Infrastructure
The Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal Building Kingdom of Spain, Agencia Cooperacion International In 1999, the "Construction and Creation of a National Eye Referral Center (CCNERC) in the Philippines Project" was conceptualized to help achieve the national goal of decreasing the incidence of reversible blindness, particularly in the poor areas and the underserved regions in the Philippines. The first step in turning the dream into reality was made on February 2000. The Department was under the leadership of Dr. Manuel B. Agulto, when a memorandum of agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Spain, through the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion International (AECI) was signed. During its July 3, 2001 Fourth Joint Commission meeting with the Philippines, the Spanish Government reconfirmed its support to the health sector. A total grant amounting to more than eight million US Dollars was given for the construction of a 5-storey eye center, procurement of modern ophthalmic equipment, and training of Filipino ophthalmologists. For its counterpart, the Philippine government committed the parcel of land where the building is now standing, and the ophthalmology workforce of UP-PGH to man and operate the facility. It was then named Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal, which suggests a union of Spain and the Philippines. The SOJR now serves as the pioneering unit in realizing the PGH's vision of becoming known as one of the best university hospitals in Asia. Presently, the modern SENTRO houses, among other facilities, the Out Patient Department, which include the General Clinic and Subspecialty clinics, Diagnostics/Treatment, Eye Instrument Center (EIC), Sta. Lucia Eye Bank, Lecture & Conference Hall, Service and Pay Wards, Operating Room Complex, and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS) of the UP-PGH. The Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal now serves as the pioneering unit in realizing the PGH's vision of becoming known as one of the best university hospitals in Asia. Top photo: March 8, 2003 - Queen Sofia placed the "cornerstone" of future Ophthalmological Center Jose Rizal, accompanied by Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Latin America, Miguel Angel Cortes (right). http://www.hola.com/galeria-de-imagenes.html?idioma=castellano&imagen=/casasreales/2003/03/08/reina-profe/imgs/reina-1a.jpg&fondonaveg=FFFFFF&seccion=casasreales |