In the early 1970s, a group of Davao doctors, educators, and religious laid the foundation for the first medical school in Mindanao.  Fueled by a passion for service and a deep concern for Mindanao peoples, these professionals committed to work towards serving the people through health science education.  They organized their institutions into a consortium, knowing full well that their dream was big but reachable – to train doctors and volunteer health workers in Davao for Mindanao.

Thus, Ateneo de Davao University, Brokenshire Hospital, Development of People’s Foundation, San Pedro College, and San Pedro Hospital joined forces to put Mindanao health agenda at the forefront and formed the Davao Medical School Foundation, Incorporated.

Today more than 40 years later, the Davao Medical School Foundation, Inc. stands as one of the nation’s top performing medical schools and continues to be one of the most globally competitve medical schools in the Philippines.  Now with academic programs such as the following: College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Biology, College of Midwifery, and Postgraduate Studies.

 

Comfort, Quality Health Care and Service to the People

The Davao Medical School Foundation Hospital (DMSFI Hospital) is a 100-bed capacity 4-storey building tertiary care hospital. It is located on a 10,000 square meter area at the DMSFI compound. It has 60 private rooms, 24 beds for the wards, two suite rooms and the rest are in the semi-private rooms. It has open air corridors that look out the garden courtyard. The facade is made up of glass curtain that gives a panoramic view of the city. At a certain view Mt. Apo gives an exhilarating view.

The establishment of a DMSFI Hospital is a strategic scheme desgined to come up with a quality medical health service facility to improve the health conditions of marginalized urban and rural areas while achieving its goal of providing excellent and holistic medical education.

Institute of Primary Health Care or IPHC is a non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1978 in Davao City as the community service arm of the Davao Medical School Foundation with the aim of promoting primary health care primarily through the training mobilization of volunteer health workers (then known as Health Trustees or Katiwala).

In 1981, IPHC realized that poor health would continue unless its causes—e.g., low income, landlessness, low farm production, lack of alternative credit sources—were addressed.Given this insight, the institute evolved into a multi-issue NGO and stood firm on its definition of health as not only the absence of disease but also as a state where there is sustainable livelihood economic prosperity, moral integrity, gender equity and ecological balance. Thus, in over two decades, the institute has worked in more than 300 villages in Regions XI, XII, Caraga and ARMM to implement various projects.