A LEADER FROM THE START
It isn’t everyday that an Austrian-trained doctor opts to go back to the province of his birth to spread his expertise there. De Guzman, Sr., EENT, finished his medical degree, making him one of the first foreign-trained medical specialists in Nueva Ecija. Despite the lure of offers to practice medicine in Manila, Dr. De Guzman’s heart lay in Cabanatuan City and in the regions of the north. In his early days, patients from as far as Isabela province flocked to his clinic for care. In 1973, upon his retirement, along with his business-savvy wife, Catalina Tinio De Guzman, Dr. De Guzman founded the GOOD SAMARITAN COLLEGES (GSC) first as a school of midwifery with only 90 students at that time. In 1977, the nursing program that would become this school’s flagship, followed. In compliance with the law then stating that a college of nursing must have its own hospital, the couple set up the Nueva Ecija Good Samaritan General Hospital (NEGSGH). Even after the law was abridged, the couple noted that NEGSGH was not only serving the community but has also become a premium training ground for their students. It was in 1978 when the NEGSGH was inaugurated. The GSC Integrated School was established during the School Year 1979 – 1980 to provide quality basic education. To date, the GSC Integrated School is awarded with Level II Re-accreditation Status by the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities – Accrediting Agency, Inc. for Elementary Program (3 years) and High School Program (5 years). The next 16 years saw GSC expanding to include several health care courses, such as BS Radiologic Technology (1985), Associate in Pulmonary Therapy (1989), Certificate in Health Aide (1989), BS Physical Therapy (1993), BS Medical Technology (1993), BS Computer Science (1995), BS Respiratory Therapy (2000), Caregiver course (2001), and BS Education: BSEd and BEEd (2002), AB Communication (2008), BS Hotel and Restaurant Management (2009), BS Travel Management (2009), and AB Behavioral Science (2010). In 1998, GSC’s second base hospital, the NEGSGH in Gapan City, was opened. Today, offering a range of courses in the allied health and education professions, GSC is by far the most innovative school in its region – a claim both well-deserved and warranted.
