Insider Spotlight
In Southern Luzon, particularly in Batangas and neighboring provinces, the shortage of neurologists has long left patients with limited access to timely, life-saving treatment.
What’s happening
To help address this gap, Mary Mediatrix Medical Center (MMMC) in Lipa, Batangas, recently launched its Institute for Clinical Neurosciences, envisioned as a Center for Excellence for stroke and brain disease treatment in the Southern Tagalog region.
“The Institute for Clinical Neurosciences is providing neurology expertise to treat stroke and other brain diseases. At the same time, it is bringing in advanced equipment like MRI machines, CT scans, neuro-microscope for neurological procedures, EMG-NCV machines, EEGs; and an epilepsy monitoring unit,” said Dr. Edna Cuasay, chief of the Institute.
Why it matters
Neurologists have long been concentrated in Metro Manila, forcing patients from Southern Tagalog to travel for hours to get treatment.
“It used to be that the only venues for training neurologists were concentrated in NCR. However, thanks to the efforts of both government and tertiary hospitals, we are expanding these training facilities outside NCR. Here in Southern Luzon, we have only one neurology training facility which is Mary Mediatrix Medical Center,” Cuasay said.
What’s next
With the new institute, patients from Batangas, Quezon, and even Bicol can now access advanced stroke treatment and rehabilitation closer to home. Dr. Cuasay emphasized that “time is the most important factor not only in saving a patient’s life but also in helping a patient recover and restore quality of life.”
MMMC now counts the Institute for Clinical Neurosciences among its four Centers for Excellence, alongside its Cancer, Kidney, and Cardiovascular institutes. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
