THE De Los Santos Medical Center (DLSMC) successfully discharged 18 patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – some of whom were initially classified as critically ill.
The hospital has cared for 337 COVID-related cases — of which 88 suspect and probable cases were admitted while 24 patients were later confirmed to be COVID-19 cases.
Likewise, there were 249 suspect and probable cases treated as outpatients due to mild symptoms. Eleven of whom were confirmed cases of COVID-19 and referred to quarantine facilities.
Through the persistent care of DLSMC doctors and nurses, Dr. Nilo C. De Los Santos, DLSMC vice president for medical affairs and chief medical officer, said the discharged 18 patients are now reunited with their families.
For De Los Santos, “this is an achievement which we are proud of as an organization, as we work together in combating the invisible enemy.”
In response to patient concerns over returning to hospitals for their healthcare needs, De Los Santos noted they have since expanded their capacity to accept patients and at the same time enhanced their safeguards and protocols to ensure a safer environment for their health workers and patients.
“We are now able to accept non-COVID-19 cases and can already conduct elective procedures in our catheterization laboratory and operating rooms,” he said.
DLSMC recently resumed conducting elective procedures — pacemaker insertion, patent ductus arteriosus closure, coronary angioplasty, joint replacement surgery, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery — under strict safety protocols.
As its Medical Arts Building resumes operations, the DLSMC also introduced its CliniCare program as a means for patients to call first to set a personal checkup with the hospital’s physician.
This system manages both the number of incoming patients as well as the schedules of doctors to reduce congestion at the clinics. Before entering the hospital, all patients are now required to wear masks and undergo triage and temperature checks as part of the new (temporary) normal in healthcare service.
De Los Santos said they will always put the welfare of their health workers and patients as their priority.
He added that they cannot emphasize enough the importance of safety as they enter the new normal and they will continually adapt to the changing landscape in healthcare in order to provide patients the care they need.