There’ll be no argument when I say that 2020 was a very extraordinary year. Extraordinary for the wrong reasons; but insofar as it’s being unusual, I’m certain most will agree with me. For hospitals, medical centers, and the health care professionals and workers; they were the battlefront, the trenches, the front-liners of our war against the COVID pandemic that gripped almost all corners of the world.
At the center of our COVID response, avoiding nosocomial infections, while still attending to cases of a non-COVID nature; The Medical City was often stretched to breaking point. But thanks to a dynamic and unique service philosophy, and the responsive leadership of its current President and CEO, Dr. Eugenio F. Ramos, The Medical City more than lived up to its slogan and value proposition of ‘Where Patients Are Partners’.
The Medical City (TMC) Network is composed of one flagship healthcare complex, the familiar one located along Ortigas Avenue in the business district of Pasig, Metro Manila. And what many may not be aware of, there are four TMC provincial hospitals- in Clark, Iloilo, Laguna, and Pangasinan. The TMC Network has also taken its brand onto the global stage, through the ownership and operation of the Guam Regional Medical City (GRMC), the first and only private hospital in Guam.
Even before the pandemic struck, TMC had begun the process of reaching out to its patients, aware of what was then the traffic congestion and geographical spread of our National Capitol Region (NCR), and nearby major cities. As of January 2021, already established are 50 Medical City Clinic sites. Generally, these clinics are strategically and conveniently located in Malls - over 20 are in SM Malls, peppered within Metro Manila, as far north as Dagupan and Cabanatuan, and spreading south as far as Lipa, and San Mateo and Taytay to the east. In specific Ayala Malls, Robinson Malls, Waltermart, Megaworld, Rockwell, and Araneta properties, one will also find these Medical City clinics.
As a result of this aggressive expansion program, when the COVID-pandemic did strike and movement was curtailed, these clinics were havens of medical attention for non-COVID issues. And this was happening while the main hospital acted at pace to build a two-hospitals-in-one system, reorganizing patient flows to provide service for all patients, the COVID & the non-COVID.
TMC can stand proud of its distinguished medical staff of some 1,500 physicians, all experienced and recognized experts in their respective medical fields. This Medical staff is supported by a 4,000 member organization composed of allied medical and administrative staff, many of whom have chalked up extensive years of service to the institution.
I made mention above of their ‘Where Patients Are Partners’, and this service philosophy holds that the patient is viewed not as a problem to be cured and/or solved, or just seen as a charge to be cared for. Rather, this TMC vision sees the patient as an active partner, equal and empowered, co-responsible for the attainment of his health goals. The patient is no longer just a passive recipient of the hospital’s medical services.
It’s a unique perspective that in 2018, led TMC Main to receive its fifth Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission International (JCI), the world’s premier health care quality improvement and accreditation body. First accredited by JCI in 2006, this happened again in 2009, 2012, and 2015. In 2018, TMC received perfect scores in the critical standards of Patient and Family Rights (PFR), Patient and Family Education (PFE), Access to Care & Continuity of Care (ACC), and Assessment of Patients (AOP). With the JCI’s Gold Seal, this means that each person crossing the doors of the institution is assured of receiving health care services that are at par with the best hospitals in the world.
For example, TMC’s Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Program retained its status as the only program of its kind with a Gold Seal rating in the Philippines - and one of only 16 in the world. AMI is the medical term for a heart attack; and TMC’s program targets a 60-minute Door to Balloon-time. This means that a heart attack patient entering the hospital’s Emergency Department doors should have the blocked artery opened in the Catheterization Laboratory within 90 minutes.
TMC is the staging area for the delivery of cutting-edge health care services, with 10 Institutes leading the way. Namely, these are the Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine (IPMM), the Wellness and Aesthetics Institute, Cardiovascular, Cancer, Neurological Sciences, Eye & Vision, ENT-Head & Neck, Acute & Critical Care, Pediatrics, and Women’s Health.
In December of 2020, TMC was in the news as the medical center where a successful Pediatric Liver Transplant was performed. This despite the pandemic conditions that were still raging in our country. This was baby Sophie Aguilo, a biliary atresia patient, whose parents met with President Duterte and Senator Go to ask assistance for their child’s medical operation.
Originally scheduled to undergo the delicate procedure in India, President Duterte urged that the transplant be done here, citing the expertise of Filipino doctors. The Office of the President, the Department of Health, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and TMC all aligned; and under the DoH’s Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients Program, baby Sophie’s diseased liver was removed, and she received a graft taken from her mother’s liver. TMC provided the surgeons, anesthesiologists, medical specialists and staff, and the facilities.
TMC aren’t just resting on their laurels, on their stellar track record of recent years. The synergy and shared vision held between the TMC Board of Directors led by Chairman Jose Xavier Gonzales on one hand, and the Management led by President & CEO Eugenio F. Ramos on the other, are looking towards the future of the institution. The diversification and upgrading of their digital & online capabilities is just one of the 2021 programs being prioritized.
Virtual Care, which translates to consulting and prescribing online is one aspect of this diversification. As is going online on platforms such as Lazada to access and avail of treatments that one can make appointments for. This is to address the reality that while COVID is still present, there are many reluctant to leave the safety of their homes. Just another example of how treating your patients as partners can come in many forms and measures. It is TMC responding to the times, something we all can be thankful for, and look forward to.