St. Luke's assures affordable services

A ST. Luke’s Medical Center executive said people of Davao will be able to afford their services contrary to the notion that the hospital is for the rich only.

During the official launch of the hospital in Davao City last Saturday, August 26, at Marco Polo Hotel, St. Luke’s Medical Center chief executive officer (CEO) doctor Edgardo Cortez said the market in Davao is different from what they have in Manila and they would be sure to benchmark their prices, not with Manila pricing, but with the hospitals in Davao City.

Cortez said they would like to correct the notion that St. Luke’s Medical Center only caters to those belonging in the higher strata of the society.

“We do cater to classes A and B but we cater also across the class C market, particularly the upper C. That means even our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), our business process outsourcing (BPO) employees can afford the hospital. When we took over, the first thing I did is to rationalize the pricing. You might be surprised if I tell you that we are not the most expensive hospital. Three other hospitals are actually more expensive than us,” said Cortez, who added that the world-class services and standards of the hospital might have brought

When asked if they are looking forward into partnering with the local government unit (LGU) of Davao City to come up with something similar to Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC’s) Lingap para sa Mahirap to cater to the poor, Cortez said they are going to plan for it as part of their corporate social responsibility programs.

“Depending on our resources, we will try our best to put that under our sleeves likewise,” said Cortez adding that their partnership with the Ayala and the Alcantara groups encompasses the interests that would support help for the patients. JPA concerned, and a letter of request to lift the closure order addressed to the head of the Business Bureau had been given due course. KVC