AppleOne Medical Group, Singapore Diagnostics ink partnership to upgrade VisayasMed Hospital

CEBU CITY –The AppleOne Medical Group (AMG), the healthcare arm of the AppleOne Group of companies and Singapore Diagnostics (SGD) signed a partnership on April 19 to upgrade the laboratory services and the medical arts of VisayasMed Hospital in Cebu City.

VisayasMed Hospital, formerly known as Visayas Community Medical Center, is a private tertiary hospital with close to 70 years of healthcare experience in providing quality medical services to patients.

It comprises five main departments namely family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and other departments that offer services from medical professionals in dermatology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, and anesthesiology.

SGD on the other hand, is the Philippine flagship company of Singapore-based healthcare group, Pathology Asia, the first laboratory in the Philippines accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which makes it at par with the worlds’ best laboratories and has been awarded as Healthcare Asia’s Diagnostics Provider of the year and STATISTA’s Philippines’ Growth Champion of the year.

From its establishment in late 2013, Singapore Diagnostics (SGD) has grown to be among the largest laboratories in the Philippines. Processing laboratory tests for over 300 hospitals, clinic labs and healthcare institutions in the Philippines, SGD serves up to 50,000 patients every month.

Through its partnership with SGD, VisayasMed Hospital will be able to carry out its main goal of providing a holistic patient experience by offering a more convenient and personalized approach to healthcare as SGD is known for its global expertise and technology.

SGD will fully operate VisayasMed’s laboratory, both inpatient and outpatient, through their well-trained medical technologists and laboratory specialists. SGD also aims to become a well-equipped training venue for the best scientists of Cebu for continuous improvement.

“Reeling from the pandemic where we saw the paramount need for quality health and laboratory services, we at AppleOne, are honored to work together with SGD. With our goal of enriching the lives of Filipinos, we will be working together in expanding SGD’s services to other AppleOne Medical Group Hospitals across the VisMin region. Our patients can be more assured of the highest standards of quality competence and safety when it comes to their laboratory tests,” CFO AppleOne, Leif Bajarias said.

In July of 2020, AppleOne Medical Group went into a joint venture partnership with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) for the acquisition, management and operations of Visayas Community Medical Center (VCMC) to revitalize and further bring forth the mission of the hospital to its local communities. (Photos: AMG-FB/Google Images)                                                

 

 

 

 

 

Converge partners with Epsilon to expand its global reach

 CEBU CITY – Converge ICT Solutions Inc., partnered with Epsilon Telecommunications (Epsilon), a global interconnectivity provider to enhance its network infrastructure and services and extend the company’s global reach by expanding its peering footprint through internet exchanges (IXs).

Epsilon has been assisting Converge with access to its ecosystem of global internet exchanges, which has helped boost and streamline the company’s connectivity infrastructure and services.

Seeing the value and benefit of the service, Converge decided to extend the service to its enterprise customers through its IX Express Service (IXES). Customers can greatly benefit from the IXES’ innovative connectivity capabilities and cost-effective connectivity solution, which will provide them similar connectivity access and capacity as an internet service provider like Converge.

“We are excited that our partnership with Epsilon will not only help us extend our global reach but also assist us in optimizing our enterprise customer’s user experience with committed data bandwidth, flexibility, and scalability,” Converge ICT Solutions Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jesus Romero said.

With Remote Peering, Converge can seamlessly connect them closer to the location where the content is shared and consumed, which leads to new opportunities for customers and their businesses, Romero added.

The alliance enhances customer experience with low-latency connectivity delivered via Epsilon Telecommunications’ NaaS platform Infiny. Converge has steadily improved its network connectivity and reachability by peering with top global providers to obtain the best routes for providing low latency internet services.

With its multiple and strategic international points of presence, the award-winning ICT company is able to establish multiple interconnections and peerings, including the well-known Hurricane Electric (HE), allowing its customers to access thousands of networks with the lowest possible latency.

In addition, with over 5Tbps of international capacity, Converge established an uncontended, non-blocking network that is also highly resilient through the use of multiple trans-Asia and trans-Pacific cable systems.

 

"Our collaboration with Converge ICT Solutions Inc. will enable more users to benefit from an optimised, seamless network experience across Europe and beyond. Using our Remote Peering solution, Converge can access and resell a comprehensive ecosystem of IXs, including DE-CIX and AMS-IX, to its customers with a reliable, scalable, and flexible infrastructure,” CEO at Epsilon Telecommunications, Michel Robert said.

Through Infiny, businesses can interconnect directly to this ecosystem using a private and high-performance connection. Converge and its clients can instantly flex bandwidth on demand and pay only for the connectivity they use, Robert bared.

Recognizing the increasing consumption and demanding needs of its enterprise customers, Converge selected Epsilon’s Remote Peering solution, which will allow customers to take advantage of the company’s domestic and international resources, getting both technical and commercial benefits by having their own International Private Line (IPL) capacity and international Point of Presence (POP) to be able to connect directly to well-known internet exchange providers around the world without heavy hardware and extra network cost.

Converge will facilitate access to IXs like DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany, and AMS-IX in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, using Epsilon's award-winning Network as a Service (NaaS) platform, Infiny.

With Infiny, the company’s customers will have the advantage of having a single platform with four powerful solutions: data center interconnection, access to internet exchanges, direct cloud connect, and global inbound numbers. Epsilon’s MEF-certified network spans 280+ data centers around the world and with customizable bandwidth levels.

"Our goal at Converge is to be the best internet provider in the Philippines, and we can do that by helping our customers operate in a seamless and cost-efficient way through our facilities by removing the complexities in their connectivity and providing them with the best solutions in the market through world-class digital technologies like Epsilon’s Infiny. We want our customers to be able to experience the benefits of digital transformation through their relationship with us, by aiding their company’s growth and boosting their international reach,” Romero explained.

Converge has been providing businesses and companies with secure, flexible, and dynamic enterprise-grade fiber solutions to help businesses ensure their businesses run smoothly. #ExperienceBetter with the fastest-growing fiber internet provider. To learn more about Converge Business Solutions, visit convergeict.com/business.

Epsilon offers fully-managed connectivity services with automation, orchestration and end-to-end service delivery, ensuring consistent and reliable connectivity to world’s leading data centres, clouds and internet exchanges. Its services are powered by a carrier-grade global backbone with extensive presence across the APAC, including Mainland China. (Photos: Converge/Google Images)

 

 

Bogo LGU, 1st City to receive PLDT/Smart Ligtas Kit in Cebu

BOGO CITY -- The local government of Bogo City is the first city in Cebu province to receive a #LigtasKit, an all-in-one emergency communication package powered by the country’s largest integrated telco network PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

 Packed in a protective hard case, #LigtasKit includes a portable generator, solar panel, satellite phone, smartphone, crank radio, pocket WiFi, flashlights, and whistles to help augment the emergency response of disaster management offices across the country.

“We deeply appreciate PLDT and Smart’s donation of a Ligtas Kit to Bogo City. It’s our first time to have a satellite phone and a portable charging port which we think would be a really big help in our emergency operations. We thank PLDT and Smart for choosing us as their beneficiaries. Rest assured that this donation will be put to good use,” City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) Head of Bogo City, Rex Ygot said.

Bogo City also received a number of emergency communication learning sessions to be conducted by PLDT and Smart, in partnership with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF). The technologies and capacity-building training sessions are expected to help strengthen the communities, making them disaster-ready and resilient.

Present during the turnover were Bogo City Mayor Carlo Martinez and CDRRMO Head Rex Ygot and his team, who expressed great support for the city’s partnership with PLDT and Smart.  

Developing and promoting the Ligtas Kit is part of PLDT and Smart’s much broader commitment to help make a #SafeAndSmart Philippines through the continuous availability of communication services, mobile solutions, and activities to help communities mitigate disaster risks, aligned with the UNSDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. (Photos: PLDT/Smart/Janille Gultiano)

 

UST, other DPP schools chose Canvas as its new Learning Management System

CEBU CITY – The University of Santo Tomas and other Dominican Province of the Philippines (DPP) schools, including Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Calamba, Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Manaoag and Angelicum Iloilo has chosen Canvas as its new Learning Management System (LMS) to improve collaboration, implement academic and technological advancements and meet changing student and faculty needs.

“As the Philippines moves to a new era of education and looks to recover from the interruption in learning by the pandemic, we are excited to join efforts with the University of Santo Tomas, providing them with robust, secure and flexible tools that allow for a more student-centered approach, promoting flexibility and mobility that improve student success," said Harrison Kelly, Regional Vice President for the Asia Pacific region at Instructure.

Instructure (NYSE: INST), an education technology company, the maker of Canvas, announced this development in April to elevate the learning experiences of the Dominican Province of the Philippines (DPP) Schools that would benefit over 56,000 students across eight institutions and nine campuses from the elevated edtech environment.

“As we continue to expand and improve our digital ecosystem, the University of Santo Tomas has engaged in an official partnership with Instructure to advance with forward-thinking solutions that provide everyone with access to a high-quality education supported by an equally powerful learning management system,” UST Assistant Professor Anna Cherylle Ramos, Director of the Educational Technology Center bared.

Ramos added that two decades prior to the pandemic, the University of Santo Tomas established itself as the pioneer for e-learning adoption in the Philippines. It is Asia’s oldest existing university. 

It will move from its previous LMS to Canvas, prompted by the need to improve content sharing and collaboration between their network and increase efficiency in grading and achievement of learning outcomes, she noted that Canvas will provide teachers access to data and analytics that will allow them to make informed decisions and give more personalized feedback to their students.

Ramos stated that after surveying teachers and students, the university concluded that Canvas was the most robust and intuitive learning platform to redesign and transform exemplary courses and promote meaningful teaching, learning and assessment that could lead their students to achieve success in the future world of work.

“We trust that this partnership will continue to propel us to greater heights by fostering more pedagogical innovations on campus and will enable instructors and students to interact more seamlessly within and outside of the classroom as we transition from fully online to hyflex/hybrid modalities of instruction in the post-pandemic era,” said Rev. Fr. Wenifredo Padilla, III, OP, Acting Assistant to the Rector for Information and Communications Technology.

By adding the communication, grading and data capabilities of Canvas LMS, the University is looking to improve engagement and creativity by providing an easy-to-use platform for teachers and students with the potential for adding micro-credentials.

Today the Instructure Learning Platform supports tens of millions of educators and learners around the world. Learn more at www.instructure.com/en-au. (Photos: UST-FB/Google Images)

Diagold celebrates 15 Years of luxury jewelry, opens at Waterfront Cebu Hotel

CEBU CITY – Diagold celebrates its 15 years of luxury jewelry with the grand opening of its new outlet at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino on April 20 with its signature much-love diamonds and gemstone pieces that were introduced to the Cebuano market under the plush confines of SM Northwing Cebu in January 2008.

Diagold is home to the latest trend and exquisite unique designs of diamond jewelry products from earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, rings, and wedding rings and these signature pieces, one again will be brought to the City of Smiles at it open its doors in SM City Bacolod, its second store for the brand in that city.

In May, the newest Diagold Woman is revealed. She’s everyone’s favorite tita. She exhibits vibrant energy and ultimate elegance as she walks in. Watch out as she flaunts Diagold’s latest collection to her world full of laughter, leisure, and luxury.

Diagold’s 15th-anniversary collection will debut at the media launch of the new brand ambassador. It will be a blend of the most sought-after gemstones and designs. There will be velvety hues of blue sapphires, symbolizing luck and nobility.

Of course, majestic fiery rubies, the queen of gemstones, then there’s the color of nature, the tantalizing vibrant emeralds and scintillating diamonds, every woman's best friend.

The major celebration will take place later on in the year. It will be a night of art, fashion, and glamour — a culmination of the Philippine’s renowned fashion designers worn by the country’s top models and homegrown Cebuana beauty queens highlighting Diagold’s anniversary collection. 

Keep an eye wide open for everything happening in between. (Photos: MBCNewman)

 

 

 

Widia Properties develops mid-rise condo in Minglanilia, holds sales rally

CEBU CITY -- The WIDIA Properties & Development Corp. has developed a mid-rise condominium property in Brgy. Vito, Minglanilla, and held a sales rally on April 30 for its first residential condominium project called the Thyme Residences Condominium, its first condominium project which has 100 residential studio units, four commercial units, and 21 parking slots.

Dianne Daphne Tan, WIDIA properties chief executive officer, in a press conference said that both families of her father and mother have been in the real estate business for a long time. Her mother’s family has buildings for rent in Surigao City while her father’s family has hotels, serviced apartments, and subdivisions in Cebu.

“My father was inspired by his father-in-law to go into serviced apartments for lease to have passive income for himself and his future generations. Hence Tancor was born and has been growing more and more each year,” Tan said.

She is proud to say that Widia is currently building its 6th building. As a result of this need for quality and assured housing in our country, the company ventured into condominium selling, and so Widia was born.

Although the condo is a 4-story walk-up, it also has an elevator. It has all the amenities of a high-rise condominium but shared within 100 residential units only including a pool, an indoor gym, a roof deck, a basketball court, a mailroom, solar panels used to power the public spaces, and pet-friendly spaces, Tan added.

According to Ralph Sagarino, Business Development officer, to ensure the safety of condo owners, there is 24/7 security, well-lighted parking spaces, materials recovery facility, sewerage treatment plant, fire alarm system and sprinkler, elevator access, standby generator, and uninterrupted water supply.

Sagarino bared that as of press time, 50 percent of the units are already sold and the property is 90 percent complete and is expected to be fully completed by December 2023 with all units ready for occupancy.

Tan also revealed that WIDIA Properties is a property developer that focuses on creating beautiful spaces for every family. The company is committed to provide better communities for Cebuanos and, with its 30 years of experience in property development, they have learned the kind of home that will last for a very long time. This includes keeping updated on energy-saving technology and other advancements.

Tan said, WIDIA Properties chose Minglanilla as the location of its first condo project because of its potential. “Minglanilla is an ever-fast-growing municipality and soon-to-be city. It has developments springing up in every corner with the Minglanilla Techno Business Park coming very soon.

The condominium’s location at Upper Calajoan Road will prove residents with an opportunity to enjoy some quiet and a nice view of nature and trees. For people who are used to the city buzz, Thyme will be a breath of fresh air.

For the commercial units, the company aims to have convenience stores, coffee shops, and service providers such as a laundry shop and a medical clinic. Tan said that Widia wants to its residents to feel like their necessities have already been met by having these services just below them without having to go so far.

Tan said that condo development is here to stay because there is always a market of residences because it is a basic necessity. The Philippines is an ever-fast-growing economy with our population increasing each year there will always be a need to provide a roof for our families and their families.

 “The competition comes down as to who can provide quality homes and an assurance of safety and security for their unit owners. I think that is what developers should focus on and that is what unit owners and investors should look for when choosing a developer,” Tan added. (Photos: Widia FB/Google Images)