President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited our hospital this morning to meet Filipino physicians, nurses and other allied staff who work at our hospital and in the community. We were honored that she selected our hospital to visit. Having never before participated in an event where the Secret Service handled the logistics it was quite fascinating to watch. We had both the U.S. and Philippine Secret Service in attendance.
The event ran slightly behind schedule this morning due to the President's flight delay, but once she and her husband, referred to as the "first gentleman," arrived at our hospital, the time flew by quickly. I was fortunate to greet her and welcome her to Community Regional Medical Center. The Presdient's visit lasted approx. 15 minutes. Dr. Dominic Dizon, Dr. Orly Dyoco and Dr. Fonte introduced the physicians to President Macapagal-Arroyo. Dr. Dizon organized the printing of a banner to welcome the President that was hung proudly in the Sequoia Room. Two of our own wonderful nurse leaders, Imelda Gamboa and Norlina De La Vega introduced the Filipino nursing staff and other staff members attending this morning. John Taylor, our Director of Public Affairs, was integral to the planning and coordination of the event, along with our Security Manager, Kevin Weaver.
It was quite an honor to have the Philippine President visit our hospital today. She is on her way to Washington D.C. to meet with our President Bush. She will visit a hospital in the local D.C. area, which is the only other hospital in addition to ours that she will see during her trip to the U.S. I can't recall that we have ever had a Presidential visit in our facility before, so this serves as a historical marker for us.
The spirit in the room this morning was very up-beat, lively, and generally fun. Many of those attending wore traditional clothing from the Philippines. The connection President Macapagal-Arroya made with the Filipino community in Fresno through this visit is tremendous. It is a great respect she paid to recognize the dedicated health professionals in our community. We are blessed to have nearly 250 of our Community employees who come from the Philippines and other parts of Asia, including nearly 90 nurses. We value our staff very much and the patients of our community are fortunate to have access to the skilled care of Filipino professionals.