St. Frances Cabrini officials led by Dr. John Alonzo and Dr. Florentino Afable (7th and 10th from R-L) were awarded by NABH International CEO Dr. K K Kalra and Director Dr. BK Rana (6th and 8th from R-L) as witnessed by HealthCORE executive director Joyce Socao-Alumno (5th from left) and some of the staff

The National Accreditation Board for Hospital International (NABH International) continues to support the Philippines in gaining international accreditation in the field of healthcare. The latest accreditation was awarded to St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center.

A non-profit organization, NABH International is recognized by International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). One of the organization’s main objective is to redefine healthcare quality in the developing worlds but at the same time, providing accreditation with an affordable cost.

The organization has seen their main objective being imbibed by this world-class provincial medical center.

St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center, located in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, has always held on to their mission statement which is to passionately strive in providing healthcare needs and deliver high quality healthcare service to improve lives.

The hospital has aimed to provide excellent service to the entire Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region. They have achieved various milestones one of which is to be one of the only four hospitals in Southern Tagalog accredited as a Center of Excellence by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

It has also been the chosen venue for international medical missions targeting indigent people of Region IV and V that do not have access to proper medical care. These missions support the hospital’s advocacy and that is to ensure that they extend the same quality of service to everyone who goes inside their hospital doors who is in need of medical care.

“St. Frances Cabrini has complied with all the standards of NABH International. This ranks them at par with the best hospitals in the world in terms of patient care and patient safety.” NABH Director Dr. BK Rana stated who was also one of the assessors.

St. Frances Cabrini celebrates momentous achievement

St. Frances Cabrini is the only hospital who is a participant in the United Nations Global Compact Initiative. An organization that is anchored in the practice of human rights, fair labor practice, and protection against corrupt practices.

"Although our hospital had all the universal equipment and qualified specialists all these years, the hospital achieved NABH accreditation only when it thoroughly started following all the NABH norms of documentation, patient safety and patient education. The NABH accreditation is actually more for the interest of the patients’ care and safety as it ensures best treatment for patient," said Dr. John Cresencio F. Alonzo, SFCMC President/COO.

Joyce Socao-Alumno, NABH Philippines Representative and Country Head of Aster DM Healthcare says, “Accreditation is beyond licensing which is the basic requirement for hospitals and even more than ISO certification. Accreditation is a tool that is meant to assist hospitals achieve excellence by benchmarking with the best of the best. A hospital cannot claim it is world-class if there is no third party expert to say that what they are indeed of global standard. NABH International, just like JCI, is recognized by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQUA) as an accredited agency that audits hospitals against the global standards of patient care and patient safety. These assessors were trained and licensed to do the audit. The NABH International assessment is more than lip service. It involves audit of the entire organization of the hospital from the CEO down to the lowest ranking staff, and every nook and corner of the facility.”

Having an international accreditation also gives the Philippines the opportunity to explore the medical tourism industry that is currently on an uptrend. St. Frances Cabrini is the first to be proclaimed as a Medical Tourism Special Economic Zone. Another achievement under the hospital’s long list of distinctions.

The NABH International plans to continue extending their international accreditation to the Middle East and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.

The process may be tedious but once the organization completed and passed the assessments, they will be accredited for three years.

“This accreditation does not only target city hospitals. NABH International also provides accreditation to small health care organizations, wellness centers and blood banks to name a few. Each category has a set of standards that they need to comply with. These organizations may apply under the relevant accreditation program that depends on the services that they offer. Hopefully, more hospitals and wellness centers in the Philippines will achieve international accreditation in order for the Philippines to gain global acceptance in the field of healthcare,” Alumno added.