Affecting better healthcare solutions

KNOCKED down to nothing and rebuilt ground up, the official reopening of the “new” Philips Asean Pacific (APAC) Centre in Toa Payoh, Singapore is more than testament to Royal Philips’ endurance over the last 125 years.
UNCONVENTIONAL OUTFIT
Situated on the same site where the APAC headquarters was first established in 1972, the newly constructed state-of-the-art building functions beyond a workplace for its 900 staff. In fact, its world-class facilities further strengthens its position as a leading healthcare solutions provider in the region.
The new outfit is housed within 38,000 sqm. It is built and designed with Workplace Innovation (WPI) in mind, a concept which creates an environment that encourages collaboration among its employees – who once occupied four separate buildings. The open-concept design of work stations and wide use of digital technologies enable employees flexibility and agility, subsequently increasing productivity, inspiration and creativity.
Although the new building design maximises the use of natural light, the Philips APAC Centre is equipped with Philips’ very own industry-leading LED lighting systems to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Among its many sustainable features is the Philips Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) system, built into areas where higher interaction levels are anticipated.
BRILLIANT CONCEPTS
Philips continues to drive change in the healthcare industry by providing world-class innovative and integrated products, services and facilities. Its new APAC Centre represents as headquarters as well as a showcase, where healthcare industry personnel and the public can learn and receive hands-on experience using Philips equipment.
Interactive spaces include:
► Philips Continuous Care Monitoring Room
Opening soon is a space designed for healthcare professionals and providers whose work revolves around monitoring patients, especially those who are home-based. This room features cloud-based healthcare solutions which can detect and alert healthcare providers to administer early intervention when a patient’s medical issue arises. Such an innovation allows nurses to monitor up to hundreds of patients at any given time, reducing needless hospitalisation, while empowering healthcare professionals to deliver better care for patients.
► Philips Learning Centre
This space is equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and has trained over 5,000 medical professionals since its opening 10 years ago. The centre features computed tomography labs, cardiovascular labs and diagnostic X-ray labs supported by Philips’ clinical systems. The centre provides technical training for healthcare technicians and other staff, imparting knowledge and enhancing their skills in the handling and operating of these equipment. The centre also acts as an added-value service to help train medical staff using these equipment.
The public can look forward to being part of the Philips experience with the upcoming launch of the Consumer Care Centre. Here, visitors will be able to conveniently access information, rate and review Philips’ products in real-time with the user-friendly digital platform that will be implemented. The venue will also serve to provide new experiences, such as cooking classes, product launches and demonstrations for visitors to fully experience the entire Philips suite of products that promote health and well-being.
INDUSTRY CATALYST
Royal Philips highlighted the global rise in people wanting to improve the health of their loved ones and themselves, at home. More so with the internet that allows sharing of information and knowledge across borders, bringing together consumers and their healthcare providers to collaborate to provide the best healthcare solutions.
“With the new Philips APAC Centre, we see a huge potential to form more strategic alliances with leading healthcare innovators in Singapore and the region,” said Philips Asean Pacific CEO Fabian Wong.
“Our business is going through a transformation – from a supplier of individual medical and consumer products to a provider of integrated health technology solutions and services. This means that our facilities and ways of working need to transform as well,” added Wong.
Together, the company aims to empower people to live healthier lives, to better manage their own health, provide patients with accurate diagnosis for effective treatment and support patient recovery and care at home. “And with our deep clinical and consumer insights and integrated solutions portfolio, we are well positioned to improve people’s health and enable better outcomes,” concluded Wong.