In September of 2002, a group of Filipino nurses from Providence/St. Vincent, Providence Portland, Southwest Washington Medical Center, and Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, headed by Fred Calixtro, formed this association with the aim to assist nurses with open heart, mind and acceptance of their need to be mentored with respect. It was our desire to support each other with the aim to create a strong and cohesive group fostering continued personal and professional growth of the individual member. We wanted to see good nurses stay in nursing and move up in their chosen specialties.

We have come a long way. We have taken many small steps, and these combined efforts have created impressive results.

With the continued support of our dedicated members, these are PNAOW’s accomplishments over the last nine years: we were able to fund three medical-relief missions in Capiz, Bicol and Nueva Viscaya. Every year since 2006, the association has volunteered in the feeding of the hungry through the Faith Café Program. We join forces with other volunteers to review immunization records and give immunizations on behalf of the Department of Health, Washington County in Oregon. We also partnered with the Colorado Chapter in building a home for our kababayans through the Gawad Kalinga of PNAA. In 2009, PNAOW has granted educational scholarships to two college students. We also hosted PNAA’s Western Regional Conference in 2007. To keep a healthy bank account and to be able to fund all of our community outreach programs, we are active in our yearly fundraisings. These include bowling, garage sales, and dinner dances.  Although PNAOW members are not the best cooks in town, we introduced “Taste of the Philippines” to the community by serving authentic Filipino dishes. Some of our members also provided meals during our scheduled monthly meetings for a fee. Not to forget, the most fun way to fundraise has been to charge penalties to the latecomers during our special events. PNAOW is proud to say that our members do well in supporting our community and providing help to our less fortunate kababayans in the Philippines. We believe in caring and in giving back and we will continue to do so.