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Establishment of the Children's Medical Center
Frustrated by the bureaucratic constraints in working for a government hospital, del Mundo had desired to establish her own pediatric hospital.Towards that end, she sold her home and most of her personal effects and obtained a sizable loan from the GSIS in order to finance the construction of her own hospital. The Children's Medical Center, a 100-bed hospital located in Quezon City, was inaugurated in 1957 as the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines. The hospital was expanded in 1966 through the establishment of an Institute of Maternal and Child Health, the first institution of its kind in Asia.
Having sold her home to finance the medical center, del Mundo chose to reside at the second-floor of the hospital itself. As of 2007, she retains her living quarters at the hospital (since renamed the "Fe del Mundo Children's Medical Center Foundation"), rising daily at five in the morning and continuing to make her daily rounds even though she is now wheelchair-bound at 96 years of age.
As early as 1958, del Mundo conveyed her personal ownership over the hospital to a board of trustees. In July of 2007, the Medical Center Foundation reported to the Department of Labor and Employment that it would cease operations after having incurred losses of more 100 million pesos. Reports soon emerged that a joint venture composed of the management and consulting firm Accent Healthcare and the STI Colleges had offered to lease, manage and operate the institution, thus precluding it from shutting down. Concerns over the employment status of the rank-and-file hospital employees following the takeover led to a strike that forced the temporary closure of the hospital in August of 2007. In September of 2007, the hospital announced its re-opening under the new management of the joint venture management firm Accent/STI Management, Inc. According to a statement released by the hospital, under the 20-year management lease agreement contracted with Accent/STI Management, Inc., the latter agreed to absorb the oustanding debts of the hospital.
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