as they hear of our accomplishments and would want to join us in our future projects. 

To the nurses here who are not members yet, what are you waiting for? We need to have one big voice to move our interest forward and uplift the Filipino nurses! There is power in numbers! And remember, we have a great vantage point – we are in the heart of DC, where history is made. So, get on board!

We have increased our visibility and relevance in the community, and thus far, PNAMDC has been involved with:

Food Drives
Health Fairs
Vaccination clinics 

We completed Masks for the homeless, started on President Lourdes Careaga’s term, and Masks for the school children projects where we provided over 15,000 disposable masks to 50 Homeless shelters and disposable/cloth masks to 50 schools in the Metro DC area. 50 in honor of our 50th anniversary.

The Clean and continuous water supply for the Aetas project in Zambales, Philippines, is almost completed. Fourteen Jetmatic hand pumps are already in use, six more to go. Aetas are Filipino indigenous who live in remote areas where water is a scarcity. They must walk for hours to get to the river or wells for their drinking water.                  

The key to relevancy is to stay current; thus, we endeavor to bring this to fruition for our members by providing educational webinars, seminars, scholarships, and certification assistance for professional advancement. 

Undeniably significant, the BIGGEST achievement thus far for my term is the grant award of over $75,000 grant to the chapter for the project “Heal the Healers” in collaboration with the Philippine Medical Association of Metro Washington DC headed by President Dr. Nanette Quion. 

The pandemic has brought havoc into our lives. The grant will fund the program, which aims to provide courses and support in resilience, wellness, education for nurses and other health care workers in a culturally respectful manner targeting Filipino Americans and other Asian Americans in the health care profession. We believe that health care workers who take care of their mental health can serve as role models that will help in removing the stigma about mental health in the Asian American community. 

Another objective is to be the wellspring of resources and the loud voice of science and health in the community by delivering culturally sensitive resources with evidence-based practices and information to the community and creating a strategically coordinated network of mental health services. 

These are just the highlights of what we have achieved as an organization since June of this year. It takes a team to make a dream work – our purpose-driven members are what made PNAMDC what it is today. It is their individuality and uniqueness that made us, PNAMDC, sparkle and glow. 

I must say that to be in leadership is a privilege and with privilege comes great responsibility. I aim to continue to live by my mantra to be the LIGHT for the organization – that we don’t just thrive but to be the leader in innovation, grit, humility, and transparency. 

It takes courage to stand one’s ground when opposition hits you from every direction, but I will continue to push for an agenda if it means adding value to our members and the community at large. 

So, I thank all the generous donors, steadfast supporters, dedicated members, officers, and partners of PNAMDC for making all these accomplishments possible – for helping us achieve our WHY. I hope you will continue to join us as we pursue more projects to give back to our members and community here and in the Philippines.  

Let us continue to Be the LIGHT!

Carol Manilay-Robles
President
November 20, 2021

PAST PRESIDENT'S MESSAGES