AWG Group invests P2B for modern hospital facility

CEBU, Philippines – The AWG Group of Companies, the firm that operates University of Cebu (UC) will open a first class or level four hospital facility in Mandaue City that is set to be fully operational in the next 18 months.

The company’s chairman Augusto W. Go announced that the company will be investing about P2 billion for this project, realizing the need for Cebu to have a state-of-the-art hospital facility, specifically in Mandaue City.

The University of Cebu Medical Center (UCMC) is the second medical service arm of the Group, next to the St. Vincent Hospital in Cebu City, which was acquired by the company few years back.

UCMC is a level 4 hospital, as defined by the National Center for Health Facilities Development. It is a teaching and training hospital that provides clinical care and management on the prevalent diseases in the locality, as well as specialized and sub-specialized forms of treatment, surgical procedure and intensive care.

Go said the UCMC, which will span across an 8,000 square meter property at the Mandaue NRA (North Reclamation Area), will be the first Level 4 Hospital in Mandaue City.

According to Go, the hospital will continue to fullfill the institution’s commitment to provide quality but affordable education and medical services establishing a medical school and medical hospital for the UC System.

With over 300 beds, the hospital will link with all the UC chain of schools and campuses, including the over 10,000 merchant marine students who will need medical accreditation and attention for foreign ship deployment and the medical and nursing students for their training and employment, and the rest of the 34,000 students for their medical needs.

According to UC chancellor Candice Gotianuy the establishment of the UCMC is a natural progression of the university having the largest nursing school and other medical courses in the country.

UCMC is being benchmarked by known hospitals abroad, like in Singapore and in Europe, Gotianuy said.

“We are always searching for ways to improve our services. With UCMC, medical education and medical care will be enhanced to serve people,” said Gotianuy adding that although the hospital will have world-at-par facilities and equipment, it will allocate a percentage of its service for less privileged members of Cebu at charitable, or subsidized rates, after-all she said, just like school, “hospital is a service.”

The 12-story hospital will have a Specialist Center, that will offer specialized medical care, such as cancer center, center for women, center for easthetic and constructive surgery and minimal invasive care unit.

In 2008, the University of Cebu-Banilad and its partners purchased the St. Vincent Hospital (SVGH). Since then, the hospital has been accredited by PhilHealth as a tertiary hospital with a 100-bed capacity.

Like UC, the St. Vincent General Hospital is structured to provide quality but affordable medical services to the community.  – THE FREEMAN