IDH was conceived on November 20, 1968, after two years of planning, actual construction, and procurement of materials, equipment and Human Resources. IDH was blessed and opened its doors to the community on May 24, 1971. It started with 150 beds and 20 bassinets with complete secondary level of care facilities, both diagnostic and therapeutic, in the field of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics-Gynecology, and Pediatrics. With the opening of the school year 1972-1973 IDH became the clinical area for nursing and paramedical students of the then Iloilo Doctors’ School of Nursing and Midwifery (now the Iloilo Doctors’ College); operated by its sister company Integrated Educational Corporation, Inc.
Over the years, the need for expansion grew not only in terms of facilities and services for patient care but also for medical education. IDH expanded into a consortium with the city’s state college to provide the clinical experience for medical students. This consortium was the first of its kind in the city between a government state college and a private hospital. The agreement prompted IDH’s management to expand its capabilities to house and serve an additional 70 private and semi-private beds to meet the needs of the increasing number of private patients. The annex was completed and inaugurated on July 27, 1976 which turned IDH into a 240 bed medical center. During this period, IDH’s capabilities consisted of departmentalized services in Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics-Gynecology (Ob-Gyne), Ears, Eyes, Nose, and Throat (EENT) and Pediatrics for both In- and Out-Patients. In line with this, IDH has a duly accredited residency-training program in Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB-Gyne, and trained personnel to handle specialized task in the respective departments. To complete its services, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine was created to hasten the recovery of patients and help them return to useful social and community life. Further expansions were made to create five additional nursing stations, which are the Annex A, Annex B, Medical Surgical Annex Stations, Medical Service Ward, and the Surgical Service Ward.
Four years after its major expansion, IDH felt the need for more space for its various expansion programs. In April 1980, an annex to the front of the Second Floor was constructed and was finished after three months. The area was utilized for the Accounting Office, nurses’ conference room, coronary rehabilitation unit with its stress test machine and Ultrasound Room and office. These two additions gave birth to two additional departments, the Electroencephalography (EEG), Electrocardiography (ECG), and Stress Test Department and the Ultrasound Department under the supervision of the Diagnostic Imaging Department.
Starting in the early 1990’s, IDH felt the need to upgrade its medical equipments to keep abreast with new technology. It was the first in the city to acquire a Computerized Tomography Scanning (CT-Scan) diagnostic unit, a Mammography Unit to diagnose breast cancer and other related ailments for women. The Laboratory Department was upgraded with new equipment to expand the quality and quantity of test performed. Late 1990’s saw the expansion of additional rooms for the hospital with the opening of 40 additional private rooms, the MC-2 and MC-3 areas. It acquired a new Acuson Aspen for its Echocardiography Section and purchased a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); the first to serve the region, and major renovations in its Intensive Care Unit. In its response to preserve the environment, last 2008, IDH constructed a Sewage Treatment Plan. For the year 2010 the hospital acquired a new Mammogram and opened the new wing of the Operating Room with three (3) additional OPR suites, a Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and an Immediate Surgical Care Unit. Since then until 2014 it added more specialized nursing units-Behavioral Care Unit and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and upgrading of the CT-Scan to the 128-slice model was realized in the latter part of 2011. This was followed a year later by the relocation of the Chemotherapeutic area then in 2013, the start of construction of the Histopathology Laboratory and the Acute Stroke Unit. In order to deliver information faster and more accurately, the Hospital Information System was the main thrust for 2014, it was anticipated that it will have been fully operational by the end of 2015.
To further expand its patient care services, two (2) satellite laboratories – Iloilo Doctors’ Clinic and Laboratory Services, opened at the two (2) major malls in the city last 2004 this was then followed by a diagnostic imaging center in 2012 – The Medical Imaging Center-Iloilo City, which was closed on October 2016.
Cognizant with the idea that a Quality Management System in place can better serve its patients, IDH developed the IDH-Quality Management System last July 2007 and became the 1st Tertiary 300-bed hospital in Western Visayas to be certified to the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System by the TUV-SUD certifying body last October 2007, which was subsequently upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 last November 9, 2010, and has been re-certified last October 28, 2016 by TUV-SUD Asia Pacific TUV-SUD group. Today, with God’s grace IDH is the only private, 300 bed DOH Accredited Level 3, PHIC Accredited with an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Quality Management System hospital which continuously reviews, plans and improves its processes and facilities.