[ Manila Bulletin ] August 1, 2008
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved the P9-billion new St. Luke’s Medical Center project in Fort Bonifacio as a medical tourism park boosting the country’s bid to become a destination for foreign medical tourists with the establishment of the country’s biggest single-construction hospital undertaking to date.
Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila, who is also chair of PEZA, signed the St. Luke’s registration in ceremonies held in the Global City in Fort Bonifacio last Thursday night. The facility is the second medical tourism park proclaimed by PEZA under Proclamation No. 1539 signed by President Gloria Arroyo, the second being the St. Francis Cabrini in Batangas City.
Medical tourism zone was listed by PEZA since 2006 as among the economic activities qualified for incentives particularly income tax holiday in support of the country’s bid to become a destination for foreign medical tourists.
PEZA registration is supposedly only for export-oriented enterprises, but medical tourism facilities was included as qualified enterprise because it is geared towards attracting foreign patients and avail of tourism package that the Departments of Tourism and Health are offering to tourists.
Under the PEZA rules, a project proponent must have an endorsement from the DOT and DOH. The DOH has also required a proponent to get an accreditation from the Joint Commission International, a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCHAO) in the United States.
PEZA has patterned the area requirements for the facility after the rules on IT parks, which is one hectare for a horizontal development and 5,000 square meters for a stand-alone medical park.
Medical tourism also complements the government’s effort to promote the Philippines as retirement haven for foreigners.
Slated for completion in October 2009 after groundbreaking in February 2005, the would-be state-of-the-art medical facility already drew raves due to its sheer expanse and magnitude.
Seventy percent of the funding for the P9-billion project are being sourced from internal corporate funding, while additional funding is being raised through loans and philanthropic donations.
The new St. Luke’s Hospital will be built on a 1.6 hectare lot with a gross floor area of 154,000 square meters making it one of the biggest hospitals in Metro Manila in terms of total floor space.
It will have two towers: a 14-storey, 600-bed hospital building; and a Medical Arts Building that will house 375 doctors’ offices.
The hospital will be built on a 1.6-hectare lot with a gross floor area of 154,000 square meters and will be one of the biggest hospitals in Metro Manila in terms of total floor space.
The new St. Luke’s Medical Center at Fort Bonifacio Global City is expected to generate 2,700 new jobs for non-medical staff and will bring in about 1,000 doctors, partly from the original facility in Quezon City .
When finished, St. Luke’s Global City will have parking space for 1,400 vehicles and its helipad will be big enough for a Huey helicopter to land.
St. Luke’s Medical Center first opened its 1903 in Quezon City with a mission to provide outstanding out-patient care. Today it is the foremost and most admired hospital in the Philippines and an acknowledged leader in Asia .
The 650-bed hospital is home to nine Institutes, 13 Departments, and 19 centers. These centers of excellence bring to the Philippines the latest medical advances and treatment modalities. Over 1,700 hospital-affiliated medical consultants see out-patients in more than 450 private clinics.
SLMC is the undisputed leader in virtually all medical specialties, including cardiovascular medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, cancer, ophthalmology, and digestive and liver diseases. It is the first choice of medical and health-related practitioners and patients for executive check-ups.
SLMC receives patients from around Asia, Micronesia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States .
St. Luke’s is the first hospital in the Philippines to be accredited by the prestigious Joint Commission International, a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCHAO) in the United States .
St. Luke’s Medical Center-Bonifacio Global City has signed an affiliation agreement with Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. (BCM)
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