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PLM doctors respond to call to man the frontlines at Sta. Ana Hospital

Nine graduates of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Medicine are joining the frontlines of the Sta. Ana Hospital to boost the city-run hospital’s manpower amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Grace Padilla, director of the Sta. Ana Hospital, said four PLM doctors will be stationed at the emergency room, four will serve under the family medicine unit, and one will join the pediatrics department.

Among those who bravely responded to the call to devote their time and talents to public health are Drs. Faizal Guiamano, Gabrielle Mae Padolina, Baby Lyn Ann Tanalgo, Clemenzar Agullana, Andrea Francisco, Kasandra Cuevas, and Marvin Hitosis. They passed the board exam in 2020.

Most of these doctors said they chose PLM because of the affordable but quality education that it is known for. Becoming a doctor in a public hospital is their way of giving back.

“I chose Sta. Ana Hospital because this is the way for me to give back to the people of Manila and to pay it forward,” said Dr. Agullana. “I feel indebted to the people of Manila as a scholar. I feel like I have the obligation to serve them since taxes nila ang nagpaaral sa akin for a time while I was in Medicine.”

Dr. Guiamano said apart from pursuing good medical training, Sta. Ana Hospital was a way for him to help address and treat the steadily rising COVID-19 patients in the city and the country.

Sta. Ana Hospital, which is of the City of Manila’s six public hospitals, hosts the city’s own COVID-19 testing laboratory.

“We are very pleased that PLM graduates are taking the public health track. What you can contribute to the Sta. Ana Hospital will go a very long way,” University President Emmanuel Leyco said in a virtual meeting with the PLM doctors. “May you uphold PLM values of karunungan, kaunlaran, at kadakilaan as you serve the people and contribute to nation-building.”

The PLM College of Medicine is among the top performing schools in the country, posting a 97.58% passing rate and producing two board topnotchers during last year’s Physician Licensure Examination.

More PLM applicants for Sta. Ana Hospital’s programs are being evaluated, Dr. Padilla added, saying the institution is “fortunate and grateful” to welcome new doctors. #