In a bid to improve and expand the services of the AFP Medical Center – the country’s prime hospital for soldiers – the Makati Medical Center Foundation (MakatiMed Foundation) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines recently renewed their public-private partnership for the organizational strengthening of AFP hospitals.
MakatiMed Foundation Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri recently signed a memorandum of agreement at Camp Aguinaldo to extend the first MOA signed in June 2013 with then-AFP Chief of Staff Gen. (now Office of the President Undersecretary for the Security, Justice and Peace Cluster) Emmanuel Bautista. This was renewed in 2014 during the term of Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. as AFP chief.
The MMC Foundation renewed the MOA with a larger coverage of partner public hospitals from the different major services of the Armed Forces, including the hospitals and medical facilities of the Philippine Army, Navy and the Air Force. This new strategic direction is being implemented under the leadership of Gen. Iriberri, and aims to help equip the AFP’s technical expertise towards delivering quality health care services to the hundreds of thousands of Filipino soldiers and their dependents.
Also present at the ceremony were Usec. Bautista, MakatiMed Foundation vice chair Judy Araneta Roxas, MakatiMed Foundation president Dr. Victor Gisbert, MD and Conchitina Sevilla Bernardo, trustee.
MakatiMed also recently hosted the first Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Nursing Summit titled “Exceeding Hospital Excellence through MPIC Alliance.” The one-day event, which was supported by eight other health institutions in the MPIC hospital group, served as a venue for MPIC nursing leaders to collaborate with the aim of standardizing the nursing practices across the hospital group.
Participants came from the nursing divisions of MPIC hospitals in Metro Manila and key provinces that include Asian Hospital and Medical Center (Muntinlupa), Cardinal Santos Medical Center (San Juan), Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Manila), De Los Santos Medical Center (Quezon City), MegaClinic (Mandaluyong), Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital (Tarlac City), Davao Doctors Hospital (Davao City) and Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Bacolod City).
The event was the brainchild of Christine Donnelly, MakatiMed’s VP for Nursing and Patient Care Services. “Since we’re a part of the largest group of hospital systems, (we thought) why not gather all nursing leaders and together create more nursing initiatives?” Donnelly said, explaining how the MPIC Summit came into being.
According to MakatiMed president and CEO Rosalie Montenegro, it was the first time the different MPIC nursing groups collaborated at a clinical level. “We have collaborated on the corporate side, but not yet on the clinical side, and I think nursing is a good place to start, as our nurses are the face of our hospitals,” Montenegro remarked, adding that in MakatiMed, nursing leaders push the Triple Cs – competence, communication and compassion.
“If we have competent, communicative and compassionate healthcare, our nursing industry will be significantly enhanced. This Summit is just the beginning. I am happy that finally, nurses are taking their rightful role as collaborators in healthcare,” Montenegro said.
In the keynote speech of Manny Pangilinan during the summit, he noted that the best nurses have the best chances to be leaders. “MPIC firmly supports the notion that leadership empowerment for our nurses is the best way to achieve optimal healthcare experience. Nurses should be strong enough to withstand everything and kind enough to understand patients,” he said.
“I am here today not only in acknowledgement of your skills, but as an expression of gratitude to you as well. You are more vital than any health organization can ever express,” Pangilinan told the nurses.
