Hi everyone! There have been days that I have not written, and I missed it! I am back to share what happened.
My daughter has been sick since Wednesday (August 21) morning and I had to closely monitor her body temperature because of her on and off fever. Fever fluctuated from 38.2 to 39.6 until yesterday afternoon. It subsided around 8pm and did not persist until this morning. Still, I decided to bring her to her pediatrician just to make sure I am guided in managing my daughter’s illness.
My daughter’s pediatrician is the husband of my OB-Gyna. The couple used to hold their clinics in a building in front of Davao Doctors Hospital. It was a small space with 2 separate rooms but with a common reception area. We truly loved the couple because they treated everyone equally. No special treatment to anyone and they carefully listened to their patients’ concerns.
Even though they started their careers near Davao Doctors Hospital, they were affiliated with “BROKENSHIRE HOSPITAL”, a hospital managed by a religious group for a long time. The couple and hospital made a mark on me for 2 reasons: compassionate care and affordable service cost. (I might talk about this in a different article.)
Back to my daughter now. I brought her to her pediatrician whose new clinic is now located within the grounds of Brokenshire Medical Center (BMC).
The management of BMC constructed a separate building solely for outpatient services and named it Sibley Medical Arts Center.
While approaching the pediatrician’s clinic, which was just in front of the Outpatient Services, his secretary saw me and told me that the doctor hadn't done his “rounds” yet. So, while waiting, I told my daughter to stay inside the clinic while I went around.
It was convenient going around because even if it is a weekend, the medical center is not crowded. Outside, I saw the memento Tribute for the Sibley couple which got me interested to read about the history of Brokenshire Hospital.
Since it was getting hot, I went inside the clinic to accompany my daughter waiting for her pediatrician. I felt happy seeing a better place for the babies and toddlers. The clinic had a better interior; it offered more space, was colder and the lighting made patients, and their companions relax. What made me even happier was knowing that the other room was the daughter’s room (but she was not there) who is already a pediatrician now. So before, it was the husband and wife together in their old space, pediatrician and OB-Gyne tandem. Now, it is a father-daughter tandem, pediatrician and pediatrician. I remember when I used to go to their old clinic, that daughter of theirs was still studying at the Philippine Science High School-Mindanao Campus (here in Mintal Davao). How time flies!!!!
Anyway, after seeing my daughter, the pedia said my daughter’s fever was something viral. We must monitor if the fever persists until Monday, then she must have a Complete Blood Count (CBC). He said we must be cautious because cases of Dengue and foot, hand and mouth disease are rising in schools now. Good thing, he did not prescribe any synthetic medicines. He said I can continue whatever I am giving my daughter now for fever.
As of this writing, my daughter feels better. Thank God! I hope it continues this way until classes resume next week.
Let me now share how “Brokenshire Hospital” started in Davao City.
The original name of what we call Brokenshire hospital was Davao Mission Hospital. A religious missionary from the U.S.A. who was sent to Davao found that malaria and malnutrition needed to be addressed so he requested for medical missionaries to come and see the situation.
In 1908, Dr Charles Sibley and his wife came and opened a small clinic which later became the Davao Mission Hospital, with a 36-bed capacity.
Another doctor in the person of D. Herbert Brokenshire came in 1926 and offered a more dedicated service to the people of Davao. When he died during World War 2, the hospital was named Brokenshire Memorial Hospital (BMH) in memory of all that he had done for the people of Davao.
During its expansion in 1954, the management of the hospital was handled by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). At the same it also opened a school of nursing to train future health professionals.
10 years later, the school and the hospital got burned so it had to stop its operations. It tried to open again after 4 years but still had to be closed temporarily due to financial difficulties. The hospital halted in 1985. When it was reopened in 1992, it operated using the new name Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries (BIHM). A decade later, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) entered a Joint Venture partnership with a Cebu-based property developer and agreed to have Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries (BIHM) under its wing, hence the birth of Brokenshire Medical Center (BMC) last year.
Thumbnail Photos edited with Pic Collage.
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