P200-M modern hospital to rise at Subic Freeport

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has signed an agreement for the setting up of a P200-million state-of-the-art hospital to promote medical tourism and provide healthcare services with the latest medical equipment to the Freeport’s investors and workers and residents of neighboring communities.

SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga recently led the contract signing with Dr. Amado Manuel Enriquez Jr., president of Bay Pointe Hospital and Medical Center Inc., hospital director Dr. Roberto de Leon and estate developer Marianito Fernandez, chairman and CEO of Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC).

"The Subic Freeport is off to a good start this year," Salonga said shortly after signing the long-term sublease agreement between Bay Pointe and SCDC.

Apart from medical tourism, Salonga said the new hospital will also service the heathcare needs of more than 62,000 workers and executives of multinational companies operating in the Subic Freeport.

"Providing a high-quality medical facility is part of SBMA’s social responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy environment," he said.

SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said Bay Pointe will be offering a high level of medical professionalism, which matches an ideal place like the Subic Freeport because of its clean environment and beautiful surroundings.

Arreza also cited multi-faceted tourism-related activities such as sports, ecotourism, beaches, and historical and cultural programs, among others.

Meanwhile, Enriquez, a renowned cardiovascular thoracic surgeon at St. Luke’s Medical Center, said the project was conceptualized to address the vital need of the Freeport for a modern hospital.

Enriquez said Bay Pointe is committed to provide a high-quality healthcare system by mixing the most advanced medical equipment and technology with the expertise of highly skilled and experienced doctors and medical professionals, mostly from Olongapo City.

"The well-being of the patient and his family is an important concern of Bay Pointe," he said.

Initially, Bay Pointe will set up a 100-bed hospital complete with medical advances and therapeutic modalities on a 3,000-square-meter area in the Freeport’s central business district.

Bay Pointe will eventually expand to the adjacent lot to complete the one-hectare medical facility and to be able to upgrade up to a 300-bed hospital for the second phase of its development plan.

De Leon, on the other hand, said Bay Pointe will have a comprehensive range of the latest and most sophisticated technologies for diagnosing and treating diseases such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), CT scan, advance ultrasound, high-tech cardiograph and other modern medical equipment.

An aesthetic surgeon himself, De Leon said Bay Pointe will offer health and welfare services such as executive check-up, cosmetic surgery, dental and eyecare services, wellness programs, international care packages, and other "customized" treatments.

He added that the hospital will be manned by "generously committed medical personnel to ensure customers’ satisfaction by providing kind-hearted and reliable services."

Prominent medical practitioners in Olongapo City such as Drs. Cesar Lim, Alberto and Marietta Ablang, Rudy and Erlinda Alconga, Ma. Leah Pulmano-Lim, Jesse Manuel, Wilfredo Santos, Ed Bongco, and Oscar Imperial and engineer Gene Orillaza also graced the contract signing. They will all join the Bay Pointe Hospital.