A NEW Jesuit infirmary will be constructed to cater to members of the Ateneo’s Jesuit community.
The proposed 38-room infirmary is intended to better address the needs of the aging Jesuits currently staying in the infirmaries in the Jesuit Residences and the Loyola House of Studies.
Jesuit Provincial Head Fr. Tony Moreno, SJ clarified that the new infirmary will only be an improved version of the existing ones; it is not meant to be a hospital.
The building will provide rehabilitation services and round-the-clock professional assistance. For more serious medical cases, however, Jesuit patients will still be sent to hospitals outside.
The new infirmary will be called the Philippine Province Infirmary. It will be located near the Loyola House of Studies, facing the Eliazo Residence Hall.
According to Moreno, the infirmary’s groundbreaking is set to take place this December and construction will begin in January 2014. It is scheduled to be ready for occupancy by January 2015.
University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ said that the Philippine Province Infirmary would be a good way to provide the Jesuits with efficient medical services.
Exclusive to the Jesuits
Although the Philippine Province Infirmary will be located in the Loyola Heights campus, Moreno clarified that it will be for the exclusive use of the Jesuits.
Moreno said that the access is being limited primarily because the Jesuits do not believe that the infirmary can serve the same functions as a conventional hospital. It is not spacious enough to admit the public and it will only be equipped to address the basic health needs of the Jesuits.
Moreno made this clarification in response to individuals who assumed that the Ateneo would soon have a hospital when news about the upgrade of the infirmary first surfaced.
In particular, there were pre-medical and medical students who hoped the new institution would be used to enrich their classes.
Moreno said that neither pre-medical nor medical students of the Ateneo would be granted access to the infirmary.
Moreno said that the infirmary is not qualified to cater to the needs of the pre-medical and medical students because the Philippine Province Infirmary will not have the necessary equipment.
Pre-Medical Society of the Ateneo (PMSA) President Kurt Tolentino found this to be disappointing.
“[I thought that] since we students are also here [on campus], hopefully, we can also benefit from this project (Philippine Province Infirmary). But I guess they were not yet able to plan that yet,” he added.
Tolentino further said that having a hospital in the Ateneo would have been helpful to his organization’s members, especially now that PMSA has initiated a program called “Dose,” which exposes its members to the hospital setting.
Moreno recommended that the Ateneo pre-medical and medical students prepare for their future careers in other technologically-advanced hospitals where they will exposed to more medically demanding cases.
A generous donation
Business tycoon Ramon Ang donated P60 million to the Society of Jesus to begin the construction process.
“Mr. Ramon Ang feels that he wanted to be of service to the Jesuits who were instrumental in providing the education for his children,” said Moreno.
Prior to this donation, Ang had already made several contributions to other Jesuit communities, including Xavier School in Laguna.
Moreno added that there were prior negotiations made with Ang before the plan of constructing the new infirmary was settled.
The projected budget of P120 million for the new infirmary is allotted solely for the construction of the structure itself. Other materials, such as furnishings, are to be funded through other donations or through the Jesuits’ own resources.
University President Villarin further said, “I’m also hopeful that there will be many more donors who will come in to support the province and also the Ateneo.”
Infirmary management
The two existing Jesuit infirmaries in the Ateneo currently have a contract with The Medical City: Staff members, such as doctors and nurses, are taken from this hospital to the infirmaries.
However, Moreno said the Jesuits will begin the search for bidders for the Philippine Province Infirmary’s staff members once construction of the building begins.
The contract for the management of the infirmary will be signed six months prior to its opening.
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