AC Health intensifies COVID-19 response initiatives
Employee testing program at Manila Water Logistics Hub
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) has leveraged its integrated healthcare ecosystem to provide quality, affordable, and accessible health care for Filipinos amidst the crisis.
AC Health President and CEO, Paolo Borromeo, ensured that the group will prioritize COVID-19 response initiatives by extending frontline care, expanding testing efforts, and providing accessible treatment.
“Our priority is to remain responsive to local health care needs in light of COVID-19. From our drugstore and clinic networks to telemedicine platforms, testing facilities to full-service hospital operations, AC Health promotes a holistic approach in fighting COVID-19 and commits to our vision to improve healthcare for more Filipinos,” Borromeo said.
AC Health has kept 62 FamilyDOC primary care and 7 Healthway multi-specialty clinics open to serve as triage points for suspected COVID-19 cases and to cater to the vast majority of non-COVID-19 patients in need. To date, the clinic network has triaged around 9,700 probable and 8,900 suspect cases.
FamilyDOC and Healthway clinics will also offer Corporate Testing Program Services by June 1.
To address the difficulty that both cancer patients and oncologists face as they seek treatment amidst the crisis, Tu Health has repurposed Healthway Greenbelt 5 into a chemotherapy infusion unit that will serve the needs of these patients in a safe environment.
Over 750 Generika drugstores remain open nationwide and will soon implement delivery services in key areas, while IE Medica and MedEthix, AC Health’s pharma distribution arms, continue to procure PPEs and necessary COVID-19 medications.
Online platforms, such as AIDE (home healthcare services) and MedGrocer (medicine delivery), continue to serve patients who need digital and remote access to care. Vigos, AC Health’s technology arm, has also partnered with Globe’s 917 Ventures to create HealthNow, a free web-based teleconsultation platform that connects patients to doctors in their time of need.
In the hospital space, AC Health partnered with Qualimed to convert Qualimed Sta. Rosa into a COVID-19 referral hospital. The Triage Holding Area was officially launched on May 18 and as of today, it can accommodate up to 12 mild cases of COVID-19. The hospital has also created an additional 31 inpatient and 8 ICU beds exclusive for COVID-19.
Qualimed with Triage Holding Area on the left
Healthcare professionals from the rest of the Qualimed Health Network, FamilyDOC and Healthway clinics, and other affiliate hospitals have volunteered to be part of this initiative. AC Health also extends this invitation to the rest of the medical community.
To strengthen testing efforts, AC Health implemented an employee testing program, utilizing both antibody rapid testing and confirmatory RT-PCR testing, across the Ayala Group. Around 54,000 employees will be tested for the program, among which 9,000 will be tested this week.
AC Health and Qualimed also joined other private sector groups in the Department of Health’s Task Force T3 to ramp up confirmatory RT-PCR testing for COVID-19 in the country.
AC Health, together with other partners, will build 5 BSL-2 Labs for confirmatory RT-PCR testing for an additional 3,000 tests/day capacity. These laboratories will be situated in the Tropical Disease Foundation in Makati and Qualimed Hospitals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Tanauan, Batangas, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, and Iloilo City, Iloilo.
“AC Health is eager to work together with the public sector and other health care stakeholders to fight COVID-19. This collective effort is necessary to address the pandemic at all fronts and provide much-needed healthcare services to communities,” added Borromeo.