Breathing new life to UP-PGH’s pulmonary hub

After more than three years of battle, the world has moved past the acute phase of the pandemic. However, the lingering effects of Covid-19 continue to pose challenges, particularly in the realm of health and well-being.

One of Covid-19's many concerning aspects is its long-term health consequences, or the so-called "Long Covid", where patients manifest persistent respiratory symptoms, neurological complications, cardiovascular issues and mental health challenges.

SM Foundation, the social good arm of the SM group, continues to extend its helping hand, especially in areas where support is crucial. From providing various assistance during the height of the pandemic, it recently breathed new life to UP-Philippine General Hospital's Post-Covid PulmoCare Hub.

Prior to the rehabilitation of the facility, UP-PGH Division of Pulmonary Medicine chief Dr. Lenora Fernandez said the facility has struggled to expand its services to meet the growing needs of the community.

"PGH does have many donors but has so many competing priorities, too. Those patients who continued to suffer from debilitating shortness of breath in silence still lacked essential services such as pulmonary rehabilitation equipment," recalled Fernandez. 

Driven by their staunch commitment to patient care, the department explored solutions, sought partnerships with supportive organizations and continuously adapted its services to meet the evolving needs of patients.

"These hurdles made it a little challenging, but we always try to find ways to overcome these challenges as there always are people and organizations willing to help," Fernandez added.

Today, through UP-PGH's social good collaboration with the SM group, the hub is able to serve the community around it adequately and reach other patients virtually in other parts of the Philippines.

The hub was refurbished with a vibrant lobby to increase patients' comfort. It now also has spacious rooms with dedicated areas for rehabilitation, ultrasound, cardiopulmonary exercise testing and virtual consultations.

SM Foundation also equipped the facility with state-of-the-art equipment to complement the expertise of the UP-PGH Pulmonary Division's doctors and staff.

Fernandez is optimistic about the future of the hub, which aims to increase the number of patients it serves by 100 percent every year. She also hopes the department can extend assistance to other centers beyond PGH that would like to set up similar services, to further strengthen pulmonary health throughout the country.