The groundbreaking of the Dr. Olivia V. Yanson Allied Medical Health Sciences Building at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos campus in Bacolod City was held Wednesday, January 17.
Dr. Olivia V. Yanson (OVY), matriarch of the Yanson group of bus companies, donated the building to UNO-R as “a testament of her commitment and dedication to advance the future of healthcare education and practice in Negros”.
It will be where future nurses, medical technologists, doctors and other healthcare professionals will be educated.
Joining OVY at the groundbreaking were her son Leo Rey Yanson, Vallacar Transit Inc. president and CEO, her daughter Ginnette Dumancas and husband, Charles, and Dr. Carissa Dumancas-Alvarez and Daniel Alvarez.
Dr. Alvarez, in her speech on behalf of her grandmother, said “Her legacy inspires us to build not just structures but lasting bonds within our community. Let this groundbreaking symbolize the growth she envisioned, and may this endeavor be a testament to her enduring influence”.
Leo Rey Yanson, UNO-R President Rev. Fr. Joel Alve and Rev. Fr. Bernard Amparado – chairman of the UNO-R Inc. Board of Trustees, laid the time capsule at the groundbreaking rites.
Alve thanked OVY and the Yanson family for donating the building.
“Your support is not just a financial investment but a commitment to shaping the future by molding the hearts and minds of the next generation,” he said.
“Your generosity enables us to dream bigger, reaching heights we could not have imagined on our own,” he also said.
Amparado said the building donated by OVY will be home to students aspiring to be nurses, medical technologists, pharmacists and doctors in the future.
“This edifice once done will become a testament of Dr. Yanson’s care and concern for the people’s health and wellbeing, especially those of Negros,” he said, noting that OVY is also a nurse by profession.
The Dr. Olivia V. Yanson Allied Medical Health Sciences Building will be her legacy no one can ever cancel, it will be a memorial to her generosity and kindness, he said, as he thanked OVY and the Yanson family for their donation.*