Chong Hua to open in Mandaue

CEBU, Philippines - To address the lack of hospital beds in Cebu and the growing healthcare needs of the province particularly for cancer radiotherapy, Chong Hua Hospital will open a new hospital and cancer center in Mandaue City.

According to Victoriano Go, chairman of the Asociacion Benevola de Cebu Inc. that owns the hospital, it was in February 2010 that the Board started discussing the expansion of Chong Hua to meet the increasing demands for quality healthcare in Cebu.

Go said that on the third quarter of 2011, the Board finally decided to construct and set up the new Chong Hua Hospital Mandaue and Cancer Center on a 1.5 hectare lot, along Mantawi International Drive, Subangdaku,   about 100 meters from Parkmall in Mandaue City.

Choosing the North Reclamation Area over the South Road Properties as the site for the proposed location, Go said that the preferred area has the accessibility and proximity to seaports and airports, allowing the hospital to serve nearby islands in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

He also said that the expansion was intended to complete the range of services of the hospital by adding a specialized center for cancer therapy, specifically on radiotherapy since the existing facility in Don Mariano Cui Street, Fuente Osmeña is not suitable for radio-oncology services.

Compared to neighboring Asian cities, Go said that Cebu is experiencing lack of hospital beds with a current ratio of 0.5 beds per a thousand population while Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have 3.3, 2.5 and 2 beds, respectively for every 1,000 population.   

Counting Mandaue City’s over 300,000 population plus those from other areas such as Consolacion, Danao and Lapu-Lapu, local and foreign tourists could easily bring up the population to 600,000, Go said.

“Two hospitals within the vicinity with a combined bed capacity of 600 are still insufficient for such a huge population. In fact, the city of Cebu alone with 600, 000 residents is currently being served by 7 hospitals with a combined bed capacity of more than 2,000,” Go continued. 

Dr. Helen Po, Chief Operating Officer and Medical Director of Chong Hua Hospital, said that the new hospital will initially offer 100 beds but will soon reach 300 beds.

She added that 90 percent of the rooms will be private and the remaining 10 percent will be allocated for subsidized care.

“Since we are gearing towards preventive care, we hope to start out small and study the needs of the patient population as we go along,” she said. 

Po also said that the Chong Hua Hospital Mandaue and Cancer Center will primarily focus on cancer care and carry all basic ancillary and cancer support services, offering the basic cancer screening and diagnostic work-up with a fully-equipped tertiary laboratory and radiology facility and credentialed medical staff. 

The cancer center shall offer comprehensive care, access to cancer-related information, education, counselling, ongoing monitoring and improvement of care, completion of treatment and survivorship care plan, intensive care units for medical oncology, surgeries and bone marrow transplants, special critical units for cancer patients and family members, survivor services, counselling and support programs, integrative medicine and genetic test and counselling.

“We hope to be at the forefront of cancer research someday and develop an oncology subspecialty training program. But the first in our agenda is to ensure the completeness of the existing Chong Hua Hospital by establishing the radio-oncology facility here in this hospital, since our present location precludes the establishment of such facility,” Dr.Charito Uy of radiology and oncology said. 

The hospital building in Mandaue will also house commercial establishments, food court, visitors’ lounge, and specialty shops that will carry items such as apparel, canes, compression garments, gift items, hair loss and hair alternatives, mastectomy products and physical therapy items which are essential for the daily living of cancer survivors. (FREEMAN)