“I love you.”

These were the words of Mariano Sarte to the hospital staff during his send-off.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (OLLH) has been experiencing a deluge of COVID-19 patients since last year. Among them were elderly patients, notable of which were Mariano Sarte and Mercedes Custorio.

Mariano, 92 years old, holds the record of being the oldest patient to recover from COVID-19 at OLLH. The hospital staff remembers him as the old man who loved getting massages from them and was hesitant to go home even after recovery because of his attachment to the hospital and its staff.

On the other hand, Mercedes, 87 years old, was a patient admitted at the hospital for COVID-19 treatment and management in 2020. At that time, her family had nowhere to go because almost all of the hospitals’ COVID-19 beds have reached full capacity. Consequently, she was denied admission to hospitals, until they went to OLLH, where, finally, she was given the care she needed.

COVID-19 is especially risky for elderly patients, who have co-morbidities, so a healthcare provider can only do so much, and the rest is up to the patient’s self-healing ability.

“What is challenging especially in elderly patients is that they are more likely to have co-morbidities. They are likely to be diabetic, hypertensive, suffering from kidney disease, and liver disease. There are medications that we wouldn’t be able to give to patients with kidney disease and liver disease, so management is basically individualized,” said Dr. Alfredo Romeo Santos, Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine and Attending Physician of Mariano Sarte.

OLLH remains safe for patients’ NON-COVID needs (inpatient and outpatient services). Its designated facilities for COVID-19 (ER isolation room, COVID-19 wings, ICU room) are also available to handle the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The hospital’s facilities and staff members are fully equipped to serve and assist patients through diagnosis, admission, recovery, and discharge.