'Generosity inspires generosity'

Generosity is not medicine but it can heal.

- BÜM D. TENORIO, JR.

When people or institutions gather for the common good of the needy, a solution is crafted to make life worth living.While doing my cardiac rehab at St. Luke's BGC after my quadruple bypass in September last year, I learned about the Evelyn D. Ang/Dāna Ward at St. Luke's Medical Center. I was told this 40-bed ward in the Quezon City branch of the hospital would redefine charity healthcare at the hospital. In other words, the charity wing will give a chance to indigent patients to receive free hospitalization at the premier hospital.

Too good to be true, I thought. Until it was launched in November last year.

A quiet revolution in Philippine healthcare is slowly taking root with the Evelyn D. Ang/Dāna Ward at St. Luke's Medical Center as it is fast becoming more than just a hospital unit. It is transforming into a living testament as to what generosity can achieve when it is structured, sustainable, and fully integrated.

Fully operational since Nov. 10, 2025, the ward was created for indigent Filipino patients who need care but cannot afford it. Yet what makes the Dāna Ward extraordinary is not only that treatment is provided at no cost; it is that charity patients receive the same world-class care as anyone else at St. Luke's.

At the ward, there are no separate systems, no diminished standards and no compromises whatsoever. Charity care is fully integrated into the hospital's daily operations, “thereby ensuring that excellence is never conditional on one's ability to pay.”