New ward for indigent patients opened at St. Luke’s
St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City opened a new 40-bed ward for indigent patients on Monday. Dr. Dennis Serrano, President and CEO of SLMC, told The Manila Times that the Evelyn D. Ang/Dana Charity Ward caters to the poorest of the poor.
“Any patient admitted at the Dana Charity will have all expenses paid, no matter how big the health cost is,” Serrano said.
Serrano emphasized that the charity wing will not discriminate based on the type of illness.
“Whatever your condition is—cancer, kidney failure, anything—you will be treated. We will not turn patients away because of their diagnosis,” he said.
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00:00...with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Evelyn D. Ang Dana Charity Award of St. Luke's Medical Center, Quezon City.
00:09Three, two, one.
00:30Let this Dana Charity Wing be hallowed.
00:42So this is the Dana Charity Wing, the Evelyn D. Ang Dana Charity Wing is dedicated to the poorest of the poor patients in the country.
00:51Coming from anywhere in the country, we have pledged that any patient who gets admitted as our Dana Charity patient, all expenses will be paid, no matter how big the cost of that health expense is.
01:10Some patients have catastrophic illnesses, and when you say catastrophic, if you don't get treated immediately, you lose your life.
01:18What are these? Sometimes cardiac patients, kidney failure patients who need kidney transplants.
01:25So all comers are welcome.
01:29And we've even tied up with LGUs from the provinces so that they can send their patients there.
01:37You know, one of the really poorly served areas medically in our country are the Far Plung provinces.
01:43So we've provided also for arrangements so that these patients can be served here.
01:51Of course, there's an evaluation that our social service arm does for all of these patients.
01:59Because we really want to, while we want to serve everyone, we really cannot.
02:04But our donors for this wing are very generous, and it's a continuing donation over years, hopefully decades.
02:17And at the same time, we're also soliciting donations from other donors to help sustain the Dana, Evelyn D. Alde in a charity way.
02:25So, how significant is it? If you are ill, and you cannot afford healthcare, this is the place for you.
02:34And we've reserved. This is currently a 36-bed facility.
02:40And in a few days, it'll be converted to 40 beds. We're just finishing the last few beds.
02:46But it'll be a 40-bed facility. And hopefully, we'll be able to serve hundreds of patients every year.
02:54Well, under the St. Luke's Medical Foundation, which is headed by Dr. Benjo Capumanes,
03:00St. Luke's continuously searches for donors.
03:03So that foundation is dedicated towards that purpose.
03:10So hopefully, it is something that we can sustain.
03:13Like I said, it is not just the seed money that is provided by the Ang family and our other donors.
03:21It is a continuing commitment.
03:23And hopefully, we will also have to practice very good fiscal practices so that we can serve many more patients,
03:33given the limited resources and funds.
03:35But this is a very big start for us.
03:37It's a start that essentially allows us, while we're already doing charity work for many of our social service patients,
03:46it expands our capability to give more care to a greater number of people.
03:54Is this open also to your existing social services?
03:59It's open also to the existing social services.
04:01But our existing social services patients are already being admitted in the other areas of the hospital.
04:10So this is an additional 40 beds at any one time to what our existing social services capabilities are.
04:19Another question.
04:20So how will this new ward improve patient care and access to surgery?
04:24So number one, like I said, once you are admitted in this ward, everything will be paid for.
04:31It is not just the generosity of our donors, we also have to take care of the generosity of our doctors who take care of these patients for free.
04:42The nurses, you know, who will take care of these patients.
04:45But like I said, everyone pitches in small, small, it may not even be monetary, it's in terms of service, in terms of, and again, for the doctors, the residents, the fellows, additional work for them.
05:02But, you know, it's service for our countrymen.
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