Calamba—Calamba Eye Center recently celebrated its 23rd year coinciding with August as “Sight Saving Month” with an array of health lectures, free vision screening for kids, contact lens awareness and corneal topography for adults, among other eye care services for the family as part of its Vision 20/20 for 2020.
Dr. Jose Enrico Juliano, the Eye Center’s founder-director and ophthalmologist, disclosed the Eye Center has come a long way from his dream of establishing the Eye Center with sophisticated equipment and all modalities available for its team of more than 20 ophthalmologists and optometrists, nurses, and technicians.
“One of the five towers to be constructed at the Calamba Medical Center’s concept of Health Care City of the South is the Eye Center building which will house the Eye Center services along with additional clinics for future doctors, as part of our Vision 20/20 in year 2020,” Juliano disclosed in an interview.
He said the CMC administration has been blessed through the years of serving then the town of Calamba, and now a booming city with the health care “city” complex.
“But a city is more than just the hospital, there is a need for the concept of a health care city especially now that we have the government’s Universal Health Care and expand eye care services with top-of-the-line equipment and facilities that are at par with Metro Manila eye centers,” he explained.
“If there is Universal Health Care on the orders of President Duterte, we are open to universal eye health care for everyone,” he added.
He said the Eye Center vision of a one-stop-shop building will be linked to the Medical Arts Building Tower 1 to usher in the entry of other specialists needed in the South of Metro Manila, as travel time to the National Capital Region gets longer with the worsening traffic along the South Luzon Expressway.
“We have been blessed by God through many years of services, so we want to give back especially to the people, reaching out to other cities, towns because Laguna is big and Batangas is growing along with Cavite because Region 4A (Calabarzon) is reckoned to be the next metropolis second to Metro Manila,” the Eye Center chief shared.
The old CMC hospital complex is now under lease by Philhealth LHIO along with the Calamba City Government’s Charity Ward, as tie-up collaboration with the local government to provide quality health care services to the city’s indigents.
With its Silver Anniversary two years from now, the CEC has moved to its more spacious location for expanded key sections like the optical laboratory, consultation facilities and optical diagnostics and surgeries and other eye care services to accommodate growing clientele of patients and doctors.
He revealed plans are afoot for a partnership undertaking between the Cornea Bank and the Eye Center, anchored on its commitment to bring world-class healthcare services to the community especially patients as the core of health care, and ensure to keep patient experience at the forefront.
“We are also training other doctors, as we are patient-focused because this will help Calamba rise with the next generation of well-trained doctors setting the standards in the city and the province as CEC improves the machines and facilities to prove that we are world-class,” he said.
With the Sight Saving Month celebration themed “Silip Mata: Alagaan ang mata mula pagkabata hanggang pagtanda,” the CEC has lined up various activities such as the Dry Eyes Awareness on Aug. 2; Eye Care Family Day with free eye screening services on Aug. 8; Children’s Day Lazy Eye Awareness through lecture on Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) in kids on Aug. 14;
Contact Lens Awareness and Eye Care for the Youngsters on Aug. 21; Senior Citizen’s Day with lecture on cataract and common eye diseases of the elderly and geriatric community on Aug. 24; and “Be A Hero, Be A Cornea Donor” in partnership with the Eye Bank Foundation through president and CEO Dr. Minguita Padilla on National Heroes’ Day on Aug. 26.
He said the CEC also envisions acquiring its own excimer and femtosecond lasers for refractive surgery as part of its Roadmap to Vision 20/20 to boost its “arsenal of ophthalmic equipment to provide the best quality eye care services in the region.”
He also assured the CEC’s corporate social responsibility and commitment to the city government to provide free cataract surgery to its elderly indigent patients, while sustaining eye check-ups, both inside and outside the hospital, for charity patients.
He described the great challenges for this “promdi” (provincial) Eye Center to evolve as part of the Health Care City concept, owing to their tribute to the famous Calambeño son and National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal.