Due to privacy issues, I wasn't able to take pictures today, but I am happy to report that if you ever need care in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila, St. Luke's is the place to go. Their adult ER sees an average of 35 patients per DAY; their pediatric ER is half that. The nurse to patient ratio is 1:4, and they follow all the guidelines, protocols, etc. recommended by the American Emergency Nurses Association, including the 5-level ESI for triage. Much to my amazement, they had the exact same cardiac monitoring equipment and defibrillators that we use at Holy Redeemer Hospital. Big difference: paper charting. Ick. But I had a sense that EMR is not too far off in their future.
St. Luke's just opened this branch 13 months ago, and for many locals, it is considered too expensive. The administration tells me that it's not true, that they are priced competitively and that locals have that perception because they do not utilize the traditional Western healthcare system as we do in the US.
I was also able to tour their Medical, Surgical, Neuro, Pediatric, and Neonatal Intensive Care Units. The Cardiac ICU was closed due to a "special client" occupying space (more on that in a moment). Each unit averaged 11 beds, and again, all were equipped just like HRH. They have a cath lab that does emergent therapeutic caths. I could not nail down a door-to-balloon time, but they do have 24-hour coverage, with on-call during the night required to be on-site in 30 minutes or less. They also do CABG's and equally impressively, they do intra-arterial TPA. St. Luke's is certified by The Joint Commission (the only one in the Philippines), and has over 30 "centers of excellence" focusing on a wide variety of health issues.
As for the "special client," St. Luke's is a destination for medical tourism. Families from all over the Indo-Pac world come here for elective and even emergent (flown in by helicopter) procedures. I was told by a VP today that they did their first liver transplant just last week. Due to the sensitive nature of healthcare and privacy, they accommodate celebrities, heads of state, business, etc. in a discreet manner. Until this trip, I had never even heard of medical tourism before.
Tomorrow: field trip. Stay tuned.
St. Luke's Medical Center is one of the best Medical centers in the Philippines. The facilities are modern, and you will see the difference when you compare it to other local hospitals. It really looks like a typical US hospital.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have been to one public hospital (last week at East Avenue Medical Center) as well as St. Luke's (which, I should clarify, is their new division at Global City). The differences in patient population and available resources is wider than the Pacific Ocean, but the work being done at East Avenue is commendable, especially considering what they are doing with what little resources they have. No doubt about it, though, St. Luke's is impressive.
ReplyDeleteSt. Lukes is not the only JCI accredited hospital in the Philippines. We also have Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu and The Medical City in Metro Manila.
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