26201 - Asian Hospital 2

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

26201

Company Name

ASIAN HOSPITAL, INC.

Date ESRS Disclosed

Dec 11, 2007

Country

Philippines

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Last Updated Date

Jun 3, 2021

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Jan 16, 2008
Signed : Feb 8, 2008
Invested : Feb 20, 2008

Sector

Hospitals and Clinics

Industry

Health, Education and Life Sciences

Department

Regional Industry - MAS Asia & Pac

Project Description

Asian Hospital, Inc. (AHI or the company) is an existing IFC client, and was the first major private hospital with tertiary care facilities in the southern Luzon corridor of metropolitan Manila. AHI operates a 253 bed hospital located in the Filinvest Corporate City which they are planning on expanding. IFC financing will be used mainly to support AHI in debt refinancing and new capital expenditure programs associated with the expansion and refurbishment of the existing hospital and to construct a new tower for in-and outpatient services on existing land at the present location.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The scope of review of AHI''s compliance with IFC’s Performance Standards included assessment of AHI''s management capacity of its environmental, social, health and safety performance. The review relied on documents and reports made available by AHI, Annual Monitoring Reports submitted by AHI for a pervious investment, and interviews conducted by IFC staff during their site visits to AHI facilities in Manila. During the visit IFC staff conducted interviews with key management personnel and AHI staff responsible for environmental, social, health and safety.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, IFC’s environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards:

- PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
- PS2: Labor and Working Conditions
- PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement
- PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security

This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects because it may create a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts that can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines, or design criteria. AHI’s hospital provides much needed infrastructure capacity for critical health care in the Manila area, and has a capable management team to operate these facilities to the highest standards. Environmental and social issues that are typically associated with health care facilities are largely associated with management of hazardous and infectious waste streams which are adequately managed by AHI in compliance with Philippine regulatory requirements. Other environmental, social and occupational health and safety issues are managed consistent with good international industry practice for the sector.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

AHI has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will upon implementation of the specific agreed measures, continue to comply with the environmental and social requirements - GOP laws and regulations and IFC Performance Standards. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by AHI is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.

- Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems:

AHI has a management system to manage Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) performance of the company. The Chief Executive Officer of AHI in coordination with the Chairperson of the Safety Committee is responsible for a Safety Management Program which provides oversight of environmental, social and health and safety. Daily activities are coordinated by a Safety Officer who reviews changes in laws, regulations, and standards; assesses the need to make changes to general safety, equipment, procedures, training, and performs other activities essential to implement the Safety Management Program. The Safety Officer is also responsible for conducting risk assessment (job hazard analysis) and for coordinating the annual review of all programs under his oversight. AHI’s management program includes operational policies and procedures that are implemented at the facilities level by department directors and managers who report to the Safety Officer. Policies and procedures are in compliance with applicable GOP regulations for operation of these facilities and consistent with good international industry practice.

Human resources are managed effectively at AHI through the HR Department. Training of staff is done on a routine basis in compliance with GOP workplace regulations and is summarized in training manuals available to the staff. Department managers are responsible to ensure that employees are adequately trained to perform their work safely. Subcontractors are contractually obliged to have adequately trained workers.

AHI has a monitoring program for EH&S issues that are managed in compliance with GOP regulations. Reporting requirements are consistent with national laws and regulations, and are used for continual improvement of training programs especially in health and safety. Internal audits are conducted periodically with oversight of senior management. As required by GOP regulations, AHI provides external status reports such as those for environmental and health and safety performance to the relevant government authorities, who, in turn, disseminate information to the public, as necessary.

- Labor and Working Conditions:

Labor practices and working conditions, including occupational health and safety, at AHI’s operations comply with GOP regulatory requirements. AHI has a Human Resources policy that is consistent with GOP labor laws. The Company’s human resource policy is included in employment contracts, and addresses working conditions, terms of employment, and wages and benefits. This information is also provided in the form of an employee handbook at the time of induction into the company. Subcontractors, including construction workers on site, are required to comply with all AHI labor requirements specified in contractual arrangements.

Employment relationships recognize the principals of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. The minimum employment age at AHI is 18 years. There is a plan for prevention and worker safety consistent with GOP regulatory requirements. Occupational health and safety at AHI''s facilities is managed by designated health and safety managers. All employees in the company have to undergo a full training program at induction and subsequently on worker health and safety relevant to their job activity. The Safety Officer and Human Resources maintains permanent records of participation to ensure compliance. Facilities are audited annually by regulatory and insurance agencies. Workplace air quality and noise is monitored annually and is reported to be within acceptable limits.

- Pollution Prevention and Abatement:

The hospital site is located within a designated hospital zone in the Filinvest Industrial Park which provides essential infrastructure support such as electricity, potable water, sewer connections and wastewater treatment facilities. Water for potable use is supplied by Filinvest, and pretreated prior to use by AHI. Point of use water quality data is monitored for various operational areas within the hospital including kitchens, medical use and air handling systems.

Handling and disposal of medical materials and bio-hazardous wastes at AHI facilities complies with regulatory requirements of the Philippines Department of Health and consistent with good international industry practice. Infectious and pathological wastes, sharps and sharps containers are collected for treatment and disposal by a licensed vendor. These wastes are steam sterilized, dried and shredded before disposal in a secure landfill operated by the vendor. Radioactive wastes from the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department are pretreated and disposed in accordance with standard procedures of the Department of Health and the Philippines Nuclear Research Institute.

Wastewater from laboratories, operating rooms and other facilities is pretreated prior to discharge to sewer, while sanitary wastewater is discharged directly to the sewer for further treatment at the Filinvest Industrial Park centralized wastewater treatment facility. Blow down from cooling towers and air handling units is discharged to the sewer. Stormwater from the site is also discharged to the sewer. The Filinvest Industrial Park centralized wastewater treatment facility has adequate capacity to treat wastewater from AHI. Quality of treated effluent from the centralized wastewater treatment facility meets regulatory requirements for discharge to surface water. Sludge and other wastewater treatment process residue from pretreatment at AHI facilities are disposed by licensed vendors. Solid waste from AHI which includes food wastes, used batteries, broken lamps, motor oils etc. is collected by licensed contractor for segregation, disposal and reuse.

Sources of air emission from AHI facilities include those from standby diesel generators for contingency power and discharge from HVAC systems. Air emissions are monitored and comply with applicable Department of Environment and Natural Resources regulatory requirements.

- Community Health, Safety and Security:

Engineering controls and staff training are provided to mitigate risks and issues associated with AHI''s operation of the hospital and associated infrastructure, which also includes storage and transport of hazardous wastes, chemicals and gases. The use and storage of chemicals at AHI facilities is subject to stringent safety standards. AHI ensures handling and storage areas provide for adequate containment and neutralizing systems to minimize the impact of release. Consistent with local regulatory requirements, AHI has emergency prevention and control plans which specifies responsibilities, ensures appropriate response equipment and materials are in place, and detail a set of procedures to be followed to minimize the harm of any potential accident.

Moving forward, AHI will:

- develop an emergency response plan for subcontracted operations such as transport of hazardous materials, and
- add a community involvement component that addresses appropriate behavior and safety measures to be implemented in the event of any potential accident.

Stakeholder Engagement

AHI has numerous programs to actively engage with the local community, including health promotion activities in the form of advertorials, television appearances, and press releases discussing relevant health topics. Dialog and communication with affected communities including public consultation and disclosure of environmental and social impact assessment occurs through procedures established by host country regulations. AHI will establish methods for communicating environmental and social aspects to external interested parties and maintain procedures for receiving, documenting and responding to concerns from any external interested parties relating to the project.

For more information see the company’s website: http://www.asianhospital.com/about_us.php or contact:

Theo Seiler
Chief Financial Officer,
Asian Hospital, Inc.

Telephone: +63-2771 9000 ext. 8402
Fax: +63-917-544 8630

Email: tseiler@asianhospital.com

**Information on IFC's Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability can be found at www.ifc.org/sustainability

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by IFC to disclose its findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding potential investments. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC's activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this ESRS is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein.
It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors' consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following ESRS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP).

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Projects

Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Description

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

Identified Applicable Performance Standards

Environmental and Social Categorization and Rationale

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement

Press-Release

Related SII

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Information on E&S Complaints and Grievance Mechanisms

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