Sta. Cruz Multispecialty Hospital, Inc.

Sta. Cruz is a homey little hospital in Calumpit. As I young boy from Gatbuca and as a professional now living in Taguig, I have been hearing of its reputation for being an "expensive" hospital, so when my 5-year old daughter was struck with dengue, we had her admitted here with much trepidation and reluctance. The truth, it would turn out, is entirely different and pleasantly surprising. What we got was a bill that was not only reasonable, but minus my daughter's coverage with PhilHealth, what I actually had to pay was way less than my month's electric bill! We were confined in a private room with solo bathroom and air-conditioning. And this is on top of the expertise and care of nurses and staff who make you feel you are checked in St. Luke or Asian Hospital. From the emergency room doctor who was very pleasant and accommodating at one in the morning, to the PhilHealth coordinator who generously waited for our papers to be fetched all the way from BGC where I work, to the orderlies who made us feel right at home, this place is clearly run by well-mannered personnel who are trained not only in medicine but in personal courtesy. We also had the supreme privilege of meeting Dra. Levita Panis, the Vice President and Head of OPD, the likes of whom I believe I will never see again in my lifetime. She is totally and unequivocally one darling of a pediatrician, unfathomably patient with explaining to us our questions and appeasing us from our worries, and of such motherly deportment you know she actually wants you to get well. Unlike any doctor I have met (and I have met the best of them ranging from Asian Hospital to Makati Med to St. Luke, as I am a diabetic and hypertensive myself who comes for regular checkups), Dra. Panis even opened her clinic for my family on a Sunday for a followup visit. She explained every single medicine on her prescription, what they were for and how they worked. She was enjoyable to talk to. Never did I get that feeling you often get from big city doctors these days: that they are superior than you and your endless questioning is wasting their time. She will make you believe again that there are good people in the world. To call this an "expensive" hospital is unfounded and totally unfair. I regret having believed that olden but erroneous rep and all the other negative press about this place. After my daughter's discharge, she left in an excellent state of recovery and her parents' hearts swollen with thankfulness we chose Sta. Cruz Hospital as her avenue for healing.