One of the highlights of the 40th anniversary celebration is the Employees’ Program dubbed as “Ruby Night at the Metro”. It was held on June 04, 2010 at the Metro Concert Bar, 42  West Avenue, Quezon City attended not just by the awardees but a majority of the employees who enjoyed the production numbers, service  awards and the comedy act from budding stand up comediennes. In her opening remarks, Ms. Mary Ann Cruz, Program Committee Chairman stirred the enthusiasm of the attendees when she said, “this is an unforgettable night not just for the awardees but for the attendees as well”. Indeed it was not just a memorable event but a chance for the employees to unwind. The stand up comedy did not only make us laugh but it opened our eyes to the ironies of life. Foremost, the affair brought out the best of the performances rendered by  the  employees to honor the SERVICE AWARDEES headed by no less than CMC’s Founder Dr. Thelma Navarrete-Clemente. It was capped with dancing to the music provided by SYNERGY, a live band. To wrap it up the evening ended with a raffle of free round trip tickets to BORACAY with three (3) recipients from the Nursing Service and Admin Divisions.

By Mary Ann G. Cruz, RPT

       Hi, Readers'! Allow me to share my 15 year experience as a Physical Therapist at Capitol Medical Center (CMC). Yes! Believe it or not I’m the only one left in the Philippines. I chose to stay. I am glad I stayed all these 15 years with CMC’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. It gave me learning experiences in managing a broad variety of cases like a simple sprain to complicated ones like a stroke. Regardless of the complexity, one thing is for sure the patients are deeply affected. That’s why therapy plays an important role. In my department, all cases are given priority. I personally believe pain is pain and needs attention. It may be a grade of 2/10 or 9/10 (10/10 is the most painful), the patient is quite affected and thus seeks treatment.  With this, depression is a common aftermath.  When I was starting, I thought that the job was simple. However, I learned that we, Filipinos, usually treat our sick loved ones like ‘babies’ to the extent of not allowing them to move. We do not realize that this may bring more complications for the patient. As an RPT , I value the significance of our work to promote recovery of de-conditioning such as atrophy, contracture, and pneumonia.

We can help our patients and the need to share our knowledge with them. Thank God!  Now I can really say that there’s life after stroke, after surgeries or even after an accident. We may not prolong the life of our patients but what we can offer is the quality of life despite their sad experience. At times when someone suffers from a stroke people would say “half of his body is dead so he will be confined in bed”. This is difficult to witness but with the advent of  Rehabilitation ( Physical and Occupational Therapy), the patient enjoys the potential to go back to work, live a normal life and be of help to society. Importantly, an early referral to our department can shorten the patients’ stay in the hospital.  It may prevent secondary complications bring the patient back to near normal if not a 100% normal condition. We can help them attain their highest  level of functioning important for their daily activities. Through exercise we can help them strengthen their muscles and ease their pain. The key is to maintain the patients’ attained condition if full recovery is no longer possible.  And most importantly, in our Rehabilitation Center, our patients have developed camaraderie with their fellow patients.  They bond together, motivate each other and in time influence each other to continue their program. For many, this helps them overcome their depression.

       Overall, this career is fulfilling. We help patients in our own little way – assisting them in the  various forms of recovery. The Physical Rehabilitation Department at Capitol Medical Center is looking forward to the planned physical expansion. This will enable the Department to cater to more patients and be globally competitive in giving total quality healthcare.  For now we operate at the ground floor of CMC 2 building, Mondays thru Fridays from 6 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 8 am to 4 pm.

By:  Mary Jane Cortez, R. N. – Dean – CMCC

        Capitol Medical Center has wielded a tremendous influence in the ever fluctuating course of historical events in the field of hospital management from the time it opened its doors to the needing public.
        In June 1974, the CMC School of Nursing was established to prepare future nurses in
accordance with the standards of excellence set by the hospital.  With a meager number of 60 students aspiring to finish a Graduate of Nursing course, the school had a remarkable leap with the changing demands and trends of the country to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The expansion included Midwifery, Junior Secretarial Course, Post-Graduate studies in Critical Health Care, Physical Therapy, Certificate in Radiology, Commercial Food Service and Dietetic Technician.
        Ten years into its nursing program, The CMC School of Nursing boasted a 100% passing
in the licensure examination. 
        As the years evolved, the growing demand for the hospital’s services pushed
management to opt for service expansion, temporarily closing the Nursing School until such time a viable site can be obtained for it.
        In 1994, CMC School of Nursing re-opened and offered the B.S. in Nursing course. In
June 2004, it obtained the permit to operate from the Commission on Higher Education. Since then it operated as the CMC Colleges with a 160 student enrollment and a faculty of 30 for Nursing and 13 for General Education.  Mrs.  Belen B. Antonio acted Dean during its initial years then was succeeded by Dean Mary Jane L. Cortez in April 2006.
        CMC Colleges promptly and successfully worked for full recognition from CHED to operate a four-year BSN program. The College is proud of noteworthy performances of its graduates in the PRC Nurses’ Licensure Examinations, having placed 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th respectively, not to mention the consistent above national passing rate of the college.  
For school year 2010-2011, the College offers two new programs: Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology and Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology.
        The CMCC Management Committee and Board of Directors led by Dr. Thelma
Navarrete-Clemente are steadfast on the vision that Capitol Medical Center Colleges is an excellent learner-centered institution fostering globally competent health care professionals in the service of humanity.

By: Ma. Lourdes Pasion, MD, FPSP Blood Bank Consultant

            The automated blood collection system, Apheresis, is one of the many facilities of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Through this facility the donor has the option to donate just a component part of his blood unlike the traditional giving away of the whole blood effected by manual donation.  A portable automated cell-separator machine called Haemonetics MCS+ installed in the Blood Bank could be programmed to collect units of blood components such as red blood cells, platelets, plasma or even peripheral blood stem cells.  Hence, with the wonders of modern technology, the donors now have a choice. 
            Apheresis (which literally means “to remove”) involves the separation of blood into component parts, retention of the needed component and return of the remaining components to the donor.  During donation, blood is drawn from the donor’s arm and flows into a sterile, single-use tubing set into a cell-separator machine.  The donation process lasts from 1 to 1 ½ hours.
            There are many advantages of Apheresis over manual donation:

1. Apheresis gives a higher yield and fewer donors to be bled.  For example, thru Apheresis, 2 units of red blood cells or 6 – 8 units of platelets could be obtained from a single donor in one session. On the other hand, to yield the same quantities, 6 – 8 donors are required in manual operation.
2. More donations are possible within a period of time. 
3. Donors may choose to donate whole blood every three months versus every three days for plateletpheresis. 
4. Apheresis limits donor exposure thereby lessening the chances of transfusion transmitted disease.
5. Criteria for blood donation are the same as regular manual donors. 

Apheresis is not only used for blood collection, but also has therapeutic applications.  In Therapeutic Apheresis (TA) whole blood is removed from a patient and separated into components (using centrifugation), one or more of which is retained.  The remaining components are then recombined and returned to the patient. Hence, blood cells, plasma and plasma constituents may be removed from the circulation and replaced by normal plasma (called Therapeutic Plasma Exchange – TPE), crystalloid or colloids. 
       The theoretical basis for Therapeutic Apheresis is to reduce the patient’s load of a pathologic substance to levels that will allow clinical improvement.  In the recently published “Clinical Applications of Therapeutic Apheresis” (Journal of Clinical Apheresis, Vol. 22 Issue 3, June 2007),  diseases in  which Therapeutic  Apheresis is considered Category I, that is, “standard and acceptable,  as primary therapy or as first line adjunct therapy  ”are autoimmune  diseases e.g. cryoglobulinemia, hematologic diseases like  hyperleukocytosis, sickle cell disease,  neurological disorders like Guillan-Barre, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and myasthenia gravis. 

       The use of TPE for renal transplantation, antibody mediated rejection & HLA desensitization falls under Category II that includes “diseases for which TA is generally accepted but considered to be supportive or adjunctive to other, more definitive treatments, rather than a first-line therapy”.  In the case of renal transplantation, Therapeutic Apheresis has a role in removing substances that are responsible for antibody-mediated rejection such as HLA antibodies (prior to transplant) and donor specific antibody (DSA) which are generated after transplantation.