New personnel of AIM Manila

New personnel of AIM Manila

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Since AIM’s start, the number of seafarers that AIM has guided increased tremendously. More and more clients are aware of AIM’s benefits and are using the services AIM offers more often. While our current staff is working hard to provide the best service, some additional help was more than welcome.

Therefore, AIM Manila hired three new personnel! She welcomes Ms. Kamie De Leon, Ms. Leslie Miranda, and Ms. Jaime Michelle Icaranom to the team.

Ms. Kamie joined AIM Manila as Operations Assistant. With her nursing background, she is responsible for the airport and hospital assistance of the seafarers. Ms. Kamie has previous experience working for a manning agency, supplying crew members to several cruise lines. She knows how to talk to crew members and knows how to help them recover from their illness.

In the new set up of AIM Manila, our current senior Operations Assistant, Mr. Paulo Luna, who is also a registered nurse, will focus on the crew with more complex illnesses, endeavoring to bring more personalised and closer attendance to them. He will also check up on seafarers while they are at the hospital or in a clinic.

Ms. Leslie and Ms. Jaime Michelle are both Accounting staff. They brought with them their previous experiences in handling accounting matters and administrative work. They are at our team to provide fast logistical support to the operations so that whatever the crew needs during their treatment it can be provided quickly.

With the new personnel and operational set-up, AIM Manila expects to further improve her services to her clients.

News AIM

Seafarers’ recovery above all!

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In the many medical repatriation and recovery cases it has handled so far, AIM experienced cases where seafarers are utterly helpless in their recovery effort without outside help. This help ought to be provided by close family members but due to the circumstances of seafarers, most of the time they are alone in seeking medical treatment or rehabilitation. AIM has been tested in many ways and countless times provided extra service and effort to the crew resulting in their recovery or acceptance of condition. While it may be said that such extra service or effort comes with the job, for AIM, the motivation that seafarers handled by it must achieve recovery if not case-free, drives it to walk an extra-mile.

In one case for example, the seafarer received instructions from a doctor that his wound in the back must be constantly cleaned and changed dressing while at home. Since the seafarer was transiently boarding in AIM’s Guest House in between his medical check-up schedule, AIM had to assists him because the location of the wound made it unreachable for the seafarer to do it by himself.

A similar case is in which AIM helped a nervous crew who underwent pterygium excision to put eyedrops in his eyes while waiting for his flight home the next day.  Or assisting a seafarer who suffered from fracture of both feet, to get up  to go to the toilet or somewhere and to go back to his bed. In going to the hospital for his regular check-up, AIM staff had to carry him from his wheelchair to the service van and to the doctor’s clinic throughout his entire rehabilitation treatment in the hospital.

Other cases include aiding a crew member to obtain medical treatment for a non work-related illness, which he was objecting to, in a modest hospital whose billings were cared of under AIM. This had to be done by AIM because aside from being skeptical about the findings of the doctors, the seafarer was harboring ill-feeling against his employers for having felt neglected and abandoned by them. This considerably calmed the crew in such a manner that after the operation, he went straight home to his family in the province.

In the many ways that AIM extended help, though trivial, petty, which comes with the job, and maybe unnecessary, AIM believes that it resulted in the recovery of the majority of its repatriated seafarers or in helping them to accept the outcome of the treatment. For AIM, this is its best accomplishment.

Consult AIM

Whom to consult?

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AIM bears witness to a case where a seafarer, who lost all hope of recovering from his badly broken feet, was confronted with medical findings that were not acceptable to him. He went to a priest instead of a lawyer for advice which led to a fast and favorable result for the seafarer.

The case is about a seafarer who fell from a height of 6 meters while working on a vessel. Landing on both his feet thesey were severely fractured and broken. Initially the doctors concluded that the fractures were so severe that there was no assurance that the feet would heal or that the seafarer could ever walk again. To keep the pain away, the seafarer’s condition was given the option of amputating both of his feet. The seafarer refused amputation.

The operation

In an attempt to remedy the condition of the seafarer, the doctors operated on his feet placing a titanium plate on the side of the fractured bones. Several agonizing months later and with a very strong will to be able to walk again the seafarer’s condition improved slowly. The attending doctors also saw improvement of the seafarer each time he visited the hospital, until the maximum treatment period had been reached and final medical assessment was necessary.

After the operation

As the seafarer remained in pain, realizing that there is a maximum period for treatment and the unacceptable medical findings, he fell into a depression. While words around the seafarer were urging to file a legal suit, the seafarer and his wife went to seek advice and spiritual guidance from a priest. The priest advised the couple to continue to focus on rehabilitation together with the close guidance of AIM.

The guidance of AIM Manila

AIM explained to the P&I Club again the current condition of the seafarer as the status was not reflected properly in the medical reports. Though AIM recognizes that her services are primarily meant for her clients, in this particular case guiding the P&I Club on how best to arrive to the resolution of this case would, in the end serve everyone’s best interest. Savings on unnecessary legal costs and achieving a correct decisions was achieved. Hence, AIM decided to report on the current condition of the seafarer and provided the most appropriate substantiation of the injury.

During his rehabilitation, the seafarer and his wife stayed as guests in AIM’s guest house, as the extra care and accommodation created an ambience for the couple to surpass the ordeal and focus entirely on the rehabilitation.  Each time the seafarer had his check-up or a therapy session, he was taken by AIM’s transport service. In times of deep despair, AIM staff was there to talk to him. It is believed that was it not for the extra care and understanding of AIM and the advice of the priest, the seafarer could have filed a case.

Following the advice of the priest and with AIM’s guidance, the seafarer received his entitlement. This allows him and his wife to continue to focus on his rehabilitation.