TMC: Pioneering new standards in health care

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte, Contributor

08/28/2008

The Medical City (TMC), a private, tertiary care hospital, has distilled some 40 years of experience in hospital operation and administration towards the establishment of its new world-class health care complex that serves some 40,000 in-patients and 380,000 out-patients annually.

At the heart of TMC’s service philosophy are new paradigms of hospital care addressing the entire continuum of health needs, and the patient as an equal, informed and empowered partner in the pursuit and preservation of health.

“We are well positioned, experiencing sustained growth and equipped with 40 years of solid history. The thrusts of our four-pronged main program is on the alleviation of cases on the cardiovascular including organ transplant; cancer including Alzheimer’s disease; neuro-science and regenerative medicine; all for the improvement of a patient’s life span,” declared Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos (FPCP, FPCC), a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology and head of the hospital’s Cardiovascular Center.

The spanking new facility, strategically located on a 1.5-hectare property along Ortigas Avenue, has 100,000 square meters of floor space including two Nursing Towers connected by a podium, bridgeways and a Medical Arts Tower. A P700 million budget, from proceeds on the sale of its old building site, is earmarked for further expansion. The figure does not yet include the procurement of additional state-of-the-art equipment.

The first 15-story Nursing Tower, with a heliport and business center, is currently fitted for 500 beds. The second Nursing Tower, on the other hand, provides capacity for an additional 300 beds geared towards cardiovascular and cancer concerns that will ultimately become a very specialized service by 2009.

“Our cancer program looks at the possibilities of using stem cells to counteract the ravages of the disease. Our liver rehabilitation program, for instance, offers a new lease on life for clients whose liver has been damaged. It has been said that once our liver is severely damaged, life ends,” informed Dr. Ramos, who concurrently holds the position as vice president of medical services.

The 18 floors of its Medical Arts Tower house 280 doctors’ clinics, as well as selected commercial spaces like banks, restaurants, a food court, convenience store and gift shop. Located within the six-floor podium are diagnostic and intervention facilities, as well as support and administrative offices. The three-level parking on the basement area can accommodate over a thousand vehicles, for both staff and clients.

Tasteful hotel-like interiors and warm ambiance feature rooms designed with soothing views of either the lush gardens around, the Pasig or Makati skylines, or the outlines of the Antipolo mountains. The hospital complex is equipped with a broad range of state-of-the-art safety and security features including an advanced building management system for the protection of in-house clients and staff.

The world-class facility is the staging area for the delivery of cutting-edge health services with centers of excellence in the areas of cardiovascular, cancer, neuro-science, regenerative medicine, as well as wellness services.

TMC serves as a hub of a network of satellite clinical facilities delivering a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services to ambulatory patients. These satellite networks demonstrate the hospital’s commitment to bring its unique brand of health services right into the communities of its patients.

“We have fostered partnerships with existing players; especially for those areas outside Metro Manila. These are leaders of local centers such as Cebu, Davao, Pangasinan and Ilocos whereby we spread our service philosophies. Our network development program encompasses seven out-patient clinics in Metro Manila and one in Lipa City, Batangas, our first mall-based provincial site. TriNoma, on the other hand, is our first mall-based operations in Manila conducting over 200 procedures daily, including consultations. By year’s end, The Podium mall will house our wellness and weight management center. We’ll soon open more mall-based satellite centers in SM Manila, Robinsons Galleria, Ever Gotesco and the Riverbanks,” revealed Dr. Ramos.

“Health is a global engagement and we’ve proven our legitimacy as a global player, bolstered in part by our JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation in 2006, making us a viable health care destination for foreign markets as well as our Asian neighbors. We’ve served cardio cases from Guam, as well as joint replacement procedures of Canadian patients. We are glad foreigners and Filipinos living abroad now patronize our medical tourism program. About 5 percent of our client roster are foreign patients, but such figure has already doubled that of last year,” enthused Dr. Ramos who, aside from the aforementioned positions, is also the director for the Medical Management and Services Development office.

JCI is widely recognized as the most prestigious accrediting body for international health care organizations. In its evaluation by JCI, TMC received almost perfect scores (9.8/10) in standards related to access to care, continuity of care, quality improvement and patient safety. Truly a gold standard: an exceptional achievement by any measure.

TMC proves that it is the country’s “Capital of Health,” the center of all that is new and true about every person’s total well-being. Owned and operated by Professional Services Inc., a quasi-public corporation from an alliance of 900 shareholders with a singular vision, TMC, as a health institution, effortlessly puts into action its credo “Patient on center stage, service of greater worth.”

For more information, dial their trunkline nos. 635-6789 and 631-8626 or e-mail them at mail@medicalcity.com.ph. Additional information can be browsed in their Web site www.themedicalcity.com.

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