AC Health doubles COVID capacity at QualiMed hospitals
Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), in partnership with the QualiMed Health Network, has doubled the COVID-dedicated bed capacity of two of its hospitals.
In a statement, the group said QualiMed Hospital – Sta. Rosa’s COVID-dedicated bed capacity has been increased to 75 beds while QualiMed Hospital – San Jose Del Monte’s capacity has been raised to 30 beds.
AC Health said this effectively doubled the total bed capacity for COVID patients since the facilities were upgraded in March. This is in line with efforts to ramp up COVID-19 treatment capacity in the country.
“We are proud to expand our initiatives to improve access for quality COVID treatment facilities in the country,” AC Health CEO and President Paolo Borromeo said.
He noted that, “It has been encouraging to see national and local numbers improving, but our experience has taught us that managing this pandemic requires continuous vigilance.”
Borromeo added that, “We used this time to increase our capacity even further at QualiMed, and we also expanded our services across AC Health to include telehealth and home services, with the goal of ensuring we are ready to deal with this virus for the long haul.”
With the expansion project, a portable dialysis unit will be established. Likewise, more equipment such as high flow nasal cannula machines, closed circuit ventilators, and suction pumps will be made available.
To date, the two hospitals have admitted over 400 confirmed cases, triaged more than 21,000 suspect cases, and conducted nearly 41,000 COVID-19 RT-PCR tests.
“This expansion project signifies another milestone in our partnership with AC Health. With increased COVID-dedicated capacities for both our hospitals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, our network will become more equipped to accommodate COVID-19 patients in need,” QualiMed Health Network CEO and President Dr. Edwin Mercado said.
He added that, “This is a necessary addition to our existing initiatives, such as ramping up safety protocols and improving testing capacities, as we support our country’s fight against the health crisis.”
In April, AC Health and QualiMed formalized their agreement to convert QualiMed Sta. Rosa into a COVID- 19 referral hospital.
Through this partnership, the hospital expanded its capabilities by creating a triage holding area, operating a Biosafety Level 2 Laboratory capable of COVID-19 testing, and converting a number of inpatient beds for exclusive use of COVID-19 patients.
A dedicated team of medical professionals, including staff from the broader QualiMed and Healthway network, was also formed to ensure demand for increasing number of healthcare professionals are met and quality standards of care are implemented.
The QualiMed hospitals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan have implemented efforts to respond to the pandemic by continuously improving and updating treatment protocols, implementing comprehensive triaging processes, and conducting risk-based RT-PCR testing to frontliners and doctors.