Saturday, July 26, 2008 [ philstar.com ]
The Medical City (TMC), a private tertiary care hospital situated on a 1.5-hectare lot along Ortigas Ave. in Pasig City, is spending at least P700 million for the continued expansion of its facilities and acquisition of modern, state-of-the-art equipment in preparation for its planned initial public offering (IPO).
In a press briefing yesterday, Margaret A. Bengzon, head of TMC’s Strategic Services Group, said construction of a second 15-story Nursing tower has started to add over 10,000 square meters of space for patient rooms, ancilliary services and amenities.The tower is slated to be operational in September 2009.
Upon completion of the second tower, TMC will expend to a total of 700 patient rooms from the the existing 500 rooms.
TMC senior vice-president for finance Benita Macalagay said funding for the expansion program will come from proceeds of the sale of a one-hectare property at its old site. The lot, sold to the Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Land Corp. for P1 billion in June 2007, is now being developed into high-rise residential office towers, a commercial center and a hotel.
Bengzon said the group has also programmed big-ticket equipment purchases this year which include a 128-slice CT Scan, an MRI total imaging matrix upgrade, and the most advanced center diagnostic and image-guided radiotherapy capabilities.
To further beef up its presence and grow its clientele, TMC is planning to build two more satellite clinics by the end of the year to bring its total clinic network to 10 from the current eight which are located in Antipolo, Cainta, Congressional Ave. in Quezon City, Marikina, Pasig, Trinoma Mall in Quezon City, Fairview and Lipa, Batangas. The new clinics will rise in Riverbanks, Marikina and SM Manila.
The group is also looking at branching out into the provinces such as Cebu, Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Baguio through tie-ups with leading medical institutions in these areas.
“The expansion is in line with our general plan to go public and to make our services accessible to the broader community,” Bengzon said.
Bengzon said TMC is also bent on expanding its presence overseas as it positions itself as a global provider of more substantial medical services in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular, orthopedics and regenerative medicine.
TMC has aggressively been marketing its services to the established foreign markets of Guam, Palau and other US territories as well as Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
With a medical staff of over 1,000, TMC has been conferred accreditation by the Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCIA) for obtaining and maintaining the highest international standards of quality for healthcare organizations. JCIA is widely-recognized as the most prestigious accrediting body for international healthcare organizations.
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