St. Luke’s stays on track with massive expansion

MANILA, Philippines — St. Luke’s Medical Center continues to absorb higher costs brought about by the ongoing Middle East crisis as much as it can, with the company staying on track with massive investments for expansion and technology upgrades.

St. Luke’s president and CEO Dennis Serrano told The STAR that the company wants to make sure that its patients would be the last one to be affected by any war-related price shocks.

“So far we’re able to cope. We don’t intend to increase the prices, not unless it comes to extremes already. We need to help each other out. Everyone takes a hit in the war and we also will,” Serrano said.

St. Luke’s, which operates two flagship facilities in Quezon City and Global City in Taguig, issued a public advisory late last month, indicating that there will be no changes or adjustments to its procedures, services or fee structure in light of recent reports on potential increases in hospital fees amid global developments.

Serrano, however, admitted that certain aspects of the company’s operations have been affected by these global developments.

“Number one affected is supply. Our supplies of medicine and equipment come from abroad. So logistics. Number two is bunker fuel. We run some parts of the machineries of the boilers of the hospital to provide hot water. So those are run by diesel fuel. Fortunately for us, we are running on renewable energy so our electricity cost won’t be affected. But the importation of medicines. as you know the pharmaceutical companies and suppliers, their knee-jerk reaction is to increase prices,” he said.

“But as much as possible, we are absorbing that. St. Luke’s is absorbing it so that the services remain the same,” Serrano said.

Asked how long will the company be able to absorb higher costs, Serrano said “we will see.”

“Just like the rest of the world, we are waiting. But the principle is, if there will be those who will be affected, the last one to be affected will be our patients,” he said.

Despite the challenges brought about by the ongoing Middle East tensions, St. Luke’s is pushing through with its growth and expansion initiatives aimed at providing the highest quality of service to its patients.

Serrano said the company is targeting to break ground on the P18-billion St. Luke’s Aseana in Parañaque this year, with the 500-bed hospital slated for opening by 2030.

St. Luke’s is also proceeding with its ambitious redevelopment for its hospital in Quezon City in an effort to modernize and expand its facilities.

As part of the redevelopment initiative for the St. Luke’s Quezon City facility, which was established in the 1960s, a new 13-story hospital building is currently being built.

“We’re hoping to open it between 2028, 2029 with everything modern,” Serrano said.

St. Luke’s also announced yesterday its acquisition of the O-arm Surgical Imaging System, a cutting-edge technology that elevates surgical imaging accuracy for orthopedic and spine procedures.

By equipping surgical teams with state-of-the-art imaging tools like the O-arm Surgical Imaging System, St. Luke’s said it continues to raise the standards of safety and precision for its patients as the technology empowers specialists to deliver the highest level of care.

Serrano said acquisition cost for the technology is between P30 million and P40 million.

“This is a testament to our continuing efforts to improve the hospital, put it at the cutting edge of technology. It really elevates the level of surgery that we can to for orthopedics, for spine and for neurosurgery.”