Metro Davao Medical and Research Center holds soft opening

EXECTIVES of the Metro Davao Medical and Research Center (MDMRC) staged Sunday the soft opening of the medical facility's Health and Wellness Center and Ancillary Department composed of pharmacy and laboratory and imaging center along J.P Laurel Avenue.

Dr. Yvette Yenco-Tan, the tertiary hospital's medical director, in her keynote speech during the inauguration of the MDMRC, said the idea of putting up a hospital came after the dengue outbreak in 2010 with the aim to help Dabawenyos with the best medical assistance.

The opening of the MDMRC will provide an additional choice for prospect clients, as well as to attend to the needs of the growing population of the city in terms of medical health care, according to her.

"We hope to live up to the expectation of the people by putting up a hospital that gives 'Healthcare with a Heart,'" Yenco-Tan said, highlighting the services the hospital offers to its clients.

With the new hospital comes new jobs as well. Tan said almost 2,000 job applications were now on the table for review with a good number of vacant positions awaiting to be filled up.

Architect Daniel Briones said the MDRMC is lucky to have situated in a very strategic location that is very accessible to nearby malls and other areas.

"Medical health care has always been a concern not only in Davao but also the rest of the country," Briones said, adding that engineering works were introduced to retrofit and give the old building a new look.

He said there's no way for a noise created by the diesel plant of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) can intrude the facility, since they used a "double glazing" on its wall that can repel the noise.

He said each floor of the building employs different bright color scheme.

"It will be easy for visitors where they are," he said.

The MDRMC is resting in a 13,000 square meters lot, with a total groundfloor area of 4,000 sqms, leaving at least 8,000 sqms open space for better airflow.

It can be recalled the facility has a total of 152 bedrooms and a multi-level parking space that can accommodate around 180 cars.

Briones said MDMRC is the only hospital in Davao City that has a ramp extending from the ground floor all the way up to the 8th floor for the comfort of the differently-abled patients.He said two comfort rooms are put in place for the persons with disabilities (PWDs) each floor.

He added that all the rooms, including emergency rooms, have high-end built-in oxygen, but added there are also oxygen tanks to back up every hospital operation.