UNIVERSITY officials on Saturday inaugurated the Henry Sy Sr. Hall, the simulation hub and research center at the Sampaloc campus poised to enhance UST’s capacity in its flagship field of medicine.
The seven-story building houses the Sts. Cosmas and Damian Simulation Research Center of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. It features simulated emergency rooms, surgical suites, delivery rooms, adult and pediatric intensive care units, medical and pediatric wards, and consultation rooms.
The hall is equipped with mannequins, integrated audiovisual systems for recording, a control area, and a debriefing room for student assessments and reviews.
A study hall, named after the late nephrologist Dr. Eduardo Gotamco Tan, will be open for extended hours to give students “a safer, more secure” alternative study space, said the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery dean, Assoc. Prof. Ma. Lourdes Maglinao.
The hall will also house the medicine alumni group Anargyroi Foundation Inc., the Research Ethics Board, and the William F. Austin Center for Ear and Hearing Healthcare.
Maglinao touted the completion of the hall as a milestone in the history of UST medical education.
“The birth of the Henry Sy Sr. Hall will herald the adaptive transformation witnessing how our 153-year-old traditional medical school embraces innovative metamorphosis in responding to the changing landscape of medical education,” she said.
UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. said the hall would “push the frontiers of medical education and research” as it caters to Thomasians training to become doctors.
“The faculty is irrefutably still, and remains to be, one of the country’s biggest and greatest institutions of higher learning when it comes to medicine,” Ang said.
“It is a pivotal force in elevating medical education standards and transforming the science of medical care in the Philippines,” he added.
The simulation hub and research center was named after SM Malls founder Henry Sy Sr., following a donation of P300 million by his daughter, Teresita Sy-Coson.
Higher education institutions that have their own Henry Sy Sr. halls include the University of the Philippines Bonifacio Global City campus, De La Salle University, and Assumption College.
Lydia Echauz, executive director of the Henry Sy Foundation Inc., said the building symbolized the late tycoon’s “unwavering commitment to education.”
“By investing in infrastructure that enhances learning, we hope to empower future doctors and medical professionals to be well-prepared to face the challenges of an ever-evolving healthcare landscape,” Echauz said.
SM Investments Corp. vice president for securities Judith Balderama, SM Foundation executive director for education programs Linda Atayde, and SM Foundation executive director Deborah Sy were also present.
Dominican priests, led by Fr. Filemon de la Cruz Jr., O.P., prior provincial of the Filipino Dominicans, attended the inauguration. De la Cruz called the facility a “big upgrade” for UST.
“Time and again she remembers her mission, her mission of evangelization through education. She continues to promote not just the programs that she offers, but the development of the whole person in all the programs that she offers,” De la Cruz said.
“This inauguration gives us the opportunity to renew our commitment to the mission of the University, to continue to educate better, especially in the field of health sciences,” he added.
The inauguration was held days after the feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the patrons of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
The hall broke ground in January 2020 at the location of the parking lot beside the Tan Yan Kee Student Center and in front of the Miguel de Benavides Library.
It was topped off in October 2023 and was initially expected to be completed in June. Amador Denzel M. Teston with reports from Amanda Luella A. Rivera and Sydney Venice Berba
