FOR the UST Hospital (USTH), improvement in its finances leads to new medical equipment.
In its aim to establish itself as one of the leading innovative hospitals in the country, USTH hauled in state-of-the-art medical equipment that will detect, diagnose, evaluate, and treat diseases quicker and safer, lessening risks and hastening patient recovery.
Patients with probable cancer cells have less to worry, as the new radio frequency ablation and endoscopic ultrasound—the first and the only one in the country—and dual head gamma camera and capture-R ready screen, can better detect cancer and can clearly visualize bone, heart, and thyroid damage.
On the other hand, the cardiac catherization and wireless medical telemetry can safely evaluate heart complications and cardiac activity, while the 4-D high-risk ultrasound captures full color and vivid images of a fetus and can also be used for intra-vaginal probes.
Moreover, gastrointestinal bleeding can also be carefully healed by the plasma argon laser, while the lithotripter and laparoscopic instruments are forerunners in pulverizing kidney, ureter and urinary bladder stones; gastric and thoracic surgery, and hernia repair.
But while these instruments and machines provide new breakthroughs in the field of medicine in the country, they are also subjected to strict evaluation before they are used in the hospital.
France Manto, USTH’s public relations manager, told the Varsitarian that the hospital gets its new machines through so-called “vendors” in the country. These vendors present the machines to the departments or sections, and then the heads evaluate them and make recommendations to the medical director. The medical director in turn makes his recommendation based on the efficiency of the machine and finally, the CEO, together with the analysis of USTH’s finance department, decides whether to buy the equipment or not.
Aside from the new equipment, the USTH is also envisioning new infrastructures like the ongoing Benavides Cancer Institute, which will be finished by July this year. The institute aims to deliver comprehensive care for cancer patients, specialty training for interested physicians, and clinical research in oncology. It is the first of USTH’s four flagship projects with the Cardiovascular Institute, the Metabolic and Endocrine Institute, and the Transplant Institute.
Further, USTH plans to unify its current two large structures, the private and clinical division buildings, into a single three-building structure: a 17-story medical arts tower (250 doctors’ offices, 210 parking slots, 17 commercial spaces, and three-level hostel), a 22-story nursing tower (402 beds, 200-seat state-of-the-art auditorium, and 250 parking slots), and a seven-story podium centrally located between the medical arts and nursing towers. This will make USTH the country’s largest private hospital. J. M. S. de Leon and P. S. Mariano
