More than two months after the country declared a public health emergency, the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. The highly contagious virus has infected and has claimed the lives of many health care workers, who continue to work in the frontlines against the disease.
Dr. Ephraim Neal Orteza died on April 8, 2020. He was the Medical Director of Ospital ng Parañaque as well as the owner of Olivarez General Hospital.
Ospital ng Parañaque considered Orteza as “our father, our mentor and our friend.”
A tribute released by the Olivarez General Hospital read, “We shall never forget your leadership as our hospital administrator and your service as our community’s hero and frontliner. You will truly be missed, Doc Neal.”
Parañaque City congressman and Orteza’s brother-in-law, Eric Olivarez, paid tribute to Orteza.
“Dr. Neal Orteza was a loving husband, a supportive father and a very caring and hardworking medical doctor,” he said.
His service as a doctor went beyond the hospital, he also helped South PiNanays or SPiN in their advocacy. SPiN is a breastfeeding and parenting support group for mothers in Parañaque as well as in neighboring cities and provinces.
“He was a kind and soft-spoken pediatrician, who was also a firm believer in the importance of breastfeeding,” they said in their tribute to the doctor.
They remembered his contribution to launching breastfeeding classes and talks in hospitals.
The Philippine newborn screening community considered Dr. Neal as a Pillar of Newborn Screening. He helped in the lobbying efforts for the Newborn Screening Law (RA 9288) and served as the president of the Newborn Screening Society of the Philippines Inc.
His sister, veteran actress Bibeth Orteza, named him her “best friend and best enemy when we were growing up.”
She recalled her favorite childhood memories with him on her Facebook page:
“You said you were going to be a hero, and I laughed. I laughed loudest when Mama discovered a small wooden chest where you kept some neatly folded clothes, notebooks and scribblings, soon after your first visit to the Rizal Shrine at the Intramuros, and you said ‘Para pag naging hero ako, hindi na sila mahirapang maghanap ng gamit ko.’ I’m not laughing anymore, Bimboy.”
As of May 27, there are 31 healthcare workers have died of COVID-19 according to the Department of Health, while 2,452 were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19, most of them nurses and doctors.
