Cebu Normal University (CNU) educators utilized 3D printers in the University to make face shields donated to health workers and medical frontliners in the city. Physics teachers Ms. Clare Maristela Galon and Mr. Allan Roy Elnar, both from the Chemistry and Physics Department of Cebu Normal University (CNU) made use of the 3D printers in the school’s Physics laboratory to make frames used in making face shields.

Galon said that they thought of maximizing the two 3D printers in the Physics laboratory to make Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to be donated to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) frontliners.  She and Elnar are assisted by their co-teachers, Mr. Gibson Maglasang and Mr. Carl Patrick Casas, both from the Physics Department, in making the face shields.

Ms. Clare Maristela Galon (left) and Mr. Allan Roy Elnar (right) poses a wacky photo wearing the PPEs. 

She said that they have been using Polylactic Acid (PLA), a formula used to create plastic films, food containers, and the like to print the shield frames. The

Shield frames were designed using an Auto Computer Aided Design (CAD), a software application for modeling, Galon said. 

Acetates coming from the University’s Supply office were used as the actual face shields. Galon shared that they first utilized rubber bands for the retainers but soon upgraded it into garters with the aid of donations coming from the Innovative CNU Assistance and Relief Effort (iCARE) Donation Center.

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Cebu Normal University (CNU) launched a program to assist its students, faculty, office personnel, and other stakeholders in the time of health crisis brought by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The program is called Innovative CNU Assistance and Relief Effort (iCARE). The creation of iCARE was conceptualized by CNU President Dr. Filomena Dayagbil and was established through the help of the CNU Administrative Council and some faculty members.

iCARE was launched last Monday, March 23 online through the University’s official Facebook page.

The iCARE program initially has three services: iCARE Student Communication Center (SCC); iCARE Telecounseling Services; and iCARE Donation Center. Later on, the iCARE Ride, iCARE Pedagogical Connect, and and iCARE Adopt-a-Student were conceptualized to add to the growing list of services under the iCARE initiative.  

“Innovation breeds because of a need,” Dayagbil said on how iCARE sprouted because of the COVID-19 health crisis. “I am thinking of how CNU can best respond and be significant for both our internal and external clients as gestures of love and care,” she said.  

“With the suspension of classes and declaration of community quarantine, CNU has to attend to the needs and concerns of the students and keep the line of communication open to avoid confusion,” she added, explaining how iCARE SCC came about. 

iCARE SCC is facilitated by the CNU Supreme Student Council (SSC) where students who wish to express their concerns, challenges, and difficulties related to the ongoing community quarantine may contact the numbers provided in the SSC and CNU Facebook

The iCARE SCC has started operating since the launching of iCARE and is available daily from 7 AM. to 9 PM.

iCARE Telecounseling Services is also provided for CNU students, faculty, and non-teaching staff wherein guidance counselors and Psychology professors are made available to those who need a listening ear, Dayagbill said.

“This is one way of protecting our mental health in this new normal we are experiencing,” she said.  Tele counseling hotline numbers are found in the CNU Facebook page which are directly connected to counselors/coaches and are available from 6 AM. to 9 PM.

iCARE Pedagogical Connect is an effort of the College of Teacher Education (CTE) which offers free online services to students, teachers, administrators, and parents from different levels where facilitators engage themselves to different stakeholders by answering queries on different areas of concern in line with education. Stakeholders who are interested may register through this link: https://bit.ly/2UAdegP

iCARE Adopt-a-Student is facilitated by the CNU-OSA in coordination with the CNU Student Supreme Council. This initiative calls for donors to assist students who are stranded in Cebu during the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) by providing them basic needs or financial assistance while they still cannot go home.

Nurses and healthcare professionals convened to discuss the importance of risk communication and care for the elderly in the onslaught of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic during the 9th session of Higher Education Connect (HEdConnect).

HEdConnect 9 with the theme Convergence of Nursing Viewpoints, Experiences, Nurturance, and Engagement (CONVENE) was held last November 27, 2020, via Zoom and was live-streamed at the Cebu Normal University (CNU) Facebook account. 

The international webinar was organized by the CNU College of Nursing (CN) in collaboration with the Research Institute for Ageing and Health (RIAH), CNU Nightingale Student Council, and Central Visayas Consortium for Health Research and Development.

Dr. Emiliano Ian Suson II, CNU-CN Dean, said that he hopes the webinar will be an opportunity for nurses and healthcare professionals to inspire each other and continue to advance in the nursing profession and practice.

Mrs. Jillian Bejoc, CNU-CN Research Coordinator and RIAH Division Chair said that the HEdConnect 9 is a prelude to the upcoming 10th International Conference of Nurses (ICONS) on May 2021 with the same goal of providing an avenue for nurses across different fields to share the best practices in the academe, clinical practice, and in research. 

To raise awareness of dengue intervention, Cebu Normal University (CNU) with the participation of Cebu City Government and City Health Office launched its first assembly on dengue awareness and mosquito control held at Teaching Arts Centrum Auditorium last Friday, with the theme, “Dengue Awareness and Mosquito Control: Enabling Innovations for Sustainable Development”.

The event started with a welcoming remark by University President Dr. Filomena T. Dayagbil, stating that the university is honored to be chosen as a host of the said congress.

“As a state university funded by the government, it is our responsiblity to make sure to partner with the agencies in the government and make the government’s projects and activities successful as they cascade down to our stake holders and collegues,” Dayagbil explained.

Hon. Michael Rama, the Vice Mayor of Cebu City and Chairman Committee on Health Hospital Services and Sanitation, served as the keynote speaker, saying that each individual in the government, health sector, and barangay, needs to be vigilant in maintaining cleanliness and responsibility to eradicate the causes of dengue in the community that they belong.