A ‘beautiful’ hospital

Because of a family health crisis, I’ve been spending practically every morning at St. Luke’s in Bonifacio Global City where a sister is undergoing radiation therapy.

My sister Joni and I drive to the Fort each morning, bringing our sister Charo for her daily therapy. While she undergoes the brief treatment, we either wait in the lounge where we have read all the magazines and perused all the articles, or plant ourselves in any of the restaurants or outlets out in the lobby. The choices aren’t bad at all, ranging from the ubiquitous Starbucks, Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen, to higher-end places like Bizu, Via Mare or Mary Grace, or the cafeteria-style Market on the 5th.

When we were planning our sister’s treatment, we wondered whether we should have it done at St. Luke’s Global, hearing talk about it being an expensive facility. But we were convinced otherwise by our nephew Dr. Marty Magsanoc, a radiation oncologist, who said prices at St. Luke’s Global are even a little lower than at the older facility along E. Rodriguez Ave. in Quezon City “precisely because people believe prices here at Global are beyond their reach.”

We also considered the traffic conditions in our daily commute—traversing Cubao then E. Rodriguez, choked with jeepneys and tricycles, or down C-5, which, while choked with cargo trucks at the wrong time of the day, can be blessedly smooth when you’re lucky. So St. Luke’s Global it was for us, and we haven’t had any reason to regret our choice.
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It may seem silly to base one’s choice of hospital on traffic conditions or choice of restaurants, the presence of lounges with magazines, or even choice art works that dominate the lobby, hallways and other public areas.

But seeking treatment is a stressful experience in itself, without piling on added aggravations like long lines and longer waits, crowded waiting rooms and dingy interiors. Customer satisfaction may be a belated discovery of health delivery institutions, but welcoming smiles and warm and efficient service do go a long way toward easing patients’ anxiety and nerves, as well as improving their mood and lifting their spirits, giving them hope.

Meeting with cousins in an impromptu reunion, they laughed when we declared that we loved St. Luke’s Global “because it makes life so much easier for the bantay (watchers).” Of course it was funny because the focus of any hospital or clinic should be the patient. But if companions of patients find the experience comforting, perhaps it would be, to a certain extent, for the patients as well.

True, the focus of any health facility should be healing and comfort. Still, there’s nothing wrong in focusing on peripherals as well, such as making the waiting and the boredom as painless as possible, since any unnecessary hardship only adds to the overall misery of seeking a cure.
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Now comes the good news that St. Luke’s Global has landed on the list of the “World’s Most Beautiful Hospitals,” achieving a ranking of 11th among 25 of the world’s best, including hospitals in the United States, Europe, Central America, the Middle East and Asia. Only three hospitals were cited in Asia, with hospitals in Bangkok and Hong Kong cited alongside St. Luke’s Global.

I can only agree with the choice, since setting foot at the lobby, the visitor glimpses at once works by prize-winning artists, including a painting of BenCab’s iconic women, a glass sculpture by Ramon Orlina, and charming and even quirky art works by young Filipino artists in the hallways. (All of which pay tribute to the excellent taste in art of St. Luke’s medical director, Dr. Joven Cuanang.) At certain times of the day, live piano music even fills the lobby from the second-floor landing. No wonder clients exclaim that being in the hospital “feels like staying in a hotel.”

Of course, since I have yet to be a patient, I wouldn’t know if a few days’ stay there is anything like being put up in a hotel. But since Marilen Lagniton, vice president for communications of St. Luke’s, says a hotel can be found in the premises for relatives keeping watch over patients, then the “hotel experience” must really be an apt metaphor.
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St, Luke’s ranking among the “World’s Most Beautiful Hospitals” is actually good news for other public and private hospitals here. Medical tourism is foreseen as an up-and-coming strategy to draw foreigners to the country, with patients from the United States and Europe drawn to hospitals in Asia where medical expenses are much lower but medical expertise and services are comparable, if not better.

Of course, our neighbors have already established their “brand” among foreign markets, especially hospitals in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even China is aggressively pursuing medical tourists with promises of innovative cancer cures.

But we can still catch up, provided the private sector leads the way by making the necessary investments in quality care, including acquiring the latest equipment and providing training for medical and other health staff.

In St. Luke’s, my sister says she has “classmates” from neighboring countries whose health insurance allows them to seek treatment in the country. And with other hospitals like Medical City, Makati Medical Center and Asian Hospitals stepping up their facilities and services as well, we can conceivably compete with other countries in attracting foreign patients and their families.

A hospital doesn’t have to be “beautiful” to attract a loyal clientele. Of course it must be clean, sanitary, uncluttered, orderly and easy to navigate. But if it is easy on the eye as well, welcoming and accommodating even to watchers, then its beauty will not only be skin-deep.