PNOY, ONA INAUGURATE NKTI DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

 

Press Release/21 October 2011

 

As part of the administration’s commitment to quality health care through the agenda of Kalusugan Pangkalahatan or Universal Health Care, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) Diagnostic Center was formally inaugurated today in ceremonies led by His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III and Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona, NKTI’s former Executive Director.

 

The newly built Diagnostic Center offers a wide range of services including cancer treatment, stem cell and bone marrow transplantation/studies. It boasts a collection of state-of the-art medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scan, catheterization laboratory, digital radiography fluoroscopy, ultrasound, and vascular imaging machines, which will improve NKTI’s capacity to provide advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services for its patients as well as those coming from other hospitals - both public and private - in Metro Manila.

 

Likewise, the NKTI Diagnostic Center ismanned by well-trained staff, and is equipped with educational facilities for the training of medical, nursing, and technical personnel which could service human resource needs of many health institutions all over the country.

 

“The establishment of the NKTI Diagnostic Center greatly improves NKTI’s capacity to provide advanced quality health care for our countrymen especially the poor.”Ona said, adding that the price of procedures at the NKTI Diagnostic Center is about 30% lower compared to other medical institutions.

 

The NKTI is a tertiary medical center under the DOH which primarily specializes in kidney diseases and organ transplantations. It was the first government hospital in our country to earn an ISO certification, an international stamp of quality, and is currently considered as a leader in its field in Asia.

 

Other remarkable milestones throughout NKTI history include: double transplant of kidney and pancreas in one patient- the first in Asia; double transplant of kidney and liver in one patient-also the first in Asia; first bone marrow transplant in the country in 1990; first minimally invasive treatment for prostate cancer using high intensity focused ultrasound in the country; first donor nephrectomy using laparoscopic procedure in the country; and the first peripheral blood stem cell transplant in the country.

 

The NKTI has the most modern hemodialysis unit in the country and this was made possible by the participation of the private sector in the spirit of Public-Private Partnership, which is a major strategy of this administration for infrastructure development. Fittingly, the NKTI Diagnostic Center also houses the Center of Excellence on Public-Private Partnerships in Health, a newly created DOH Unit in charge of the planning, implementation, and monitoring of PPP projects for upgrading of government hospitals.

 

“The NKTI Diagnostic Center is a legacy of this administration to the Filipino people as part of our commitment to make advanced and modern health care services accessible for all Filipinos” Ona concluded.