St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City started small before earning its reputation of being a world-class healthcare institution in the Philippines. Tracing its humble beginnings back to 1903, it was initially a free clinic called the Dispensary of St. Luke the Beloved Physician located on Calle Magdalena, Tondo, Manila. It was opened by the Episcopal Missions to serve the poor. Two years after, it opened a modest 9-bed ward.
With its number of patients growing, the clinic expanded into a 30-bed hospital in 1907 and was named the University Hospital. Dr. Najib Mitry Saleeby, a Lebanese Protestant physician and naturalized U.S. citizen, became the hospitals’ first Medical Director and initiated treatment and prevention modalities. By 1910, the hospital expanded to 52 beds, which catered mostly to charity patients. The name was changed to St. Luke’s Hospital in 1912 to differentiate it from the University of the Philippines Hospital.
In the 1930s, the Sunday Tribune recognized St. Luke’s as one of the best-equipped hospitals in the country.
For three consecutive years (1935-1937), the hospital won first prize during National Hospital Day, which eventually elevated the institution to the Hall of Fame.
The following year, 1938, the Philippine government recognized St. Luke’s as a Model Hospital.
In 1961, the hospital transferred to a bigger facility in Cathedral Heights, Quezon City. It was renamed St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in 1984 and that year witnessed how the hospital further gained its reputation as a healthcare institution with world-class expertise and facilities, thanks to its highly advanced equipment and internationally trained doctors.
In the mid-1990s, the management inaugurated the St. Luke’s College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial, now considered one of the top medical schools in the country.
In 2003, St Luke’s-Quezon City became the first in the Philippines and second in Asia to be accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI), the international arm of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the oldest and most prestigious healthcare accreditation organization in the world. It has since gathered numerous accolades and introduced many more pioneering treatments and procedures which have made it a frontrunner in the Philippine healthcare industry.
