Pampered patients

There is indeed discrimination at St. Luke’s Medical Center. Patients who book in either of the hospital’s two suites can ask for anything, within reason, and get it.

Once, a patient asked for a play station. The staff looked for one outside the hospital.

"It gives the staff a sense of satisfaction to be able to meet the expectations of our patients," said president and chief executive officer Jose Ledesma. "At the same time, giving the patient what he wants, within reason, makes him feel more relaxed and more open to being treated in the hospital."

Two suites

The hospital currently has the presidential suite and ambassador suite.

The presidential suite, for example, has a living room, a dining area, a kitchen, and a separate comfort room for the patient’s visitors. It also has standard office equipment such as a computer with internet and e-mail access and a fax machine.

Both suites are equipped with home amenities such as a VHS recorder, microwave, coffee maker, a direct telephone line, bath tub, helical reclining chair, vault, dinnerware and kitchen utensils.

A butler comes with the suite. An executive chef can whip up special requests which are still within the prescribed diet set by the patient's physicians and nutritionists.

"High-end suites and rooms are a growing trend in the United States and in the Middle East," said Ledesma. "Here in the Philippines, we try to be ahead of everybody else in terms of customer service. We renovate the rooms year-round to ensure these are maintained and well-kept."

Equipment

At least P300 million a year is allotted for the upgrading of hospital facilities such as the recent purchase of the positron emission tomography or PET scanner, which is the most advanced imaging system used to diagnose cancer as well as heart and neurological problems.

These facilities complement the hospital’s various services.

To bring in more clients, St. Luke’s has also come up with several health packages aimed at different markets. For example, the less than P5,000 "Dad’s Delight" and "Previous Moms" packages include various blood and organ tests such as ECG and cholesterol count for the dad and mammography and ultrasound for the moms. The "Healthy Kind of Love" package for older adults costs P8,575 and includes transportation expense within a seven-kilometer radius of the hospital in Quezon City and, by mid-2006, a 15- to 16- storey satellite hospital in Fort Bonifacio, Makati.