- pshcares@perpetualsuccourcebu.com
- (032) 2338 620
From a humble wooden house near the Archbishop’s residence to one of the most advanced healthcare facilities in the Visayas and Mindanao — this is the story of Perpetual Succour Hospital.
The year 1936 was indeed a blessed year for PSH. Monsignor Gabriel Reyes could not easily forget his wondrous recuperation from a major surgery at St. Paul’s Hospital, Iloilo City. He had to invite the Sisters to come to Cebu to take care of his own sick, poor parishioners.
Three pioneering Sisters — Sister Teresa de Jesus Fernandez, SPC, Sr. Carmen Artiaga, SPC, and one young professed Sister-nurse — came and begun their apostolate with admirable determination and courage. They labored day and night to give a semblance of a hospital, the wooden dilapidated house near the Archbishop’s residence.
The healing touch of the Sisters’ presence was short-lived. In 1941, the Second World War broke out. Japanese planes bombed the city and flames of conflagration swallowed the small hospital. Panic was felt everywhere.
The Sisters were last to evacuate Cebu. Living in nipa huts, they continued serving and caring for the sick, pregnant mothers, and children. Mother Alice, SPC, the Provincial Superior, had been looking for the Sisters. When she found them in the mountains, she brought them to Iloilo City aboard a Japanese cruiser.
Years passed, and the memory of the Sisters’ courage, special care, and tranquil daring left an imprint in the minds of the Cebuanos. They wanted them back. In 1951, Monsignor Julio Rosales requested the Sisters to return to Cebu.
Sister Josephine de Jesus, SPC, represented the first batch of returnees. The government-owned library in Jones Avenue was leased and converted into a hospital. Dr. Manuel de Veyra assisted in the negotiation and became the first Medical Director. With the rebirth came the new name — Perpetual Succour Hospital.
Patients came pouring in. The hospital needed expansion. Mother Charles de Jesus, SPC, purchased the land on June 13, 1958, and construction started right away. On July 26, 1958, the cornerstone was blessed.
On April 5, 1959, the 100-bed capacity hospital was blessed. It was a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving to the Lord.
Perpetual Succour Hospital grew slowly and quietly, as if to gain momentum. It was beset with the consequences of the economic crisis and inflation, but this did not prevent the Sisters from continuing to search for ways to serve the populace — especially the least, the lost, and the last.
The SPC Sisters had immense trust in God’s compassion and love. The growth of Perpetual Succour Hospital began taking place at a breathtaking speed.
In April 1986, the first Kidney Transplant outside Metro Manila was performed at PSH, under the leadership of Dr. Ruben Maguad and Dr. Alan Simporios. The Endoscopy Unit was inaugurated on October 29, 1986. Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine, Physical Therapy, Ultrasonography, and Pulmonary were also established.
The establishment of the Cebu Heart Institute, the hospital pioneered in significant advances in education and services.
PSH was first again, outside Metro Manila, to have performed Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (Open Heart Surgery), serving 13 charity patients in 1994. The CHRISTI FOUNDATION, with His Eminence Ricardo J. Vidal as Honorary Chairman, subsidized annual open heart surgeries of indigent patients in cooperation with the hospital.
The advent of the new millennium brought waves of innovation sweeping PSH to unprecedented heights with state-of-the-art diagnostic and interventional facilities. In December 2002, the Cebu Cancer Institute was blessed.
The SPC Medical Specialty Centre, blessed in 2003, houses the Cebu Cancer Institute, Nuclear Medicine Department, Advance Rehabcare & Sports Medicine Centre, Cebu Urologic Institute, Neuroscience Center, Diabetes & Nutrition Center, and many more — a one-stop-health shop for the community.
Today, Perpetual Succour Hospital is still making a difference in the world of healthcare. The administration opened a 14-storey medical facility: “Our Mother of Perpetual Succour Specialty Center.” It offers innovative medical-surgical services by a team of competent specialists.
Eighty-nine years have passed, and PSH remained true to its beginnings — faithful to its mission, inspired by the charism of its founders — the Hospital for All, regardless of race, beliefs, spiritual affiliation, economic status, or political leanings. With hearts full of love and gratitude to God, PSH reaches out to all for healing and hope.
