Subic’s medical and wellness center: RP’s response to Asia’s medical-tourism thrust

President Arroyo inaugurated recently the George Dewey Medical and Wellness Center—the only one of its kind in the Philippines—located at the Subic Bay Free Port Zone.

The $30-million George Dewey Medical and Wellness Center is a 100-bed tertiary hospital owned and operated by George Dewey Medical College Inc., a five-year-old nursing college. It sits on a 12-hectare facility, perched on top of a hill surrounded by a lush forest.

“The center is our response—the Philippines’ response—to the challenge posed by our neighbors like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia for leadership in medical tourism,” Dr. Carmen Dinglasan, George Dewey president, said.

President Arroyo was welcomed by Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Dante Ang, The Manila Times executive editor Dante Ang II, University of the Philippines Prof. Solita Monsod, George Dewey Center president Dr. Carmen Dinglasan, Rep. Mitos Magsaysay of Zambales, Gov. Enrique “Tet” Garcia of Bataan, former governor Vicente Magsaysay of Zambales and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza.

Dinglasan said the George Dewey center can help make the Philippines a preferred health-care destination. The center was established in response to the challenge posed by leading medical-tourism providers such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

Located at Villa Amorosa, Upper Cubi, inside the free port, the center has the potential to become a leader in medical tourism. Many of its medical staff were trained in the United States and Europe, and are some of the best in their fields of specialization in the country. Many of the doctors are speakers in international conventions.

George Dewey Medical and Wellness Center is part of Villa Amorosa, a self-contained health resort for retirees, medical practitioners and medical students. The medical-tourism project will employ 200 medical staff and health-related workers, and would need another 300 for its shopping areas, sports complex, restaurants and condominiums when they open in 2010. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines.

Dinglasan said the center’s edge over other premier medical and wellness centers in the country is location.

“GDMWC is a tertiary hospital like the Makati Medical Center, Medical City or St. Luke’s but it is in the correct environment where you will have real healing and rejuvenation. Because you know what happens in Manila is that it is so crowded, it’s polluted and very stressful,” she added. “So what we did was to place an excellent medical center in the correct environment. That’s our big edge over other premier medical and wellness facilities.”

The center also has numerous programs that are prohealing and prorejuvenation, and not only for taking care of the sick, Dinglasan said. “We want to give them passion for life because some of them are losing interest in life. So we try to combine all other remedies.” One of the center’s major services will be heart care, since there is no cardiac-surgery facilities around Northern Luzon, she added.

The George Dewey center will also become a training center for other doctors who already have specialization in various fields but still want to specialize in something that is very modern.

Its medical college offers Nursing. Beginning school year 2010, two additional courses will be offered: Radiology and Medical Technology. Other courses such as Dentistry, Ophthalmology, Physical Therapy and Medicine will be introduced in 2011.

The $30-million center, Dinglasan said, currently employs 200 medical staff and health workers. It still needs another 300 employees for its future expansion.

Because of its proximity to Central Luzon and Northern Luzon, she added, the center can serve the medical and health needs of residents from Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, La Union, Ilocos provinces, Cagayan Valley provinces and the Clark Economic Zone.

At present, among the services patients can avail themselves of are cardiac surgery, joint and hip replacement, reconstructive surgery, corneal transplant, refractive surgery and multifocal intraocular lens implantation, stem-cell rejuvenation, sleep disorder therapy, transplant surgery, laboratory analysis, pain management, fertility clinic and dental implants.

The center can also serve as a health resort for retirees seeking medical treatment. It caters to persons seeking medical treatment or checkup or having concerns about their well-being.

When fully developed, the 12-hectare health and wellness center will have boutique stores, mini-groceries, a sports complex, a 500-unit condominium, a business center, restaurants, coffee shops, a conference center and places of worship for people of all beliefs.