“Ang ganda naman ng ospital na ito. Parang bahay ni kuya (referring to ABS-CBN’s Big Brother house)... ang linis at ang ganda ng garden.” This is how Ofelia described Tayug Family Hospital.

The Recipients

Ofelia Catchillar, a 36-year-old lass from Basista, Pangasinan was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. “Sabi ng doktor ko, kailangang-kailangan ko na raw maoperahan sa thyroid. Nahihirapan na kasi akong tumayo. Hyper kasi ang thyroid ko. Tinanong niya kung miyembro ako ng PhilHealth. Sabi ko member po ako ng 4Ps. Sabi niya, kung ganun ililibre kita pero sa Tayug Family Hospital.”

Ofelia had been suffering from hyperthyroidism for quite some time but she cannot proceed with her surgery due to the high cost of operation. “Sabi kasi nung una, P 17,000 ang gagastusin ko sa pagpapaopera. Walang-wala ho kami. Nagmamanicure nga lang po ako para makatulong sa asawa ko na nagkakatay naman ng baboy. Salamat na lamang po at may tumulong sa akin. Pamasahe lang po ang ginastos ko. Humiram po kami ng patrol kay kapitan at inilibre pa ni kapitan yung gasoline.”

She was very thankful to PhilHealth for the No Balance Billing (NBB) Policy that provided her with free operation of her thyroid and to Tayug Family Hospital because the policy applied to her during those times she needed it. “Proud na proud po ako sa programang ito ng PhilHealth. Napakalaking tulong sa mahirap na katulad ko dahil kung walang PhilHealth, hindi ko mababayaran ang operasyon ko. Ganun din naman po sa Tayug Family Hospital. Di ko akalain na dito ako maoospital. Ang ganda ng room ko at ang babait ng mga staff. Oras-oras, may bumibisitang nars upang tingnan ang aking kundisyon,” she narrated.

Like Ofelia, Dawn Aljean Cortez, 22, is from Barangay Alaxan, San Quintin, Pangasinan and was also grateful to Tayug Family Hospital for accommodating her three-month old daughter, Erich May Liclican who suffered from bronchopneumonia.

“Di ko po inaasahang dito maoospital ang anak ko. Inirefer lang po ito ng isa kong kakilala. Nag-aalala nga po akong pumunta rito dahil wala naman kami talagang pambayad,” said Dawn, and added that “laborer lang po ang asawa ko at wala naman akong trabaho. Isang kahig, isang tuka lang po kami. Kaya lang nahihirapan na po talagang huminga ang anak ko kaya napilitan na rin akong pumunta.”“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa napakalaking pribilehiyong naibigay sa akin at sa baby ko.Di ko po inaasahang dito ako maoospital. Ni sa hinuha, di ko po iisiping macoconfine ang anak ko sa ganitong kagandang ospital. Napakaganda ng facilities kung kaya’t nag-aalangan po akong pumunta sa ospital na ito dahil wala kami talagang pambayad,” she narrated. “Sa loob ng apat na araw namin dito, maganda ang naging pakikitungo ng mga staff.”

• 
• 
• 

The Facility

Tayug Family Hospital is the first private hospital in Pangasinan to implement the NBB Policy of PhilHealth. Sprawling across 4,000 square meters of land, this health facility was recently expanded in its new site in the town of Tayug in Eastern Pangasinan. This town got its unique name from a very tall tree that once grew in the heart of the town. The bacayao tree was so tall that the Ilocanos called it “Layug.” Because the people found it difficult to pronounce the letter “L,” they changed it to “T” by common usage. Hence, the name Tayug came about.

Tayug Family Hospital offers many upgraded, state-of-the-art amenities and is beautifully designed. Aside from the four (4) wards, two (2) semi-private, 25 private, two (2) de luxe, one (1) ambassador and one (1) presidential rooms, the expansion also includes a dialysis center, diabetes, heart as well as lung stations. It is also attractive both inside and on the outside. It is set in a quiet residential neighborhood, and its architectural design fits in perfectly with the surrounding buildings and homes. The exterior landscape complements the design, with lush and tended-to greens and shrubbery that invite patients and guests to spend free time outdoors. At the heart of the hospital compound lies the sculpture of four (4) individuals closely attached to each other, representing family and a word “Timpuyog,” an Ilocano word for gathering and working together towards one accord for the common good, engraved in it.

In June last year, it started accommodating NBB patients and in such a short period of time, this facility was able to perform three (3) minor surgeries, 15 hospital procedures and 50 medical cases on PhilHealth members, all of whom did not pay beyond what their respective PhilHealth coverage provided. Its common hospital admissions consist of acute gastro-enteritis (AGE), hypertension, pneumonia, stroke, and acute coronary syndrome.

Husband and wife team

The hospital is run by a husband and wife team, Pastor Dominador Ubaldo of the Church of God World Mission Philippines and Dr. Joy Ubaldo, whose commitment to the well-being of the people drove them to initiate the adoption of NBB. The former is the administrator of the hospital, while the latter serves as its medical director. “We put patients at the heart of everything we do,” uttered Dr. Ubaldo. “This is our slogan since we believe that each person provided with free medical service in a private hospital will have a unique experience throughout their treatment and beyond” she added.

Passion and Love for Work

It has been more than 15 years of medical service for Ubaldo, but the burning desire to improve peoples’ physical wellness and the passion for community health stay because of her love for her work. “In this field, she explained, “medical practice is not just confined within its clinical aspect. There are administrative and management tasks, too, especially for me being the medical director of this hospital,” she said.

When asked why they adopted NBB in their hospital, Dr. Ubaldo confidently smiled and said, “We have always been passionate about providing free services to our patients. It is rewarding and professionally fulfilling. There is satisfaction in whatever you do. With the directions and standards implemented, you see how these really contribute to the society. And it makes you think and hope that it can be done and the whole country could benefit from it. Kayang-kaya naman pala. We just need to implement the program and sacrifice a bit. Also, we are a good partner of PhilHealth. Our success is also PhilHealth’s,” she said.

Dr. Ubaldo hopes that more private hospitals will soon be engaged in the program. “The concept of NBB is very good. For it to be successful, private hospitals have to recognize that significant proportion of patients go to them other than public hospitals.”

• 
• 
• 

No Balance Billing

PhilHealth believes that health is a universal right and not a privilege. Since universal health care (UHC) aspires to provide optimal financial risk protection for a country’s citizenry, especially to the most vulnerable groups including the poorest of the poor, PhilHealth adopted the NBB Policy or Walang Dagdag Bayad Policy for ward accommodation in government hospitals all over the country. The said policy gives the said members valuable safety net against financial risks attributed to medical necessities while allowing them access to adequate health care which they might not have had before without the government’s help.

At present, 66 percent of the country’s hospitals are already implementing the NBB. Based on the November 2016 summary of PhilHealth Patient Feedback Form for NBB compliance, four hospitals in Eastern Pangasinan, namely, Urdaneta District Hospital, Asingan Community Hospital, Pozorrubio Community Hospital and Umingan Community Hospital, got a 100 percent compliance; one (1) got 94.23 percent, while the other one (1) got an 83 percent level of compliance, proof that indeed NBB is being implemented in the province.

According to Dr. Ubaldo, the implementation of NBB in their hospital does not in any way affect its operational expenses . “Nung nagpapasyente pa kasi ako, nakikita ko ang aktwal na gastusin sa ospital at alam kong kaya naming i-adjust ang mga gastusin na ito. Hanggang sa kinonsulta ko rin ang aming mga consultant at base sa kanilang pagkukwenta, kaya naman daw tustusan ng ospital ang pangangailangan ng mga mahihirap na pasyente. She also emphasized that their hospital is not purely business. “Ang ospital kasi namin, hindi 100% profiteering . Syempre, nandoon pa rin yung service. Di matatanggal sa duktor ang pagiging service oriented Tingnan na rin lang siguro yung advantage. Kaya rin ng ibang private hospitals mag-implement ng NBB basta’t di complicated cases. Lalo na ngayon maayos na ang PhilHealth’s case rate, except for the length of stay (LOS) sa Acute Gastro Enteritis ((AGE). Mas maganda kung ma-revisit ng PhilHealth ang polisiya ukol dito.”

Best Practice

The NBB Policy or Walang Dagdag Bayad Policy is being implemented in all government hospitals all over the country. However, Tayug Family Hospital, believes that the policy is a good one, hence, decided to implement it.

Indeed, the best practices demonstrated by Tayug Family Hospital can help boost the credentials of medical practitioners and hospitals while fulfilling their vow of serving the society. A nation with a sound social capital gets to reap the return of investment in the future. Tayug Family Hospital’s success can be every one’s story if more private hospitals adopts the NBB policy in answering the clamor for zero out-of-pocket hospitalization.

Tayug Family Hospital’s biggest challenge at the moment is the expansion of the NBB policy implementation to senior citizens, LGU employees, personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). “The preparation of a MOA is ongoing as well as meetings with concerned agencies,” Ubaldo stated. “We hope we can implement the expansion this year,” she added. (END)(Emelita M. Retuta)