SM Foundation enhances patient experience at Airforce Hospital, Baguio Health Center

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine public hospitals and local health centers ceaselessly fulfill their duty to bridge the gaps in health and wellness despite countless hurdles—from health scares to persistent resource constraints and infrastructure challenges.

As these quests become more daunting, the Filipino spirit of bayanihan thrives within these walls. SM Foundation’s (SMFI) health and medical programs joined forces with healthcare workers in fulfilling their advocacy for improved healthcare of communities.

A staunch believer in the positive impact of health and wellness, the social good arm of the SM group upgrades health facilities in the country. Two of its recent endeavors were at the Air Force City Hospital (AFCH) in Clark and the Lucban Health Center (LHC) in Baguio.

AFCH’s scope goes beyond the Philippine Air Force (PAF). While catering primarily to PAF personnel, their dependents, authorized civilians and nearby minorities rely on its services. It’s also the designated venue for PAF applicants and personnel’s medical examinations.

With the easing of COVID-19 cases, the hospital has seen an increase in patients seeking treatment, diagnostic procedures and preventive care. However, they struggled to cope with the growing demand due to several infrastructural challenges, such as limited space, outdated equipment, poor ventilation and areas that lack permanent partitions, compromising the patients’ privacy and comfort.

“With no Trauma Room, the healthcare workers used curtains to provide privacy when treating trauma patients. Storage for medicines, medical equipment and supplies, and the trauma beds were placed at the passageway from the emergency room (ER) main entrance to the nurse’s station. This made the main entrance of the ER crowded or inaccessible,” AFCH Commanding Officer LTC Darwin Farnacio MC (GSC) recalled the old state of the facility.

“The old setup was also unfavorable and, at times, even traumatic for other ER patients and their loved ones, because they used to witness drastic life-saving procedures performed whenever a trauma patient arrived,” he said.

Much like AFHC, Lucban Health Center wholeheartedly served the community amid the