The Medical City Iloilo. The Medical City (TMC) Iloilo continues to become an industry leader as it introduces trailblazing programs and services for healthcare innovations and transformation in Western Visayas. From being a humble healthcare institution resting beside the iconic Iloilo River, TMC Iloilo expanded and metamorphosed as the region’s healthcare sector trendsetter. From opening the first Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in the region to introducing first-of-its-kind services driven by the network’s pool of medical experts, TMC Iloilo continues to take the lead toward transformation.
Programs:
- Cardiovasular
- Acute Stroke
- Wellness
- Stoma and Wound
- iReact HIV Hub
- Eye Clinic
- Breast Clinic | Women’s Center
- Diabetes and Metabolism Clinic
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Telemedicine
- Ambulatory Care Center
These innovations were all made possible with the clear direction of a visionary leader who believes that transformation can happen through open communication and breaking down barriers.
An Industry Leader
Dr. Eugene Ramos joined TMC Iloilo in 2013 as the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, great transformations happened which fostered incredible outcomes and breakthrough innovations, turning TMC Iloilo into one of the top healthcare providers in the region.
With his exemplary leadership anchored with a clear vision, Dr. Ramos stepped up the game when he became TMC network’s President and CEO in 2018. As a beacon of transformation and innovation, he transformed the whole network’s culture bounded by hierarchical processes into a flat organization that encourages collaboration.
In the same way, the hospital’s network became even more compact as communication became open allowing the development and sharing of best practices easily implemented across other networks. In effect of the change in culture, internal operations eventually improved and innovative ideas popped up leading to the development of new programs that set a trend both at the local and national levels.
The new age has now come to TMC with Dr. Ramos as the flag bearer who leads with a clear vision – to bring TMC Network to higher ground by breaking down silos to achieve desirable better outcomes. For TMC Iloilo, the legacy that Dr. Ramos left to the new set of leaders with its Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa on the forefront continues to prosper. The culture Dr. Ramos inculcated here serves as a guide for TMC Iloilo to achieve bigger feats in terms of healthcare innovations and transformations.
Forging partnerships with both private and public sectors, TMC Iloilo is one with Iloilo City’s vision of becoming a model city in terms of economic advancements. Having the same goal of making Iloilo City a known leader for various industry developments, TMC Iloilo and the Iloilo City government continue to transform the “City of Love” as the region’s innovation capital, specifically in healthcare.
News and Updates
Update as of April 2023: TMC Iloilo honors local media and bloggers. The Medical City (TMC) Iloilo honored local media and bloggers for their significant contribution to healthcare journalism through “Paglaum: TMC Iloilo Media Excellence Awards” held on April 28 at Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo.
“Paglaum: TMC Iloilo Media Excellence Awards” is one of the highlights of TMC Iloilo’s 13th anniversary with the theme “Beyond Borders: Bridging Communities into Innovative Healthcare”. The said award is the first media recognition program in Iloilo that honors the local media and bloggers in the field of healthcare journalism.
“More than an award-giving body, Paglaum: TMC Iloilo Media Excellence Awards is our way of showing gratitude to the support that it received from the local media and to the rest of the healthcare community all throughout these years and to celebrate the efforts of the media in delivering factual news and information,” TMC Iloilo Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Prince Juliene Hermaine Celo noted.
As part of “Paglaum: TMC Iloilo Media Excellence Awards”, the healthcare institution gave special awards to the excellent healthcare stories they have gathered from its media and blogger partners.
For the Healthcare Newsmaker, ABS-CBN News was named as winner for its news article entitled “Iloilo City announces lockdown to curb spread of COVID-19”. The nominees for the said special award include Aksyon Radyo Iloilo for “After Them, We Have No One”; Iloilo Metropolitan Times for “Iloilo Province records first COVID-19 survivor; Panay News for “You Lie, We Die: Ordinance punishes dishonest patients”; and RMN Iloilo for “Overthinking, Indi Maayo sa Mental Health”.
For the Most Inspiring Healthcare Story, GMA Iloilo for its special feature entitled “Labing Una nga COVID-19 Positive sa Probinsya Sang Iloilo, Ginsaysay ang Iya Gin-agyan” was named as the winner. The nominees for this special award include Bombo Radyo Iloilo for “The Bombo COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy-Special Feature; and Panay News for “Ilonggos helping Ilonggos: How Mayor Treñas marshalling Iloilo City against COVID-19” and “Two women embrace moral duty to uphold dignity amid pandemic”.
For Healthcare Photo of the Year, Iloilo Metropolitan Times got the award for its photo about the “Implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination at the Iloilo Convention Center (ICON)”. The nominees all came from Panay News for its photos entitled “Reaching Out” and about “The Wong Family in Lambunao, Iloilo credits God and their faith with helping them triumph over the coronavirus”.
For Healthcare Advocate (Digital), TMC Iloilo named Nonoy Taclino of Iloilo Today for consistently advocating for the healthcare industry by publishing timely, relevant, and factual news and features through his blog.
Aside from the mentioned special awards, TMC Iloilo gave another surprise special award. Out of the healthcare stories that they have received, they have chosen the story published by Panay News entitled “Ilonggos helping Ilonggos: How Mayor Treñas is marshalling Iloilo City against COVID-19” as the “Healthcare Story of the Year”.
All of the winners of “Paglaum: TMC Iloilo Media Excellence Awards” received the first-ever Paglaum Awards trophy which is inspired by a lighthouse or parola, a representation of how the media and bloggers shed light, gave hope, and inspired the public.
“As we celebrate our 13th anniversary, we would also like to give back to the media for helping us spread news about healthcare to the Ilonggo community most especially during the height of the lockdown in 2020. They served as our active partners and collaborators in giving the public factual news and information and at the same time, spark hope and inspiration,” TMC Iloilo Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa concluded.
Update as of February 2023: WV’s Most Advanced MRI Services: The Medical City Iloilo recently launched the region’s most-advanced Magnetic Resonance Imagine (MRI) services. An MRI is a nonsurgical procedure done by a doctor to examine organs, tissues, and bones. It produces high-resolution images to help doctors diagnose a variety of health problems.
The facility uses cutting-edge technology that prioritizes patient comfort and experience. The MRI services provide the most advanced clinical capabilities including excellent image quality and speed. This allows clearer results, thus patients can avoid the hassle of repeating procedures because of low-quality image results, and doctors have more accurate diagnoses in a shorter turnaround time.
In terms of comfort, the MRI machine is designed to provide patient comfort and optimize workflow efficiency. With the machine’s short and open design, patient anxiety will be significantly reduced. TMCI is also making the availment of its MRI services more convenient both for patients and doctors. Scheduling of the procedure can be conveniently done by contacting the TMCI Concierge Services. TMCI MRI Services operates 24/7, making the said services more accessible for patients and doctors even for emergency cases.
“TMC Iloilo MRI Services will truly be a game changer in Western Visayas’ healthcare landscape. We are very excited to launch this service to further level up the healthcare services that we provide,” said TMC Iloilo Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa noted.
“With this groundbreaking service, we are seeing to benefit not only the patients but also the doctor as it will make their diagnosis faster, convenient, and more accurate with the advanced technology that our MRI Services will be using. The machine has also capabilities that can be used for various cases like cancer, pediatrics, and scientific, among others,” Dr. Douglas Budok, TMC Iloilo Radiology Department Head noted.
Update as of June 2022: Two Milestones in One Day: The Medical City (TMC) Iloilo achieved two milestones in just one day on June 14 as two firsts happened in the hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory – Western Visayas’ first Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR), and the Philippines’ first Subdural Hemorrhage Embolization.
Performed by Dr. Rowena Ona, Interventional Cardiologist-Peripheral Vascular Intervention from TMC Ortigas together with TMC Iloilo Interventional Cardiologist Dr. James Catoto, and TMC Iloilo Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. Leo Malunes, the region’s first TEVAR procedure was done to manage a patient who had a thoracic aneurysm, a condition where the heart’s main artery, aorta, becomes significantly widened usually caused by high cholesterol or sudden injury.
Meanwhile, the country’s first Subdural Hemorrhage Embolization was performed by Dr. Victor Erwin Jocson, TMC Interventional Neuro-Radiologist. It is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a material called embolic agents to block off blood through the blood vessels, thus, stopping the recurrent subdural bleeds in the brain. In this case, Onyx + sphericals embolic agents were used to manage the patient’s condition. It is a medical breakthrough worth noting that breaks the belief that cases like this can only be done through surgical evacuation procedures.
Pushing boundaries through healthcare innovations. Being known as the trailblazer in healthcare in Western Visayas, TMC Iloilo brought a number of medical services which are mostly the first of their kind in the region. This is in line with TMC Iloilo’s commitment to bringing healthcare closer to the Ilonggos and its neighboring provinces. To note, TMC Iloilo houses the first Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in the region.
Now in its 11th year of operations, TMC Iloilo’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory has been instrumental in conducting not only heart procedures but also other procedures that were only performed outside Western Visayas before. With these milestones, TMC President and CEO Dr. Eugene Ramos highlights the importance of having the right people who have the same vision as the rest of the organization.
“TMC is here for the long haul, and that means investing not just in structures and processes, but in people. Ofcourse, we should savor and celebrate the highs of the moment but we should never lose sight of our role in shaping the future – our future, TMC enterprise’s Infinite Game,” he noted.
On his part, TMC Iloilo Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa envisions TMC Iloilo to still the lead in terms of healthcare innovations in the region.
“The future is bright for TMC Iloilo as we plan for more programs and services that will definitely change the healthcare landscape not only of Iloilo, but also of the region as a whole. The milestones that just happened in our hospital only proves that TMC Iloilo never ceases to think of ways to make healthcare better in this part of the country,” Dr. Villa said.
Update as of August 2021: Health is Essential, Do Not Delay: To highlight the importance of health and not delaying healthcare services during this time of the pandemic, The Medical City (TMC) Iloilo recently launched the “Health is Essential, Do Not Delay” campaign. Aimed at making the public understanding the benefit of having early consultation in preventing the development of diseases, the “Health is Essential, Do Not Delay” Campaign will be underscored with series of online events and webinars that will feature TMC Iloilo medical specialists.
“This initiative is our way to make the public understand how delays in healthcare services affect our patients in terms of developing complications and how early detection and prevention can be of great benefit in terms of saving lives,” said TMC Iloilo Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa.
Meanwhile, TMC Iloilo Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debbie Noblezada-Uy highlighted that time is an important element in terms of saving lives, specifically for emergency cases such as stroke and heart attack that need immediate medical intervention.
“It’s cliché to say that prevention is better than cure, but if we will go through with this statement thoroughly, prevention can go a long way and can benefit greatly, especially when we talk about our health. Consulting a doctor on the onset of any symptoms or if you feel something not normal about your health can prevent the development of diseases and can cut the cost of hospitalization,” she added.
In fact, a study on the effect of early consultation for cellulitis reveals that it resulted in decreased rates of unnecessary antibiotic use by 74.4% for presumed cellulitis cases and unnecessary hospitalization by 85% to patients with pseudocellulitis. Cellulitis, like other infections, is commonly mistaken as simple skin irritation or allergies but can lead to serious health problems if remaining untreated.
Update as of October 2020: ‘Pink Solidarity’: The Medical City (TMC) Iloilo launches the “Pink Solidarity”, an awareness advocacy campaign that promotes early detection and prevention of breast cancer. According to a 2018 Globocan Philippines report, breast cancer remains to be the top cancer type in the Philippines comprising 17.6% of the total number of new cancer cases recorded in the country. The report furthered that though breast cancer is most common among women, there are also reported cases that it can also happen among men.
“The Medical City Iloilo as a trailblazer in heathcare in Western Visayas remains to be steadfast in its thrust to promote health awareness and education specifically on breast cancer,” said TMC Iloilo Chief Executive Officer Dr. Felix Ray Villa.
“Although we are living in an unprecedented time brought about by the recent pandemic, the public should also be reminded that breast cancer can happen to anyone, anytime,” Dr. Villa added. To note, TMC Iloilo has its Breast Program that specializes in addressing patients’ concerns related to breast.
The “Pink Solidarity” Campaign aims to bring TMC Iloilo’s thrust of highlighting the importance of early detection and treatment louder and further. The campaign has a series of activities this October. These include the Pink Solidarity Advocacy Video that features Ilonggas and personalities from different walks of life advocating in the fight against breast cancer; an online discussion on breast cancer and what women need to know before and after it occurs will be also hosted with TMC Iloilo Breast Surgery and Oncology experts as resource speakers; and the Pink Solidarity Booth, an interactive booth to be set up at Festive Walk Iloilo on October 29-21 wherein women can drop by to learn how to detect early signs of breast cancer through self-assessment and examination.
Update as of February 2020: ‘Finest in Healthcare’: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally with an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year. Of the said number, 85% are due to heart attacks and stroke. In Western Visayas, the Department of Health (DOH) Region VI 2018 data revealed that Hypertensive Cardiovascular Diseases (HCVD) are the leading cause of mortality in the region which accounts to 1,033 deaths.
TMC Iloilo, being the “Heart Care Capital of Western Visayas” is the only private hospital in the region which has a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. This facility enables cardiovascular specialists to perform procedures such as angiogram, angioplasty and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).
With nine years of experience in handling various cardiovascular procedures and with 2,803 cases and counting, TMC Iloilo’s Cath Lab Team boasts its 99.42% Procedural Success Rate which is the highest in the region.
Aside from the modern facilities, TMC Illoilo has also a team of expert Cardio Specialists and nurses who are trained specifically for the treatment and management of different cardiovascular cases. With the availability of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and heart specialists at TMC Iloilo, Ilonggos and those who are living in the nearby provinces will no longer need to go to Manila or Cebu for the treatment of their heart problems. This means also more convenience and financial and time savings on their part as these procedures are now made available locally thru TMC Iloilo.
Update as of April 2018: Pioneering Patient Partnership. From being an industry challenger way back 2010, TMCI is now becoming known as one of the top healthcare brands in Iloilo offering state-of-the-art facilities, top-notch medical specialists, and innovative health programs. As it celebrates its 8th year of bringing patient partnership to the Ilonggo community, TMC Iloilo proudly marks new developments that will further prove its commitment.
The Medical City Iloilo on Patient Partnership
I-REACT. TMC Iloilo is considered the private hospital in Western Visayas to have an HIV Hub. TMCI’s I-REACT has been fully awarded full accreditation by the Department of Health last January 2018. I-REACT offers free HIV screening and counseling. It is also manned by compassionate and competent HIV counselors and distinguished infectious disease specialist who provides quality health services to their patient partners. Moreover, TMCI is committed to ending the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines by valuing high confidentiality among its patients.
Dialysis Service. The Dialysis Service is the newest facility of TMCI. The hemodialysis unit houses 13 advanced stations, each having its individualized monitor for patient viewing and entertainment for the whole course of the treatment. This brings a new kind of experience to its patients as it commits to bringing trendsetting technology and total wellness.
CTRI. As part of its commitment to leveling up its services, TMCI now houses a research-based institution manned by trained and competent staff. TMC Iloilo’s CTRI has a centralized level III Philippine Health Research Ethics Board and is accredited by the Institutional Review Board. The said research facility provides intra and extramural grant assistance for aspiring researchers.
Z-Benefit for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft. TMC Iloilo is the first private hospital in Western Visayas to adopt PhilHealth’s Z Benefit Package for CABG. The hospital offers half a million coverage for PhilHealth-eligible patients. TMC Iloilo also implements a ‘No Balance Billing’ to policy qualified patients. With this offering, patients will no longer need to fly to Manila or go elsewhere.
Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Pathway. TMCI offers specialized care for patients with heart attacks through its Acute Myocardial Infarction pathway which adheres to the standards given by the Joint Commission International. The program follows a 90 minutes door-to-ballon target to ensure efficient management of such conditions. With competent critical care specialists, interventional cardiologists, and cath la nurses, patients will be assured to receive nothing but the best medical services. TMC Iloilo is the only hospital that offers Catheterization Laboratory Services in the region.
Brain Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM). TMCI is the first hospital in Western Visayas to perform the country’s first Onyx embolization procedure. The said endovascular treatment utilized Onyx brain Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) led by Dr. Victor Erwin Jocson. With his impressive medical background being a fellow of the University of Western Ontario in Canada for Neuroradiology and in NEURI Bicetre Brain Vascular Center in Paris, France for Interventional Neuroradiology, TMCI takes pride to have medical experts who can handle such complicated cases.
Internal Medicine Residency Program. As part of rendering quality healthcare services, TMC Iloilo is now a Residency Training ground for future medical practitioners. TMC Iloilo’s Internal Medicine (IM) Program is accredited by the Philippine College of Physicians. This recognition is the first step for TMC Iloilo in becoming a training hospital for future physicians and soon-to-be leaders in the field of healthcare under Internal Medicine.
About The Medical City Iloilo. TMC Iloilo is one of the five local hospitals of The Medical City brand. Its other hospitals are located in Ortigas, Clark, South Luzon, and Pangasinan. Entered Iloilo in 2009, it is the first hospital in Iloilo City to introduce the “Patient Partnership” service philosophy, a value of care that focuses on making every patient a partner in their journey towards wellness. The Medical City is the largest healthcare network that owns and operates Guam Regional Medical City, the first Filipino-owned hospital in the United States, and an ambulatory Clinic in Dubai
