THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) renewed its commitment to continue providing quality medical service to all, regardless of the patients' socio-economic background, as it marks its 100th year today.
SPMC Medical Center Chief Leopoldo Vega said the transformation from what was then Davao Hospital in 1917 to Davao Medical Center (DMC) and now the SPMC as what it is today is a joint effort of all stakeholders in the medical field.
SPMC, in fact, has been transformed into the most modern hospital in this part of the country, but remains to be a hospital for the poor because of its affordable medical service.
In order to work towards this vision, Vega told SunStar Davao they are focusing on four pillars of transformation -- health care facility improvement, adequate and competent human resources, sound information technology and sustainable finance mechanisms.
"Given that SPMC is a government hospital, the crucial challenge has been to ensure that our services are equitable and accessible to all. We should be able to provide quality services to all who need them, whatever their socioeconomic backgrounds. This was where the passion to transform was coming from," Vega said in an interview.
He emphasized that they envision the state-run hospital to be a "world-class, service-oriented medical Center," which is now slowly being achieved.
Health care facility improvement
The hospital started with the improvement of existing specialty services, including provision of modern equipment at SPMC Heart Institute with a 128-slice CT scan, an advanced cardiac catheterization laboratory, and a fully equipped operating room to help our surgeons perform specialized surgeries like valve replacements, angioplasties, stenting, bypass, and repairs of congenital heart deformities.
The dialysis facilities were also improved to accommodate increasing number of patients in the Renal Dialysis Unit. From 35 dialysis machines in 2008, SPMC now has 60. To provide better inpatient facilities, the hospital have expanded wards by adding the PHIC Annex, which accommodates patients from the ENT, Obstetrics, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics departments. Also improved is the Pay Ward to cater to the growing demands of paying patients who entrust their health care to a government facility.
Its Emergency Room underwent major remodeling. It is now named the Emergency Room and Trauma Complex and boasts of a well-appointed minor operating room, its own emergency laboratory and radiology facility, and a pediatric and adult intensive care unit for patients waiting for intensive care unit admissions in the main department complexes.
Operating room complex was also enhanced with the introduction of the minimally invasive surgery unit, which is at par with national standards. The hospital is now able to do extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy after it received a lithotripsy machine from the Department of Health.
Before the centennial in 2017, the completion of the centralized intensive care unit building, maternal and child health building, isolation ward for emerging infectious diseases and oncology center are eyed.
Adequate and competent human resources
The lack of personnel was SPMC’s critical weak spot.
A breakthrough in 2014 happened when the government, through Department Of Health and the Department of Budget and Management, increased regular position items from 702 to 959. Although, this is still half of what is needed for a 1,200-bed facility.
"Beyond this, we continue to maintain, improve, and add on to our existing health care facilities to address the changing health care needs of those who come to us. Adequate and competent human resources since healthcare is primarily anchored on human-to-human interaction," he said.
Sound information technology
Presently, SPMC has a working medical records system, a laboratory information system and a digital imaging system. The current information technology has also greatly improved the hospital’s internal security. It now has an efficient CCTV system, and its surveillance capability can be used as a benchmark for other similar facilities.
Looking ahead, SPMC is now working on implementing Android-based applications for more mobile diagnostics.
Sustainable finance mechanisms
Though the hospital is greatly supported by the government budget, this is not enough to sustain the hospital's growing financial needs, thus thinking other ways to generate income.
A considerable portion of SPMC’s income comes from Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (PhilHealth) reimbursements.
"From year 2010 to 2014, our gross income has swelled from P626 million to P1.39 billion. In the same four-year bracket, the PhilHealth revenue soared from P278 million to P714 million," Dr. Vega said.
Continuing transformation
Vega underscored that despite the gains and developments achieved, still SPMC will continue to evolve and transform to become even better.
"Because of our shared vision, we managed to pull off great improvements in the health care services that we deliver. Despite how far we have come, we have only just begun. Change is one thing that is constant, and we at SPMC will continue to transform in ways that will benefit the people we serve," he said.