The importance of livable cities is now more pressing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Livable cities, as defined by the World Economic Forum, are places where residents can predict health outcomes and life expectancy. Crucial ‘livability’ factors include housing, education, transportation and access to health care.
In a health crisis like COVID-19, property investors and home buyers now prefer places with affordable and quality healthcare facilities.
Makati’s PPP hospital project
Knowing this well, Makati City is embarking on the country’s biggest Public-Private Partnership healthcare project, the modernization of the Ospital ng Makati Building 2 (OsMak 2).
The project comes as the country grapples with the biggest health crisis and worst economic catastrophe since World War II. The pandemic revealed cracks in the country’s fragile health care system, underscoring the need for more hospital beds.
Public-Private Partnership
Through the initiative of Mayor Abby Binay and with the city council’s nod, Makati is tapping the private sector to complete, equip and operate the unfinished OsMak 2 building along Malugay St. in Makati’s Central Business District.
It has awarded original proponent status to Life Nurture Inc. (LNI), a consortium of medical doctors and businessmen led by surgeon Dr. Dennis Sta. Ana, young construction magnate William Scheirman and medical internist and entrepreneur Dr. Randy Talamayan.
Makati Life Nurture Health System
Under the partnership, which went through a rigorous review, LNI will retrofit, construct and operate OsMak 2, to be renamed Makati Life Nurture Health Center (MakatiLife). Two floors will be added to the existing unfinished structure to increase bed capacity to 360 from 300 beds and provide space for over 190 doctors’ clinics.
There will also be a new medical arts tower, a care center for non-emergency cases and a hybrid operating room with diagnostic imaging and surgical theater for complex surgeries. The facility will also have a certified heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to manage the risk of COVID-19.
Mayor Abby’s P-T-R vision
The project adheres to Mayor Abby’s “P-T-R vision” or “Preventive Medical Services, Therapeutic Excellence and Rehabilitative Services.”
Thus, the hospital will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities that include a Cancer Center with modern equipment like a linear accelerator for radiation treatment; a Cardiac Center with a cardiac catheterization lab for angiography and other surgeries; and a Physical Rehabilitation Medicine Center that will use robotics in treating joint and soft tissue ailments.
There will be emphasis on disease prevention, focusing on communicable diseases like tuberculosis, chlamydia, flu, and other seasonal ailments which can be prevented by education and vaccination.
Project costs
LNI will finance the project through a combination of self-generated cash and investments. Makati will not spend a single centavo for the undertaking and will instead contribute land and the unfinished structure to the joint venture company. Construction will commence as soon as the documentary requirements are complete.
Free for Makatizens
MakatiLife will serve Makati yellow card holders free of charge.
As before, the city government will shoulder their medical expenses using its regular health budget. Local residents without yellow cards and other individuals will be treated as private patients. The PPP model ensures that Makati’s resources are used efficiently and effectively while the city earns from its proportionate share in its joint venture with LNI.
This is good news for Makatizens. Through the expanded hospital, the city’s stakeholders will get the medical attention they deserve. The timing is impeccable especially with COVID-19 unlikely to disappear in the near future.
The doctors and engineer are in
Project proponents led by Drs. Sta. Ana and Talamayan and Engr. Scheirman are excited to commence the infrastructure development, consistent with their passion to provide medical services and bridge the gap between the haves and have nots.
“Our vision for MakatiLife is fully aligned with Mayor Abby’s belief that ‘an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,’” Sta. Ana said. Thus, the new hospital will devote space for a state-of-the-art Wellness Center that will cater to Makatizens who want to avail of comprehensive examinations toward prevention or early detection of diseases, he added.
“We want to ensure that Makatizens lead a healthy lifestyle, are in good shape and require less hospitalization,” Scheirman said.
Dr. Sta. Ana’s vision was honed through years of hard work of managing hospitals—as medical director and one of the founders of Diliman Doctor’s Hospital in Quezon City; as president and board member of the Batangas Health Medical Center; and as founder of Quality Management Solutions, a medical BPO and MMI Healthcare, a multibrand pharmaceutical firm. He holds a Masters Degree in Hospital Administration and completed general surgery training at The Medical City in Pasig City after obtaining his medical degree at the University of Santo Tomas.
Scheirman, on the other hand, is the chairman and president of triple A construction company Scheirman Construction Consolidated Inc. The 29-year-old civil engineer also sits in other medical-related companies.
Beyond COVID-19
Indeed, the MakatiLife hospital project bodes well for Makatizens not just in the time of COVID-19 but as the world transitions to a post-pandemic era.
With its bold plan, LNI will certainly live up to its name—nurturing life to the fullest for Makatizens and other patients under its care.