The Medical City (TMC) in Ortigas has opened a new enhanced and redesigned pediatric emergency care unit that boasts faster patient diagnosis and shorter stay times. The advanced tertiary hospital officially launched the facility during a ribbon cutting ceremony held Monday, 7 September, that was led by The Medical City President and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Stuart A. Bennett and Executive Vice President (EVP) and CEO Dr. Ruben G. Kasala.

The event was also graced by Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis "Vico" N. Sotto.

“I think you can see we are really trying to invest,” said Stuart. The hospital executive said the opening of the new facility is part of the TMC’s “focus in trying to make the emergency department as good as it can possibly be in all aspects: quick, efficient, good value for money.” 

“We are using PhilHealth benefits for everybody that have PhilHealth benefits,” assured the executive. Sotto also lauded TMC for having opened the new pediatric emergency care unit. “So we are very happy to see this development,” said Sotto.

At the Pasig City government, the mayor said “one of the things that we are really trying to

improve now is our healthcare provider network and the Medical City is going to be a big part of that.” “So let’s continue to work together,” the mayor urged TMC. Among the many features of the pediatric emergency care unit, Kasala said that it integrates the TMC’s quick emergency room response or “FastER” concept. “So what we did is that, most and foremost, not just adjusting our space to make sure that the flow of patients is efficient, we already made a big change where the person doing the triage is a doctor,” said Kasala. “Not all emergency rooms in the Philippines are doing that,” the hospital executive pointed out. 

If a doctor does the triage, Kasala explained there will be a quick assessment on what medical action should be taken. “With our highly trained emergency medicine physicians, we are assured that the patients stay short in emergency rooms, they are transferred to whatever room is needed, or they are discharged when they are not needed to be admitted,” the hospital executive also said. Since the new facility in June, he declared “we are proud to say that in the pediatric emergency room I think it’s now less than three hours.” “We have improved so much because in the past few years we were having at least eight hours, 10 hours waiting time in the emergency room,” he recounted.

Dr. Lourdes Jimenez, TMC Ortigas’ Emergency Department Director, said the pediatric emergency care unit has a capacity of 10 beds and is seamlessly integrated within the main emergency room and soon-to-be-opened trauma unit of the hospital.

It also has dedicated care zones for quicker emergency response; an improved patient flow to help reduce waiting times; respiratory and non-respiratory zones; a child-centered and safer emergency environment; and a child protection unit that responds to suspected cases of child abuse. Jimenez said government hospitals are required to have a child protection unit but TMC is the first private hospital to have one.