Hobbled by loan payments from previous management, the Catanduanes Doctors Hospital, Inc. (CDHI) reduced its net loss to P15 million as it nearly tripled its revenue from P34 million in 2023 to P101 million last year.
The encouraging figures prompted the chairman of the board, Iluminada P. Teves, to vow to shareholders in last Saturday’s general assembly at Rakdell Hotel that the management will not fail their expectations and find ways to surmount its problems as the hospital marked its 8th year.
She cited the financial dilemma inherited from past management, including the current P2.5 million monthly amortization for the P295-million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Aside from the amortization burden, the hospital also upgraded its equipment particularly the CT scan and replaced obsolete equipment in order to comply with Department of Health licensing requirements.
Teves stated that the hospital reduced its losses by expanding into new business, implementing cost management, trying new marketing strategies, and entering into partnerships with private doctors and other hospitals in the province.
Likewise, she thanked President Bongbong Marcos, TGP partylist led by Cong. Jose Teves Jr., Ako Bicol partylist and Cong. Eulogio Rodriguez for the funds allotted to the hospital under the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.
She added that CDHI has kept its payables updated, held down operational expenses and improved delivery of quality health services.
President and CEO Dr. Lubelia Sanchez underscored its accomplishments in 2024, particularly the establishment of its own blood bank, only the third in the region; its accreditation with PhilHealth Konsulta as the only private hospital in Catanduanes to do so, with 2,329 registered members; accreditation as Mother and Baby Friendly Hospital after seven years of trying; establishment of the Physical Therapy Unit that boosted its Out-Patient Department (OPD) capacity; acquisition of Panoramic/Cephalometric X-ray for the dental unit; opening of its own Animal Bite Center now awaiting accreditation; and establishment of a caregiving training facility compliant with TESDA regulations.
She disclosed that as a 60-bed capacity hospital. CHDI has reached 80 percent average occupancy and reached its maximum income generating capacity.
It also bucked the loss of its defective CT scan machine that took seven months to replace and affected hospital operations during the period.
Among the management’s plans for 2025 include targeting the conferment of Center of Excellence by the Department of Health; implementation of electronic monitoring and reporting system; staff training and development; hiring of consultants for ISO readiness; benchmarking with top hospitals in the mainland; increase in the number of seats at the Renal Dialysis Unit (RDU) from the current eight (8) machines to 15 units; and increasing the hospital’s bed capacity from 60 to 70 beds by next year.