CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY- This capital city of Northern Mindanao just took a quantum leap in global competitiveness as a city in the “Quality of Life” index with the recent inauguration of the Laureana San Pedro Rosales Heart Institute by the Capitol University Medical City.
Dr. Homobono B. Calleja cuts the ribbon for the LSR Heart Insitute with the assistance of CUMC Pres. & Administrator Rosalinda R. Deleste (right) and Dr. Renato Alagadan, LSRHI Director. Looking on is Dr. Jan Denton A. Chua, Pres/CEO of HB Calleja National Heart Institute.
“Our new facility aims to empower local cardiologists to do the needed surgical and other medical procedures locally to save patients the additional risk and expense of having their operations done in Manila or Cebu,” said Ms. Rosalinda R. Deleste, CUMC President and Administrator.
The Laureana San Pedro Rosales Heart Institute is named in honor of the late Madame Laureana Rosales, the founder of Capitol University and the CCC Hospital, progenitor of the CUMC.
Ms. Deleste cited recent studies in the United Kingdom and the US which indicate a correlation between the patient’s travel distance to the hospital with increased risk of mortality and how patients traveling long distances to the hospital spend more and incur higher hospital charges than patients residing nearby.
“If a person suffers from heart attack, a patient will have a golden period for 90 minutes within which his chances of recovery are still good,” said Dr. Jan Denton A. Chua, president/CEO of HB Calleja National Heart Institute. “Now the patient and his family need not worry about getting to the hospital in time since this facility will be nearby.”
With the GE OEC 9000, one of the most advanced mobile Catherization Laboratory technology equipment, the LSR Heart Institute’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) enables local cardiologists to perform interventional cardiology, interventional radiology and endovascular neurosurgery procedures. These include coronary angiograms (X-rays of the heart’s arteries using a special dye) and angioplasty (insertion of a small balloon to widen a blocked artery in the heart).
The LSR Heart Insitute's state of the art cardiovascular operating room features the city's first LED operating room lights.
At its state-of-the-art cardiovascular operating room the surgical team can perform heart bypass and repair damaged heart valves on both adult and pediatric patients.
Since its inception last March, the LSRHI cath lab has already done 14 procedures, said Dr. Renato Alagadan, LSR Heart Institute Director.
Although HB Calleja NHI initially established heart institutes in the Angeles University Foundation Medical Center (AUFMC) in Angeles, Pampanga and the Mary Mediatrix Medical Center in Lipa City, Batangas, CU Medical City will not want of expertise in the field with its first open heart surgery done last March 6, 2010 by the CUMC Cardiac Surgical Team led by Dr. Jose Joaquin Hernandez with Dr. Felix Lukban (University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, Manila). This was followed by another in September 11, 2011.
Patients who have just undergone procedures at the Cath Lab and CVOR are wheeled into the glass-walled Recovery Room (RR). Located in front of the Nurses’ Station for close monitoring of post-operative complications, the RR is equipped with advanced monitoring equipment, mood lighting and a built-in monitoring system that provides live video feeds of vital signs and real time important data of the cardiac patient.
The institute is also equipped with a 3-bed Coronary Care Unit (CCU) where patients with life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, unstable angina (chest discomfort/pain), dysrhythmia (irregular heart rate) as well as patients who underwent a Cath Lab or CVOR procedure receive round-the-clock care and rigorous monitoring.
By August this year the LSRHI will be taking delivery of a Siemens Somatom Sensation 64-slice CT scanner: The 64-slice CT tomography system is considered the latest generation of CT scanners which provides more detailed information for doctors to use by providing a 3-dimensional computer model of the body, including moving organs like the heart.
This will enable doctors to better plan surgical procedures or treatments compared to earlier 2-dimensional models. It is also less stressful for patients since the exam only takes seconds to perform, and they have to lie still and hold their breath shorter compared to earlier CT scans. The greater detail made possible by the 3-dimensional technology will provide doctors with more information than ever before – leading to improved diagnosis and better patient care
LSRHI is led by respected cardiologist Dr. Renato Alagadan as director. The team is composed of seasoned and renowned cardiovascular surgeons, interventional cardiologists, adult and pediatric cardiologists, cardiac anesthesiologists, and highly trained nurses.
At present, there are ten active adult and three pediatric cardiologists in Cagayan de Oro and a total of thirty cardiologists of both disciplines in Northern Mindanao under the aegis of the Philippine Heart Association Northern Mindanao headed by Dr. Rodrigo Alenton as president.
“LSRHI is committed to enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the region as well as improve patient compliance,” Mr. Alagadan said. “We have resident experts and visiting consultants and the latest technology to provide accurate diagnosis and advanced treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Because we are located near our patients’ residences, follow-up care is more convenient, affordable and less stressful for patients and their family.”
Initially, Mr. Alagadan said LSRHI will be focusing on low risk procedures with the higher risk cases referred to more established heart institutes in Manila and Cebu.