The Community Outreach Department of the Perpetual Help System Laguna began approximately thirty years ago to answer the need for required community exposure of its students. When the College opened in 1976, the surrounding area was rural and underdeveloped. There was an acute need for health services and other community programs particularly in the areas seasonally isolated by the rain swollen Biñan River.
In 1984, the offering of programs was enriched with a community-based curriculum. It adopted the framework of the government program geared towards delivery of basic health services in Primary Health Care. In 1979, the College of Medicine reinforced community consciousness through prescribed activities in Preventive Medicine. The opening of Allied Health Sciences in 1988 extended community services to far-flung areas outside the perimeters of UPHS for their rehabilitation programs.
Early endeavors were confined to the application of community diagnoses and problem-solving techniques. Sporadic attempts to establish joint projects were difficult to sustain, particularly when the students involved in the initial effort moved on to the higher years. However, as more health-related courses were added, the programs gradually broadened which enabled the University to answer the needs of the wider community. The evolution of community programs gave more lasting educational benefits to those who were exposed early on a long-term basis from different perspectives.
Primary Health Care aimed to attain an acceptable level of health for all by the year 2000. This global goal was addressed by all professional disciplines. Dr. Jose G. Tamayo, the founder of the UPHS launched ROPES (Rainbow Outreach Project and Extension Services) in September 1986.
The project was geared to provide health and related services to the marginal communities of Biñan and surrounding towns of San Pedro, Calamba, Sta. Rosa, Cabuyao and Carmona and Gen. Mariano Alvarez in Cavite. Initially, the program had twin approaches – as a curriculum requirement for social awareness; and a vehicle for community involvement of the institution through its faculty.
Gradually, the program became more comprehensive with the participation of other departments offering varied courses, the faculty and the non-teaching staff. This multidisciplinary approach embraced the theories of holism and humanism, views the community through the eyes of the individual and his family with the involvement of agencies from the private sectors as well as from the local or even, the national government.