UNFAZED by the ensuing Covid-19 crisis, Guagua, Pampanga-based Rosario Memorial Hospital (RMH) has managed to move forward with its expansion program that involves a sizeable amount of investment to upgrade its facilities and modernize its equipment beyond the expectations of a Level 2 health-care institution.
In an e-mail interview, RMH Medical Director Dr. Lourdes Garcia Cordova bared that such an initiative, as approved by their management, is progressing as scheduled. There are some components of the program that cannot be accomplished due to the strict implementation of the lockdowns due to the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila and in other areas nationwide.
“The expansion, structurally speaking, has not been seriously affected by the present pandemic, but it somehow caused some delays because of the government restrictions imposed by the IATF[-EID or the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases],” she said.
Stalled inauguration
The executive was referring to the stalled inauguration last month of the newly-built Medical Arts Building and Dialysis Center.
“It has been the intention of management to make the new facilities and services available to its prospective patients but, unfortunately, because of the present pandemic, the plan will have to be put on hold, as patients are now unwilling to be confined in the hospital or even have a person-to-person consultation with the attending physician,” Dr. Cordova explained.
While they are waiting for the right time and opportunity to formally introduce them to prospective patients, she noted that RMH can already utilize the new facilities and equipment if needed since their licenses and permits have already been secured.
Strategic location
Strategically located within the more than 2-hectare lot of the hospital, the Medical Arts Building is where the doctors’ out-patient clinics are located, while the Dialysis Center is well-equipped with top-notch medical equipment, including an osmosis machine that cannot be found elsewhere in the province.
“We can humbly say that our dialysis center is comparable and even better than those being managed by known hospitals and dialysis centers. Our newly built facilities and state-of-the-art HD [hemodialysis] equipment address not only the quality of treatment that the patients must receive but also their comfort and convenience,” she said.
The family-owned company looks forward to rescheduling the launch of these new facilities as soon as the lockdown restrictions will be relaxed and the Covid-19 situation in the town of Guagua and other parts of Pampanga will improve.
Going green
WHILE RMH has been at the forefront of providing affordable and quality healthcare service within and outside of its home province since its inception in 1994, it has also transformed into a “green” hospital.
As part of its long-term plan to become a leading provider of medical and health services and reinforce its credibility as such, the management believes that it must also be an advocate of environmental protection, which can be demonstrated through its eco-friendly facilities and equipment, according to her.
“We have installed solar panels in order to decrease our electric consumption. We have installed a sewage treatment plant so that we can reuse our wastewater for toilet use and to water our plants,” cited the medical director.
Old building
Replacing the old 34-bed RMH building, the newly-constructed green hospital is now located in an adjacent property that was acquired by its owner, Engr. Eulogio del Carmen. Currently, its 98 beds separately serve patients with or without Covid-19.
The hospital boasts of in-patient specialties and subspecialties, tertiary diagnostics and laboratory services. Soon to open are the six-theater ambulatory/day surgery center, eye center, ENT, dental, endoscopy, burn and wound center, chronic and assistive living facility, wellness center and stem cell therapy center, and hostel for medical tourism.
“Given the additional and improved facilities the RMH now has, we can humbly say that its capability to serve the community could be considered a lot better than before, in terms of medical and health services that RMH can offer and the quality of medical and health services that its patients will receive,” Dr. Cordova stressed.