AC Health, QualiMed increase COVID-19 capacity

AYALA HEALTHCARE Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) and hospital operator QualiMed have expanded their capacities to accommodate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Laguna and Bulacan in preparation for any surge in new cases.

In a statement on Wednesday, AC Health said it doubled its COVID-19 capacity by adding more beds to the QualiMed Hospital — Sta. Rosa in Laguna and the QualiMed Hospital — San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan.

The Laguna facility now has 75 beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, while the Bulacan facility has 30 beds allocated for the same purpose.

“It has been encouraging to see national and local numbers improving, but our experience has taught us that managing this pandemic requires continuous vigilance,” AC Health President and CEO Paolo Maximo F. Borromeo said in the statement.

“We used this time to increase our capacity even further at QualiMed, and we also expanded our services across AC Health to include telehealth and home services, with the goal of ensuring we are ready to deal with this virus for the long haul,” he added.

Aside from increasing the bed capacity, the two facilities also implemented efforts to strengthen their COVID-19 response, such as updating treatment protocols, implementing comprehensive triaging processes and conducting risk-based testing to frontliners and doctors.

They are likewise looking to build a portable dialysis unit and buy more equipment such as high flow nasal cannula machines, closed circuit ventilators and suction pumps.

“This expansion project signifies another milestone in our partnership with AC Health… This is a necessary addition to our existing initiatives, such as ramping up safety protocols and improving testing capacities, as we support our country’s fight against the health crisis,” QualiMed Health Network President and CEO Edwin Mercado said.

AC Health and QualiMed forged a partnership in April to jointly roll out initiatives to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the health crisis, the Laguna and Bulacan facilities have admitted more than 400 COVID-19 patients, triaged more than 21,000 suspect cases and conducted close to 41,000 tests.

In May, AC Health said it is setting aside P300 million for COVID-19 efforts.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines stood at 421,722 on Tuesday, accounting for 26,745 active cases, 8,185 deaths and 386,792 recovered patients. Parts of the country remain under varying levels of quarantine to contain the outbreak. — Denise A. Valdez