Saint Louis University’s (SLU) Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC) celebrated the opening of its new Cardiovascular Center and St. Peregrine Garden of Healing and Grace through a blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony held on 10 December 2025.
The program began with a Eucharistic Celebration presided by Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, PhD, with Rev. Fr. Emanuel Enjang Pranatal, CICM, who emphasized the growth of a world free of sickness, disease, and afflictions.
Led by Rev. Fr. Sales, the Cardiovascular Center at the 4th floor of the SLU SHMC was formally unveiled equipped with the SHIMADZU Trinias, an angiography system that presents real-time fluoroscopic images of blood vessels to perform angiographic examinations, bringing specialized care to patients struggling with heart afflictions. The Center, according to the SLU SHMC Medical Center Chief Dr. Paul Adlai B. Quitiquit, the machine aids the management of specific brain and liver diseases.
Following was the blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony of the St. Peregrine Garden of Healing and Grace led by Rev. Sales with Rev. Pranatal that took place on the 3rd floor of the Medical Arts Building. The St. Peregrine Garden of Healing and Grace serves as a place of peace and reflection and gives a space where residents can breathe and reflect.
The celebration continued at the Fr. Theophile Verbist Hall. Dr. Quitiquit gave his welcome remarks and shared SHMC’s achievement in providing multiple state-of-the-art facilities, emphasizing how this reinforces their commitment on providing a center for care not only for local residents but also to serve as a place to train young medical professionals.
For words of gratitude, Fr. Sales recalled his dream of turning SLU SHMC into a tourism hospital and how grateful he is that it came into fruition. He expressed that there are more plans for SLU going forward, mentioning preparations for a bigger garden and the soon-to-rise School of Medicine Annex. Fr. Sales stated, ”These are tangible signs of the care of the Lord through every one of you.”
Thereafter, DOH-CAR Assistant Regional Director Dr. Janice Bugtong relayed the message of DOH Undersecretary Glenn Mathew G. Baggao, and noted, “These spaces reflect the spirit of service, compassion and excellence that SLU has offered the Cordilleras for generations,” further stating how it reflects the values of the region and that good health is a shared responsibility.
Dr. Bugtong continued by acknowledging SLU SHMC as one of DOH’s most trusted partners in advancing health and showed appreciation to the strong collaboration between the public and private health sectors. Wrapping up her talk by reminding us that progress does not come all at once, but is built day by day and brick by brick expressing appreciation for the ongoing effort for health development in Cordillera.
The closing remarks led by Head Chief of Clinics and Medical Professional Service Dr. Jason Roy Bacani touched on the shared commitment of SLU SHMC to provide excellent, accessible and compassionate service.
The addition of the Cardiovascular Center and the St. Peregrine Garden serves as a milestone for the hospital in advancing and improving their services to their patients and their overall health and a step closer to being a tourism hospital. Further, the blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals particularly: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals). (Article by Clark Justin Alenso, UIO Intern | Photos by John Erick Cortez, UIO Intern)
