GMA inaugurates medical, wellness center in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT: President Gloria Arroyo on Friday inaugurated the $30-million George Dewey Medical and Wellness Center (GDMWC), which will cater to the medical needs of foreigners and local residents, particularly those coming from Central Luzon and Northern Luzon.

The 100-bed tertiary hospital located inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone is a one-stop medical and wellness destination sitting on a 12-hectare facility atop a hill surrounded by lush forests. It is owned and operated by the George Dewey Medical College Inc., a five-year-old school exclusively for nursing students.

President Arroyo arrived at the medical center around 11:30 a.m. and proceeded to cut the ribbon together with Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Dante Ang, The Manila Times Executive Editor Dante Ang 2nd, University of Philippines Prof. Solita Monsod, George Dewey Center President Dr. Carmen Dinglasan, Rep. Mitos Magsaysay of Zambales, Gov. Enrique “Tet” Garcia of Bataan, former Gov. Vicente Magsaysay of Zambales and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza.

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

During an interview with The Times, Dinglasan said that 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 pro-healing and pro-rejuvenation, 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.

Medical courses

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, Dingla san 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 of are cardiac surgery, joint and hip replacement, reconstructive surgery, corneal transplant, refractive surgery and multi-focal 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 check-up 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.

By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter--With Report From Anthony Bayarong -- Manila Times