AC Health, QualiMed expand COVID facilities in Laguna and Bulacan
QualiMed Hospital – Sta. Rosa, Laguna with COVID-19 Holding Area and BSL-2 Testing Laboratory
Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), in partnership with the QualiMed Health Network, recently expanded QualiMed Hospital – Sta. Rosa’s COVID-dedicated bed capacity to 75 beds, and QualiMed Hospital – San Jose Del Monte’s to 30 beds, effectively doubling the total bed capacity for COVID patients since the facilities were upgraded in March. This is in line with their efforts to ramp up COVID-19 treatment capacity in the country.
“We are proud to expand our initiatives to improve access for quality COVID treatment facilities in the country. It has been encouraging to see national and local numbers improving, but our experience has taught us that managing this pandemic requires continuous vigilance. We used this time to increase our capacity even further at QualiMed, and we also expanded our services across AC Health to include telehealth and home services, with the goal of ensuring we are ready to deal with this virus for the long haul,” AC Health CEO and President Paolo Borromeo said.
In April, AC Health and QualiMed formalized their agreement to convert QualiMed Sta. Rosa into a COVID-19 referral hospital. Through this partnership, the hospital expanded its capabilities by creating a triage holding area, operating a Biosafety Level 2 Laboratory capable of COVID-19 testing, and converting a number of inpatient beds for exclusive use of COVID-19 patients. A dedicated team of medical professionals, including staff from the broader QualiMed and Healthway network, was also formed to ensure demand for increasing number of healthcare professionals are met and quality standards of care are implemented.
“This expansion project signifies another milestone in our partnership with AC Health. With increased COVID-dedicated capacities for both our hospitals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, our network will become more equipped to accommodate COVID-19 patients in need. This is a necessary addition to our existing initiatives, such as ramping up safety protocols and improving testing capacities, as we support our country’s fight against the health crisis,” QualiMed Health Network CEO and President Dr. Edwin Mercado said.
The QualiMed hospitals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan have implemented efforts to respond to the pandemic by continuously improving and updating treatment protocols, implementing comprehensive triaging processes, and conducting risk-based RT-PCR testing to frontliners and doctors. With the expansion project, a portable dialysis unit will be established. Likewise, more equipment such as high flow nasal cannula machines, closed circuit ventilators, and suction pumps will be made available. To date, the two hospitals have admitted over 400 confirmed cases, triaged more than 21,000 suspect cases, and conducted nearly 41,000 COVID-19 RT-PCR tests.
Moving forward, both AC Health and QualiMed hope to find more innovative ways to address gaps in the country’s COVID-19 capabilities. In June, AC Health’s Vigos Ventures, in partnership with Globe’s 917Ventures launched HealthNow, a platform that offers telemedicine consultations, online medicine ordering and delivery, and clinic and diagnostic testing booking. Currently, the app has more than 40,000 installs with over 250 providers onboarded. Meanwhile, Healthway, AC Health’s clinic network, also launched “Healthway at Home,” its home service for RT-PCR testing, vaccinations, medical consults, lab tests, physical therapy, and medicine delivery.