1.

Ambulatory surgical centers

Ambulatory surgical centers, also called outpatient surgical facilities, allow patients to receive certain
surgical procedures outside a hospital environment. These environments often offer surgeries at a lower
cost than hospitalswhile also reducing the risk of exposure to infection—since patients are there for
surgery, not to recover from sickness and disease.

Ambulatory surgical centers don’t provide diagnostic services or clinic hours. Instead, they take patients
who have been referred for surgery by a hospital or physician—they’re designed to be “all business”
when it comes to surgical care.

2. Birth centers

A birth center is a healthcare facility for childbirth that focuses on the midwifery model, according to
the American Association of Birth Centers. They aim to create a birth environment that feels more
comfortable to the mother and allows for a cost-effective, family-inclusive birth.

Birth centers are not typically equipped with the same contingency equipment and staff as a hospital,
such as surgeons in case of a C-section or a neonatal intensive care unit. As a result, birth centers
accommodate only healthy pregnancies without any known risk or complication factors.

These facilities are guided by principles of prevention, sensitivity, safety, cost-effectiveness and
appropriate medical intervention when needed.

3. Blood banks

Blood banks allow donors to donate blood and platelets while also storing and sorting blood into
components that can be used most effectively by patients.

“Red blood cells carry oxygen, platelets help the blood clot and plasma has specific proteins that allows
proper regulation of coagulation and healing,” writes the American Society of Hematology. Sometimes
patients need these particular components specifically, and sometimes they just need lots of blood. For
example, a single car accident victim could require as many as 100 pints of blood.

Blood is essential for human life, and it can’t be manufactured—only donated. So these facilities work to
build the supply for patients who need it.

4. Clinics and medical offices

The definition of a clinic is “a facility for diagnosis and treatment of outpatients.” There are many
healthcare facilities that fit that definition across a wide variety of treatment specialties.

Many people go to a clinic for routine doctor’s appointments and checkups. These healthcare facilities
can be a physician’s private practice, a group practice setting or a corporately owned clinic that may be
connected to a larger healthcare system or hospital.
Clinics cover a lot of ground in healthcare. For example, you could visit a dental clinic to have a
toothache investigated, a physical therapy clinic to recover from an athletic injury or a pediatric speech
therapy clinic to help your child overcome an articulation disorder.

If there is a specialized health area you need to see an expert for, then odds are that there’s a clinic
somewhere to accommodate you. The goal of these clinics is to give people preventative care and
important diagnoses with as much convenience as possible.

That goal has also led to “walk-in” clinics becoming situated in grocery and convenience stores, malls
and even airports. These clinics allow patients to get a flu shot or receive a prescription without making
an appointment at their physician’s office. While many medical providers believe that a continued
relationship with a provider is better for patients’ long-term health, the speed, convenience and
sometimes lower cost of a walk-in clinic can be ideal for a quick need.

5. Diabetes education centers

Diabetes is a very serious illness in the United States. Over 30 million people have diabetes and many of
them don’t know it, reports the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Additionally, over a third of the
national population is highly at risk for diabetes, in a condition called prediabetes.

Patients with diabetes need to manage the disease and typically make lifestyle adjustments to keep it
from becoming life-threatening. Since diabetes is so widespread, diabetes education centers rose up to
help patients manage their disease and to help people at risk for diabetes to avoid it, if possible.

Diabetes education centers typically offer classes, education, support groups and a variety of resources
to help patients manage their diabetes and live as complication-free as possible.

6. Dialysis Centers

Patients with kidney disease often need regular treatments of dialysis. Dialysis is a process that filters
and cleansthe blood artificially—the work functioning kidneys normally take on. About 14 percent of
Americans have chronic kidney disease. When kidneys aren’t able to filter the blood the way they are
supposed to, patients might need dialysis as often as three times a week to avoid serious complications.
With such high demand, dialysis facilities rose up to meet patient needs and avoid undue strain on
hospitals.

7. Hospice homes

Hospice can be a particularly confusing title. It represents a package of insurance benefits that deals
with an end-of-life trajectory. It also represents a philosophy of care provision for dying patients as well
as official networks that offer hospice care. Hospice is also a designation for specific healthcare facilities
that specialize in end-of-life care.

Hospice care is a model that provides not only medical support, but also emotional and even spiritual
support for patients and their families. According to the National Hospice and Palliative
Care organization, a patient with hospice care has a team of care providers made up of the patient's
personal physician, a hospice physician, nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy or other
counselors and physical or occupational therapists, if needed.

Though patients can receive hospice care at home, if their medical needs are significant, they might live
in a nursing home with hospice care, or a specified hospice home.

8. Hospitals

Hospitals are the ultimate “catch-all” healthcare facility. Their services can vary greatly depending on
their size and location, but a hospital’s goal is to save lives. Hospitals typically have a wide range of units
that can be loosely broken into intensive care and non-intensive care units.

Intensive care units deal with emergencies and the most serious illnesses and injuries. Patients with
imminently life-threatening problems go here.

Non-intensive care units include things like childbirth, surgeries, rehabilitation, step-down units for
patients who have just been treated in intensive care and many others. Typically, most hospital
beds could be classified as non-intensive care.

9. Imaging and radiology centers

These facilities, much like their hospital counterparts, offer diagnostic imaging services to
patients. Diagnostic imaging includes CT scans, ultrasounds, X-rays, MRIs and more. While hospitals and
even clinics have imaging centers, outpatient facilities help keep costs lower and allow more convenient
scheduling for patients.

Hospital facilities will likely handle imaging for urgent cases, such as an MRI for a brain injury. But any
imaging that can be scheduled in advance, such as ultrasounds to monitor a pregnancy, could take place
at an imaging center.

10. Mental health and addiction treatment centers

This type of healthcare facility is a grouping for many different types of facilities. Specialty treatment
centers exist all across America for specified mental health issues and addictions.

Mental health treatment facilities sometimes exist as a general institution for any mental health issue
and are sometimes specialized. Examples of these kinds of facilities are suicidal thoughts (or suicidal
ideation) treatment, depression treatment, trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment,
treatment for anxiety disorders, behavioral disorders and more.

You can find inpatient or outpatient versions of many mental health facilities, designed to assist patients
through different stages of their healing processes. At the acute-care level, you can find mental health
wards in hospitals—as well as hospitals specifically devoted to mental health and long-term care
facilities.

Addiction treatment centers typically deal with drug and alcohol addictions, as well as problematic
behavioral addictions like gambling, work, shopping or the internet.
1. The Story of the Piña

Pinang was a beautiful but lazy girl. One day, her mother got sick and asked her to
cook food for them. Having never really done anything around the house, Pinang
refused at first. She finally relented through her mother’s insistent shouting, but had
trouble finding the ladle. Frustrated, Pinang’s mother wished a hundred eyes to grow
on her for being so lazy. After this, Pinang was never seen again. A strange yellow
fruit with a hundred eyes, however, was soon found growing in their backyard.

Like all folk tales, the story of the piña has several versions. According to Ong, the
popular version is didactic or moralistic – “that’s what you get for being lazy and
unmotivated.” Tahanan’s version has Pinang doing her best, but her mother just
assumed that she was being lazy again.

For Ong, the story of the piña is “a cautionary tale for both parent and child.”
Find this story in Tahanan Books’ “Why The Piña Has A Hundred Eyes and Other
Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits”, available at National Bookstore, Fully
Booked, and The Learning Basket.

2. The Monkey and the Turtle

A monkey and a turtle were once friends. One day, they saw a banana-plant floating
on the water. They decided to split it and planted each half. Monkey thought the top
part was better, so he planted it and watched in dismay as it died. Turtle planted the
roots and was rewarded with a fine tree with fruits. But since he could not climb to get
the bananas himself, he asked Monkey to get it for him.The cunning simian, however,
ate all of the fruits! In retaliation, Turtle put sticks around the tree and then tricked
Monkey to go down, killing him. Monkey’s friends then tried to exact revenge on
Turtle, who deceived them into throwing him into the lake, his home.
According to Ong, this folk tale “could be the most famous Philippine folk tale
because Jose Rizal published an illustrated retelling in Trubners Oriental Record.” She
says that part of the appeal of the story is that “it's a battle between the strong and
selfish, and the physically weak but crafty. Children might identify with and root for
the turtle.”

Find this story in Tahanan Books’ “The Carabao-Turtle Race and Other Classic
Philippine Animal Folk Tales”, available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked, and
The Learning Basket.

3. The Necklace and the Comb

In the early days, the sky hung low and people could easily reach the clouds. Inday, a
beautiful girl who was given family heirlooms for her sixteenth birthday, loved to
wear her precious necklace and comb even while she worked. One day, as she was
husking rice with a mortar and a pestle, she put her jewelry on a cloud to avoid
spoiling them. As she pounded on the rice with her pestle, one end also pounded the
sky. Before she knew it, the sky went up high with her heirloom pieces. In time, her
comb became the quarter moon and the beads of her necklace became the stars.

Folktales being stories that people created to explain the natural world, “The Necklace
and the Comb” is a charming tale on how the moon and stars were formed. Ong likes
this story especially because “the imagery is so charming and fanciful.”

Find this story in Tahanan Books’ “The Warrior Dance and Other Classic Philippine
Sky Tales”.Available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked, and The Learning Basket.

4. Why the Fish has Scales

Once there was a very beautiful girl who was born to a farmer and his wife. She was
so beautiful that her parents refused to let her do any work. She grew up to be vain
and spoiled. One day, as she was by the river admiring her reflection, the chief of the
crabs was drawn to her beauty and spoke to her. The girl screamed and drove the ugly
crab away. Humiliated, the chief of the crabs scratched the girl’s face with his claws
and cursed her to become a fish covered with scales. This is why it is said that instead
of admiring their reflection, fishes dart around and avoid it.

This cautionary tale about beauty and vanity is something little girls need to know
about.

Find this story in Tahanan Books’ “The Girl Who Turned Into A Fish and Other
Classic Philippine Water Tales”, available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked, and
The Learning Basket.

5. Mother Mountain
In one of the islands in Batanes, a widow lived with her two daughters who only
wanted to play the whole day. The only thing that the mother asked of her daughters
was to have supper ready by the time she got home from working in the fields. One
night, when she got home and her daughters were nowhere to be seen, she made
dinner herself. When the girls returned and saw their mother busy in the kitchen, they
decided to play some more. The mother could not take it anymore and calmly walked
away from their house. Though the girls eventually followed her, it was already too
late. The mother had taken the shape of a mountain, now called Mount Iraya.

“Mother Mountain” resonated with Ong “because it's a story that deals witha basic
childhood fear: if you’re not good, your mother will leave.” It is also a wonderful tale
about how a mountain that looks like a woman was formed.

Find this story in Tahanan Books’ “The Termite Queen and Other Classic Philippine
Earth Tales”, available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked, and The Learning
Basket.

Growing up, every child should have a favorite story heard from family and
community members. Make memories and introduce Philippine life and culture to
your child through our country’s own folk tales.
1. Association Football (Soccer) - 4 Billion Fans
Association football, or soccer, is the most popular sport in the world. It is estimated that
more than half of the world's population consider themselves to be association football
(soccer) fans. The sport enjoys an estimated 4.0 billion person following, and a global
sphere of influence. Ancient soccer has been traced to China, as early as the 2nd
Century. The Romans, Greeks, and Japanese have also been thought as possible first
players of the sport. Contemporary soccer began in England, where it amassed
considerable interest and spread to other parts of the world. The sport is more popular
in Europe and Americas than in any other continent. The sport is characterized by two
teams of eleven player and two goals. The objective of the sport is to drive a ball into
the goal defended by the opponent team.
2. Cricket - 2.5 Billion Fans
Cricket has a 2.5 billion person estimated global following, and its primary sphere of
influence is in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. The cradle of the
sport was the 16th Century England and it was made a national sport in the 18th
Century in the country. The sport is characterized by two teams of eleven players each,
where each team attempts to score the most runs. The sport is overwhelmingly popular
in former British colonies such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Australia.
3. Field Hockey - 2 Billion Fans
Field hockey has an estimated global following of 2 billion fans and sees its primary
sphere of influence in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The contemporary field
hockey sport was first played in England in the 1800s. The game is mostly similar to
soccer except that the players use sticks to drive the ball instead of feet. The sport is
widely played in India, Australia, and Pakistan, whose teams are formidable on the in
the sport.
4. Tennis - 1 Billion Fans
Tennis has an estimated global following of 1 billion fans and a global sphere of
influence. Different versions of the sport are believed to have been played by the
Egyptians, Romans and the Greeks, although the modern sport was first popularized in
France. From France, it spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to the whole
world. The sport is played by two teams of either one or two players each and involves
bouncing a ball over a net by use of tennis rackets. Points are earned when the
opponent does not throw back the ball in the predetermined dimensions of the
rectangular court.
5. Volleyball - 900 Million Fans
The primary influence of volleyball is seen in Western Europe and North America, and
the sport has an estimated global following of 900 million fans. The sport was invented
in the US by William G. Morgan in 1895. He was part of the Young Men’s Christian
Association as an instructor, and he borrowed from basketball, tennis, handball and
baseball’s elements. The sport has evolved over the years to the modern day sport,
characterized by two teams of 6 players each who throw a ball over a net.
6. Table Tennis - 875 Million Fans
Table Tennis enjoys a global sphere of influence and has an estimated 875 million
followers worldwide. The sport began in the 19th Century in England as a miniature
version of the sports lawn tennis. The sport became widely referred to as "Ping Pong".
The modern sport involves two teams of between two to four players, hitting a
lightweight ball over a net on a hard table, by use of rackets. Formidable global
countries in the sport include South Korea, Sweden, and China.
7. Basketball - 825 Million Fans
Basketball boasts of having an estimated 825 million followers worldwide, and a global
sphere of influence. The sport was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in
Massachusetts, United States. He created it as an alternative to football since the sport
could be played indoors and had less potential to cause accidents. The sport is played
by two teams of five players each, where the goal is to successfully shoot the ball
through a hoop elevated 10 feet from the ground.
8. Baseball - 500 Million Fans
Baseball has an estimated 500 million global followers and enjoys its highest levels of
popularity in the United States, the Caribbean, and Japan. The sport is a bat and ball
sport involving two teams of nine players each, who participate in batting and fielding to
earn points. Different versions of the sport were played in the US before it gained
nationwide popularity in the 19th Century. From the US, the sport spread to other parts
of the world and evolved to the modern game as played today.
9. Rugby - 475 Million Fans
Rugby has its primary sphere of influence in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth,
and an estimated global following of 475 Million people. The foundation of the modern
day sport was laid out in medieval England. From the UK, it spread to British colonies
such as Australia and New Zealand. The sport is played by two teams of 15 players
each, who carry, kick or pass a ball across the end line to score points.
10. Golf - 450 Million Fans
Golf has an estimated global following of 450 Million people, and its primary influence is in
Western Europe, East Asia, and North America. Golf is played by use of different clubs to hit a
ball, over a determined course, using the fewest possible amount of strokes. The modern sport
was first played in Scotland from where it spread to the UK and to the rest of the world.