39. THE 1ST HOSPITALS AND MY 4TH

THE 1^ST HOSPITALS AND MY 4^TH

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

25 July 2017

 

I’ve been confined in a hospital four times, in 1992, 1994, 2003 and 2017. Lately, I had a hard time breathing which prompted me to call up the head of the Gov. Faustino N. Dy, Sr. Memorial Hospital in the City of Ilagan which is operated by the Provincial Government of Isabela and asked for a check up. After the standard operating procedure, I was recommended to be admitted, transferred to the Isabela United Doctors Medical Center in Cauayan City then later at the Makati Medical Center in the metropolis for the angiogram, an X-ray test that uses a special dye and camera (fluoroscopy) to take pictures of the blood flow in an artery (such as the aorta) or a vein (such as the vena cava).

 

Staying in three hospitals in a week made me research on the history of hospitals in the country. When I was sent to the United States particularly in Maryland and Washington, D.C. as Ambassador of Goodwill and Understanding (Group Study Exchange) by the Rotary International, I was given the chance to visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, a U.S. historic education institution located in Frederick, Maryland. Its focus involves the medical, surgical and nursing practices during the American Civil War. I was curious how our medical team in the Philippines functioned and operated during the Philippine Revolution, Philippine-American War and the Second World War.

The Spanish government and missionaries established a number of hospitals in the Philippines. The first hospital was erected by the Spaniards in Cebu in 1565. That first hospital was later transferred to Manila for the purpose of treating sick and wounded military personnel. The establishment of other health and charity institutions soon followed. The missionaries who established the early hospitals in the Philippines were the Franciscans, the Brotherhood of the Misericordia, the Brotherhood of San Juan de Dios, and the Dominicans. There were also lay government people who became founders of hospitals during the time period. Among the early hospitals in the Philippines were the following: Manila had the Hospital Real de Españoles (Royal Spanish Hospital, existed from 1577 to 1898), the Hospital de los Indios Naturales (Hospital of Native Indians, existed from 1578 to 1603), Hospital de Santa Ana (St. Anne Hospital, founded in 1603, still exists today), Hospital de la Misericordia (Mercy Hospital, existed from 1578 to 1656), the Hospital of San Juan de Dios (St. John of God Hospital, established in 1656, and still existing to the present), Hospital de San Lazaro (Hospital of St. Lazarus, a hospital for lepers established in 1603, still exists today), Hospital de San Pedro Martir (St. Peter the Martyr Hospital, 1587 to 1599), and the Hospital de San Gabriel (St. Gabriel Hospital, a hospital that is specialty for the Chinese community of Binondo, 1599 to 1774).

In Cavite, the Hospital del Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit Hospital) existed from 1591 to 1662. This hospital took care of sailors, marine personnel, shipbuilders, and carpenters among others. In Laguna, the Hospital de Nuestra Señora de las Aguas Santas de Mainit (Our Lady of the Holy Waters Hospital in Mainit, Mainit being the name of a place with hot springs in Laguna) existed from 1597 to 1727 and then was re-established from 1877 and still existing up to the present. The hospital was built by Franciscan missionaries on top of the location of hot springs in Los Baños, Laguna due to the therapeutic effects of the natural springs to the body of sick people, as they had observed from Filipinos of the time who bathe in hot springs despite of being ill. In Naga, the Hospital de Santiago (St. James's Hospital) existed from 1611 to 1691. Another hospital also named as the Hospital de San Lazaro (Hospital of St. Lazarus), which is different from the one catering to leper patients in Manila, existed from 1873 and is still functioning today.

Browsing the net, I came across an article at the first.website stating that San Lazaro Hospital is considered the first and the oldest hospital in the Philippines officially established in 1578. In some accounts, San Lazaro Hospital was founded earlier in 1557 as a dispensary clinic located in Intramuros by a certain Spanish friar named Juan Clemente. In 1578, the clinic became a fully operating hospital. San Lazaro Hospital specializes for patients with leprosy and other illnesses and still stands today located in Santa Cruz, Manila. The hospital was a small portion of a place known as the Hacienda Mayhaligue run by the government of Spain for 320 years. In 1898, the Americans took over and converted it into a hospital specializing in contagious diseases. In 1918, the Filipinos took over the control of the hospital. Between 1930 and 1931, all the mental cases of the hospital were transferred to the National Mental Hospital. In 1942, patients with leprosy were relocated to Tala Leprosarium. Today, the San Lazaro Hospital is among the referral facilities for communicable and infectious diseases of the Philippine government and offers free access to health care for the oppressed sectors.

My angiogram result was good since no major or minor arteries and veins of my heart is clogged or damaged. I was diagnosed to have cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle becoming enlarged, thick or rigid. My attending physician, Dr. Roberto V. Anastacio is one of the brilliant doctors in the country which specializes on Internal Medicine and Cardiology. A TOYM awardee, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Imelda Marcos’ cardiologist, Dr. Bobby as he is fondly called by close associates, was one of the pioneers of the Heart Center for Asia (now Heart Center of the Philippines) located at East Avenue in Quezon City. My aunt, Dr. Balbina B. Tomacruz, who is an A1 medical practitioner in the United States and the best friend of Dr. Bobby asked me to refrain from eating red meat, any processed food, salty and fatty food. She recommended fish, poultry without skin, olive oil only, fresh fruits and veggies and drink tons of water with lemon juice. In addition, she further asked me to fight stress and fatigue with power naps even for just 15-30 minutes even seating up so I would feel rejuvenated.

I would not dream again to have my fifth confinement. Aside from being very very expensive, lying on a hospital bed makes me feel helpless, weak and depressed. My only consolation during my eight days in three medical centers is the experience of modern medical technology and facilities surely not experienced by Filipinos during my ancestor’s time and being with my very caring and loving wife, Jasmin, 24/7.