SM Foundation, UP-PGH revamp pulmonary hub

That’s the essence of the Pulmonary Care Center and Post-Covid Hub — for these former patients to undergo rehabilitation so that they can go back to their families and communities as productive members

Raffy Ayeng·20 November 2023, 12:01 am

SM Foundation, UP-PGH revamp pulmonary hub — PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SMFI UP-PGH Division of Pulmonary Medicine chairperson, Dr. Lenora Fernandez (3rd from left), talks to a physical therapist who assists a patient at the Pulmonary Care Center and Post-COVID Hub in PGH, Manila.

The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, in partnership with the SM Foundation, has formally opened the country's first Pulmonary Care Center and Post-Covid Hub — the first in the Philippines.

This comes as former victims of the Covid-19 virus need full rehabilitation as post-symptoms linger on their psyches and bodies.

In an interview with the Daily Tribune, Dr. Leonora Fernandez, chief of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine of UP-PGH said the hub aims to help Filipinos afflicted with chronic lung diseases and long-term Covid-19 syndrome to breathe and live better.

Dr. Ma. Kriselda Karlene Tan, Pulmonary Training Officer; Philippine General Hospital medical director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi; Division of Pulmonary Medicine Consultant Dr. Joselito Chavez; SM Foundation senior project manager Albert Uy; SMFI trustee Engr. Chito Macapagal; SMFI executive director for Health and Medical Programs Connie Angeles, PGH medical director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, and PGH Division of Pulmonary Medicine chairperson Dr. Lenora Fernandez

"We expect our services now to those who are suffering from post-Covid syndrome and prolonged breathlessness. But we continue our services to those who have chronic lung diseases," Fernandez said.

Further, Fernandez stated that the 120 square-meter Pulmonary Care Center and Post-Covid Hub in Ermita, Manila officially started operation a month ago and patients who have first availed the services have already finished the first set of its program. The center can accommodate 10 to 15 patients at a time.

Patients being treated in the facility are those with post-Covid-19 conditions or those who are already not infectious but still suffer from coughing, difficulty in breathing, and still have abnormalities on their X-rays.