The Medical City South Luzon (TMC SL) won two awards at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2024 which was held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center in Singapore on 26th March 2024. For the second time, TMC SL won the Secondary Hospital of the Year but won the Allied Health Initiative of the Year for the first time.
TMC SL as a leading secondary hospital
The Medical City South Luzon’s (TMC SL) major achievements in 2023 in financial performance, service innovations, quality patient care, employee engagement efforts, and community involvement were the keys to winning the Secondary Hospital of the Year Award 2024.
TMC SL recorded its best year in revenues in 2023 with a 14.32% growth from its 2022 gross revenue with new services and service innovations. 2023 was the year TMC SL launched its Wellness and Lifestyle Center. From a venue that focused only on Executive Check-ups, the Wellness and Lifestyle Center now currently houses service units in aesthetics (Bella Aesthetics), weight wellness (The Vivant), and mind wellness and stress management. It also extended its outpatient services through the “Sunset Clinics” to accommodate patients coming to TMC SL after office hours.
TMC SL was the first hospital to be awarded the PhilHealth Z Benefit accreditation for Standard Risk Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) in Laguna. This accreditation is given only to healthcare institutions with a proven record of commitment to safety and excellent patient outcomes for CABG operations. Aside from the P550,000 subsidy coming from PhilHealth, qualified patients under this program who are residents of Santa Rosa, Laguna, may be granted additional subsidy through the partnership secured by TMCSL with the City Government of Santa Rosa under the leadership of Mayor Arlene Arcillas.
Technology and innovation are still at the forefront of TMCSL’s pursuit of growth. In 2023, it opened the very first smart suites in the region with three fully operational inpatient rooms which showcased voice-controlled features and a hotel-like interior.
TMC SL’s Patient Satisfaction rating has been consistent at 4.28/5 in 2023 and a Net Promoter Score of 92%. TMC SL continuously receives commendations from patient partners who were featured in the Social Media accounts as Patient Stories.
As part of its post-pandemic recovery plan for employees, TMC SL was able to again send employees to several trainings and conventions, with 68% of TMC SL workforce attending internal training and 40% going for external training.
Community involvement has been one of TMCSL’s strengths since 2019, under the leadership of our President & CEO, Dr. Cesar Ramon G. Espiritu. Community events were held to raise funds for several foundations such as the 1st Friendship Golf Cup for its beneficiary, the Women and Children’s Crisis Center in Laguna; the Mabuhay Deseret Foundation for cataract surgeries; and the annual Red Mask Gala with its beneficiary Positive Action Foundation Philippines Incorporated (PAFPI), a non-profit organization that provides HIV testing, treatment, care, and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Total cash donations to these foundations amounted to P400,000 as of 2023, on top of the discounts for cataract surgeries which include TMC SL doctors’ fees and cost of hospital services.
All these community efforts were recognized by esteemed award-giving bodies such as the ESG Program of the Year Award from Healthcare Asia, two titles from ESG Business Awards namely, the Health Equity and Inclusion Awards and the Community Health Outreach Program Award. Additionally, one of the TMC SL leaders, the Nursing Director Dr. Arnold Maniebo, was recognized as one of the pioneer Excellence Awardees of Hospital Management Asia (HMA).
Accepting the awards for TMC South Luzon, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Norman D. Manlapaz (Center), (L-R) Ms. Quincee Lorraine Quiboloy TMCSL Head of Department of Laboratories, The Medical City Enterprise President, Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos, TMCSL Ancillary Head Mr. Edwin Dadula, with Healthcare Asia’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Mr. Tim Charlton
(L-R) TMC SL’s delegates at HCA 2024; Quicee Quiboloy, Edwin Dadula, Dr. Norman Manlapaz, and Dr. Maria Luisa Manlapaz
TMC SL Medical Technologists as Frontliners
The term “frontliner,” especially in the field of healthcare, commonly refers to doctors and nurses. However, the tasks of both doctors and nurses are augmented by the indispensable contribution of our allied health professionals, a vital segment composed of medical technologists. TMC SL has been recognizing doctors and nurses through its annual Doctor’s Night and Nurses’ Week Celebration for more than seven years. In 2022, however, TMC SL began putting a strong emphasis on the important role of medical technologists in response to the scarcity of employable registered medical technologists because of the K-to-12 curriculum and the postponement of board examinations for all professions, including medical technologists. Hence, TMC SL began its annual event for medical technologists called the “Med Tech Week.”
In September 2022, “Med Tech Week” kicked off with a mass blood donation drive in partnership with Ayala Malls Solenad. It was then followed by the main event, which was a free webinar series for medical technologists. This event was attended by 335 professionals from eighty-four different institutions in the Philippines which included physicians, medical technology students, registered medical technologists, laboratory technicians, and other allied health professionals. The seminar undertook discussions on different topics from a broad range of specialties across the medical spectrum including the latest clinical pathways and their limitations, and advanced technologies on laboratory tests.
With the overwhelming success of the 2022 celebration, TMC SL organized a grander and more ambitious gathering in 2023 with the theme,” Moving towards Excellence and Quality in Virtual Era through Partnership and Unity.” This one-day convention was graced by distinguished guest speakers, Myla Velgado of the Department of Health, Dr. Imelda Marie Palacol of the University of the Philippines Los Banos’ COVID-19 Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, and Dr. Alejandro Arevalo, a Clinical Pathologist and member of Philippine Society of Medical Oncology. It was attended by one hundred participants from fourteen government and private healthcare institutions and eight partner companies. This was also the first convention for medical technologists in the region.
For future “Med Tech” events, TMCSL plans to organize a two-day convention with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Units awarded to deserving participants. This will also include recognition awards for exemplary medical technologists of TMC South Luzon and awards for appreciation of partners in blood donations.
The Significance of the 2023 HCA Awards
Dr. Norman D. Manlapaz, TMC SL’s Chief Medical Officer, accepted the awards on behalf of TMC South Luzon leadership. Dr. Manlapaz aptly stated that these awards are “dedicated to the patients (of TMC SL) that we attend to every day as they journey from the valley of illness to the plains of recovery, and onwards to heights of wellness, especially in the next several years, which by all indications promises to be the most exciting time in the history of The Medical City South Luzon.”
TMC SL’s two awards from Healthcare Asia Awards 2024 are testaments to TMC SL’s commitment to providing compassionate, ethical, and efficient healthcare through continuous innovations and excellence in medical services. Togetherness and shared values with the communities in the area are
among the cornerstones of TMC South Luzon’s growth and development.
In Dr. Cesar G. Espiritu’s message to TMC South Luzon community on winning the Healthcare Asia Awards, “The whole organization, every staff member, contributed more than what was asked of them in serving their fellowmen. The main driving force really is the important values that we instill in all our employees and in our organization as a whole – that of being engaged, socially responsive, and compassionate. Setting up our facility and adapting technologies, however, are only some of the keys that will allow us to surge into the future. The other is equipping our personnel with the skills, knowledge, and mindset that will make them capable of working as a team to achieve our vision.”
