Asian Hospital maps out expansion, future growth

MANILA, Philippines - When Joe had a massive heart attack last January, he was rushed at the emergency room of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang.

When he opened his eyes inside his room, he thought he was in a five-star hotel.

“This is like Shangri-La,” the 63-year-old banker recalled.

The patient-controlled bed is draped in ultra-soft and luxurious linens. The spacious room has an elegant four-seater dining table, a 24-inch and a 32-inch LCD television sets, a microwave oven and a computer set with a free Wi-Fi service. The windows displayed a picturesque view of Laguna Bay.

In the silence of his P19,960 suite per day, a friendly man in vest and black tie proffered a menu and told him  “Hello, I’ll be your butler.”

 “The Asian Hospital and Medical Center is really the first modern and world class hotel since the Makati Med was built in the ‘60s,” Andres Licaros, the newly installed CEO and president of Asian Hospital and Medical Center told The Star in an interview.

The Asian Hospital and Medical Center is one of the burgeoning medical facilities in the country today that capitalizes on a market of wealthy patients willing to pay extra.

Those who would go abroad to seek medical assistance would be happy to note that they don’t need to go in glittering hospitals in Singapore, London and New York because the Asian Hospital  offers the same state-of-the art medical facilities, highly competent doctors and hotel-like amenities, said Licaros.

There was a time when Asian Hospital gained a negative image for its notoriously exorbitant fees.

But the same people who paid steep hospital fees would also attest at the quality of medical care they received from Asian Hospital. 

The reason why so many patients continue to come back and patronize Asian Hospital is that they know they’ll be taken cared of the minute they step into the hospital grounds, said Licaros.

 “I’ve heard feedback like that the fees are high. I’ve talked to people but despite the initial misgivings, they give good feedbacks and express how thankful they are for the service and the treatments, saying they got their money’s worth back,” said Licaros.

Now things are bound to change and improve as the Asian Hospital and Medical Center comes under a new management. 

Manny Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) is now the majority owner of the hospital.

Under the new management, Licaros said providing high quality health care for  patients is still their number one mission.

 “What I really want to do is to assure the patient that you will really get the best solutions to your problems once you come here. You will be treated with respect and dignity but at the same time panatag ang kalooban mo na if anything will go wrong, it’s simply by fate, it’s not due to negligence or due to errors because what’s the point of going here kung pag labas mo naman gulay ka or alagain ka pa rin,” Licaros said.

 “We will continue to adhere to quality patient care. We’ve always been perceived as the top facility for open heart surgery and there’s a rightful reason to believe so because of Dr. George Garcia who in his lifetime has done 15,000 surgeries with very high success rate,” he said.

Garcia is a well-known doctor both here and in the United States and who chose to stay in the Philippines to give back quality medical health care to his fellow Filipinos.

Licaros announced that Asian Hospital will soon celebrate its 10th anniversary and has lined up  many activities for the celebration. One of these is to bring the first heart patient they’ve operated when they opened the hospital in 2002.

He also said they’re already mapping out a 20-year-plan for the hospital.

 “We’re beginning to define the next 10-20 years  of Asian Hospital, in terms of how do we sustain the successes that we made. We are planning to grow the hospital and will build 120 more rooms. The south is a huge market,” he said.

Licaros said one of their main thrusts is to further improve the benefits of their medical staff.

He said their ultimate goal is to keep the nurses and doctors in the country and stem the migration abroad.

 “I think there’s that opportunity to inculcate among our health care professionals that they can be successful here but that is not going to be instant gratification. You’ll be in for a long ride, ultimately, we’ll provide the families of the staff the support for the education for their children and access to their own homes,” he said.

Pangilinan has the staff in mind and wants better benefits for them. 

He said Pangilinan believes in the employees’ capability to be always the best that they can be. 

 “The challenge is to constantly upgrade the live-in conditions of our employees and this is Manny  Pangilinan’s passion and thrust, to draw out the best in every Filipino. There’s no need to go abroad.  You need not take that risk or suffer that social cost of being away from your family and find your fulfillment and happiness abroad when the opportunities are around here. We should be able to do it even better here, when you’re closer to home and feel more secured, but you’ll not be paid as well that is why it takes a lot of commitment and dedication,” he said.

Licaros bared that his secret to motivate his people is his strict and sound management system.

 “I think sound management is necessary. You can’t just manage the hospital that is driven by profit. You must deliver patient care and outcome. If you see that more and more patients are happy, it’s because at Asian Hospital, they got far more than what they’ve expected,” Licaros said.

He said he hoped more doctors and nurses would choose to work at Asian Hospital . 

 “We are poised for growth as we attract more doctors because the mission policy of this hospital is also unique, meaning we don’t require them to buy stocks, we don’t require them to buy hospital clinics, we only look at their credentials, how good and how well trained they are and how committed they are to align their future with us, their professional growth with the way we do business,” Licaros said. 

A wealth of experience

Licaros brings a 30-year wealth of experience to Asian Hospital. He has worked for multinational firms like San Miguel, Squibb, Van Mele and was formerly the medical director of Davao General Hospital.

Licaros attributes his success to his family and a work ethic of giving his 101 percent to his job every time.

 “If it’s natural for me to bring out the best in people, it’s because at home, I do the same with my children. I attribute my success  to my family,” he said.

 As the Asian Hospital’s first Filipino CEO, he said he would continue to motivate the employees to give incomparable service to patients.

“I want to motivate them and bring them on the same page because I think one thing has brought us into this business which is a calling to serve. It’s hard to care for a person you don’t know, that’s why it should be out of your heart and your conviction that everybody deserves an excellent quality of patient care,” he said.