Another facet of medical service was put on the spotlight by Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) president and CEO Raul Pagdanganan when he delivered his state of the hospital address (SoHA) on 23 January.

Recalling how CSMC doctors and staff recognized the urgency of a 40-year-old man’s emergency, Pagdanganan told colleagues that common sense is the revolution that healthcare needs. 

According to Pagdanganan, the patient was having difficulty in breathing and unable to talk, indications that he was experiencing a heart attack. CSMC doctors were able to save him in the nick of time.

“The most important innovation is not technology nor new care model but simply people doing the right thing consistently, quietly, with or without permission, with or without anyone looking,” according to Pagdanganan, adding that the patient started 2026 by returning to work and his family celebrating his new lease on life.

“Three years of my CEO journey, I’ve come to believe that the antidote and core of my leadership philosophy is something that I call radical common sense. A refusal to accept the needless complexity, moral ambiguity and procedural default setting,” he said in his SoHA. 

Pagdanganan said that CSMC trainees are not simply learners passing through our doors but the future consultants, leaders, educators and innovators of the hospital and, ultimately, of the country. 

“Let’s mentor our healthcare workers to learn and improve themselves from any incident. We are here to make a difference in people’s lives. We are here to revolutionize healthcare through opportunities and innovation,” he said. “It is time to let our name, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, soar beyond the four walls into the four corners of the world.”         Windsor Genova