Tue | Mar. 13, 2018 | 8:00 AM

DAVAO City – As the country joins the whole world in recognizing the important role of women in society this Women’s Month, the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) unveiled one of its best gifts for its female patients: a five-storey 200-bed hospital which will cater to women and newborns’ sensitive health conditions.

Sharing hospital beds at the maternity ward of Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao may soon be a thing of the past. After SPMC completed the construction of the five-storey building for the Institute of Women and Newborn Health, the hospital can now respond better to the needs of its patients. Likewise, to further improve the delivery of medical care, PAGCOR donated P184 million worth of medical equipment to the health institution.

Even pre-term newborn babies at SPMC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit share neonatal bassinets due to congestion problems. To address this need, part of PAGCOR’s donation to SPMC was used to purchase 40 neonatal bassinets.

Through the Presidential Social Fund, PAGCOR donated P184 million worth of medical equipment to SPMC’s Institute for Women and Newborn Health. Included in the equipment purchased were manual hospital beds, birthing beds, neonatal bassinets, ultrasound packages, pediatric beds, among others.

The new building, which started construction in January 2017 and completed in February 2018, will house the hospital’s Institute for Women and Newborn Health (IWNH). With the new medical facility, women and children patients from Davao Region and other neighbouring areas can now enjoy quality healthcare with modern treatment facilities that are comparable to private hospitals.

While the construction of the new hospital building was funded by the government and by SPMC’s revenues, majority of IWNH’s medical equipment were purchased using the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR’s) P184 million contributions to the President’s Social Fund (PSF).

Among the medical equipment purchased through PAGCOR’s PSF contributions were 92 pediatric beds and 40 neonatal bassinets (P28.68 million); 234 manual hospital beds and three birthing beds (P38.17 million); 12 delivery room tables with crib (P7.98 million); ten incubators for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, ten infant resuscitators with suction and bag mask, and 25 phototherapy (P24.50 million); one diagnostic set (P4.90 million); ultrasound package with and without 4D (P17.90 million); six defibrillators (P5.68 million); infusion therapy equipment (P23.28 million) and a centralized generator set (P35 million).

According to SPMC’s Medical Center Chief Leopoldo J. Vega, the IWCH which is housed at SPMC’s 1960’s building, is heavily congested.

“IWNH alone has an average of 55 to 60 deliveries a day and more than 300 outpatients daily. As for our admitted patients, majority share beds. It is not only very unsightly but also very uncomfortable. If you have a gynaecological problem and you share a bed with another patient who is not your husband, it is very unfortunate,” he explained.

Vega shared that with PAGCOR’s funding through the PSF, they can be able to provide better services to their patients. “Mindanao has a huge gap in terms of healthcare. The demand is great but the response is very limited. Because of this, we have to come up with very good specialty centers like the IWNH because this is the only way we can give a fair share to the poor in Southern Mindanao. So even if you are an indigent, you can avail of the best health services,” he said.

PAGCOR’s Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility Group James Patrick Bondoc graced the inauguration of SPMC’s new IWNH building.  Impressed by the new medical facility’s equipment, he is confident that the hospital will be able to deliver quality healthcare even to underprivileged women and children in Mindanao.  “Developments such as these remind us that we can achieve great things if we work together. Our concerted efforts as government agencies can help save or change lives. Also, with the proper use of government funds, we can bring much needed government services closer to the public whom we are called to serve,” he said.

SPMC is now one of the biggest hospitals in the Philippines with bed capacity of 1,200 and will soon be increasing to 1,500 beds. It caters to an average of 2,000 outpatients, 450 trauma cases and around 1,500 admissions per day.  Now celebrating its centennial year, the hospital has a long history in providing quality healthcare to the patients in Southern Mindanao and other neighbouring areas. From a general hospital, it now has various specialty centers including the Heart Institute, the Institute for Women and Newborn Health and soon, the Kidney and Orthopaedic Institutes.

Go back