PGH celebrates 99th year

For 99 years now, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) has championed excellence in health care and advances in medical research.

Its mission is to provide quality health service for the poor. The PGH has grown to become a premier tertiary hospital despite the complex social and economic problems it has faced over the decades.

Today PGH represents the healing profession’s noblest goals: it is a refuge for sick, indigent Filipinos and a repository of the brightest minds in Philippine medicine.

"We are a community of first-rate, highly energized, socially responsible health care professionals and workers collectively enhancing the national and international image of UP-PGH as the national university hospital showcasing excellence and leadership in client service, training, research and governance," PGH director Dr. Carmelo Alfiler said.

The PGH was founded on Aug. 17, 1907 by virtue of Act 1688 passed by the Philippine Commission. Its doors were opened on Sept. 10, 1907 with about 330 beds.

The hospital expanded steadily until it was attached to the state-run University of the Philippines, which produces many of the country’s finest health professionals.

Today the PGH has about 1,400 beds for charity patients and 200 beds for paying ones. It has 4,000 medical and non-medical employees, who provide a wide array of general and subspecialty services and has a complete menu of support programs.

Dr. Armand Crisostomo, overall chairman of the PGH centennial celebrations committee, said a modernization program is now underway to keep PGH at par with global standards for medicine.

This includes the construction of a multi-story building for out-patients, the renovation of charity wards and murals at the PGH lobby crafted by Filipino painter Botong Francisco and the acquisition of top-of-the-line hospital equipment.

Recently, the PGH opened a new waiting area for visitors with separate bathrooms for men and women.

"We are the biggest public hospital that is well-managed because of its university setup. PGH is the training hospital for the UP College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, College of Pharmacy and other allied medicine courses. We have very good students because UP has a very high standard when it comes to admission," Crisostomo added.

He also said PGH prioritizes the regular training of its medical and administrative staff to hone their skills and keep them updated with global developments in medicine and management.

"We have a very good track record. I don’t think there’s any PGH president who had been accused of irregularity. I can’t think of anyone," Crisostomo said. "Maybe this is the reason why we attract donors - they trust the leadership of this hospital and that their money is well spent."

Annually, PGH receives a budget of only P1 billion from the national government. Around 70 to 80 percent of this budget is earmarked for the salaries of personnel while the rest is spent for maintenance.

While there is no budget for new equipment or the upgrading of existing hospital facilities, Crisostomo said the PGH survives on donations. A resolution was passed recently in the Senate requiring each senator to donate one piece of medical equipment to the PGH.

The PGH has lined up several projects to herald its 100th anniversary next year.

Alfiler said the PGH has been working to share its medical and non-medical expertise with other hospitals owned by 17 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila, through its "Tatak PGH Plus Project."

He said the project was conceptualized after they noted that a majority of PGH’s patients come from the metropolis.

"This will empower them," he said. "Many of the mayors want to upgrade their hospitals but they don’t know what to do. So we go to their hospitals and, depending on what they need, we teach them. This will make them self-reliant."

The program was launched recently in Las Piñas City and PGH is hoping to replicate this program in Caloocan and Valenzuela cities.

Within the next 12 months, the PGH will also conduct medical missions at 100 sites nationwide to reach out to sick but indigent Filipinos.

Alfiler said the next few years will be crucial for the PGH as they strive to "benchmark" the hospital with the best national university hospitals in Asia, like the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

The PGH is also in the process of applying for ISO accreditation to fortify its good reputation in the global medical sector.

"The PGH stands by its noble purpose of providing quality health care to the Filipino people especially to the underserved... We aim to make a bigger differences in 2007 and in the next 100 years," he added.