Three years from now, silver will be at hand. Fortunately, this write-up is not about a mediocre dream of settling for second place in the Olympic Games. Neither does it tackle the performance of Pinoy Olympians (which showed us that even bronze is hard to achieve). Rather this is a look at no less than the St. Camillus Polyclinic on 116 E. Amang Rodriguez Avenue, Pasig City. (Sorry folks, it’s not in Beijing.)

Twenty-two years after

Twenty-two years had already passed since the Camillian Fathers and Brothers in the Philippines established their healthcare institution in this part of Metro Manila to respond to the healthcare needs of the surrounding communities, parishes and industrial companies. Thus, last July 19, the Polyclinic celebrated its 22nd Founding Anniversary. And it was with a bang! (Comparable to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics?)

Within the seven-day celebration, roughly 1,500 patients were served through its free specialty clinics which included bone screening, fat analysis, blood tests, body mass index determination, electrocardiogram, pap's smear, X-ray and digital rectal examination back-to-back with the free consultations provided by the institution’s skilled physicians specializing in ophthalmology, otolaryngology and physical medicine and rehabilitation. In the same vein, the event was reinforced with lay fora that dwelt on nutrition, pulmonary tuberculosis, dyspepsia, mental health, smoking and prostate cancer.

“Everyday was like a fiesta,” commented the elated administrator, Fr. Rolly J. Fernandez, MI. “It was really successful. We were able to carry out the mission of St. Camillus to help the needy,” seconded Norma Z. de los Santos, RMT, chief medical technologist and overall chairperson of the program committee.

Heart card launching

By the way, the fourth day of the pre-anniversary activities – July 14 – was the Feast Day of St. Camillus de Lellis. Along with the free specialty clinics, a very significant happening on that day was the launching of the SCP-P Heart Card. The card was especially made for jeepney drivers, tricycle drivers, house helpers, construction workers, gasoline boys/girls, street sweepers and street vendors/peddlers. By availing of the card, they can enjoy 20% discount on routine laboratory services, electrocardiogram, tooth extraction, oral prophylaxis, consultation fee of family physicians, and 10% off on X-ray and ultrasound procedures.

Letter of commendation

Any idea about PhilCAT? Well, it is the Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis. It sent two letters to SCP-P, one of its private partners. The first one referred to the fourth quarter of 2007 and the second to the first quarter of 2008. Both letters had the same content – a commendation of St. Camillus Polyclinic-Pasig for its success rate and good performance in its Public-Private Mix DOTS (PPMD) program. DOTS stands for Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course. PPMD is an innovative approach to address the problem of TB by harnessing the participation of the private sector and integrating their services into the national TB program.

Being at the forefront of this program, PhilCAT recognized SCP-P as being on top among the other DOTS Centers in the National Capital Region when it comes to its accomplishments in increasing case detection and in synchronizing the management of TB cases with its TB care providers. In other words, our institution is performing notably well in improving the quality of its DOTS implementation benefiting our TB-infected sisters and brothers. Through the noble efforts of Section Head Roderico B. de Leon, MD, PPMD Nurse Argie A. Mendoza, RN and PPMD Medical Technologist Vilma R. Umadhay, RMT, the agony of those inflicted with the disease is alleviated and they are nursed back to their healthy physical condition. More power to you, guys!

Certificate of accreditation

One of the recent impressive accomplishments of the Polyclinic is printed on a “precious” piece of paper. Bold letters spelled out the words Certificate of Quality Standards Systems (QSS). The certificate came from the Philippine Council on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (PCAHO). A non-profit, non-stock, private organization recognized by the Department of Health, it is a certifying body for the QSS of the Medical Clinics for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). With this certification, SCP-P is now an authorized healthcare institution to conduct medical examination of land-based overseas workers. As we can see, St. Camillus Polyclinic-Pasig, which is also accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), is putting into action the definition of quality service.