Known then as Quezon Memorial Hospital (QMH), this center is a government hospital devolved to the Provincial Government of Quezon in 1994 under Republic Act 7176, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991. This hospital operates under the Provincial Tertiary Level and is committed to serve the general public to ensure an accessible, affordable, efficient, and effective integrated health care system.
QMH was organized in 1924 by an act of the National Assembly through Ordinance No. 426, dated August 1, 1924 by the Provincial Board and Governor Filemon Perez. The hospital, which was then located adjacent the Provincial Capitol Building was called the Tayabas Provincial Hospital. It then had a 75 bed capacity with Dr. Gervacio Santos Cuyugan as its first Director.
In 1940, the late President Manuel L. Quezon laid the cornerstone for the new hospital building on a five hectare land donated by the Millar family, in the site where it is now located. Besieged by the consequences of World War II, the hospital was transferred to Tayabas when the Japanese Imperial Army occupied the hospital building. A year before the liberation of the country, the hospital moved to Lucena and occupied the Tayabas Provincial High School compound where hospital authorities and personnel, as an act of patriotism, secretly rendered medical care to guerillas. This later resulted in the torture and execution of Dr. Jose Mayo, Dr. Conrado Mauricio, Mr. Bruno Yambao, and Ms. Nena Evangelista.
After the liberation, the hospital transferred to its old site at the helms of Nicanor Hidalgo and Dr. Faustino Sariñas. When Dr. Francisco L. Vicuña succeeded after the death of Dr. Sariñas in 1947, this Major in the Philippine Armys Medical Corps led the realization of his predecessors goals. With aid from the United States and other international funding organizations, massive rebuilding and restructuring of the different edifice housing all the services offered by the hospital took place.
In June 14, 1957, by virtue of Republic Act 1629 authored by then Congressman Manuel S. Enverga and approved by Congress in June 20, 1957, Quezon Memorial Hospital established its School of Nursing. It started operations with a meager appropriation of Php. 100,000.00 on August 1, 1957 with Mrs. Adoracion Mayo Burleson as its first school Principal. The first batch of nurses graduated September 30, 1960.
In 1973, when Dr. Vicuña died, Dr. Emilio R. Ocampo succeeded him and improved the physical appearance. New buildings were constructed to replace the old Out Patients Department (OPD) Building and to provide for new dormitories as well as a communicable disease building. In 1977, bed capacity was increased from 150 to 200 and the hospitals school of nursing began receiving regular National Aid from the Philippine Government.
As per Presidential Decree No. 851 issued in 1980, the Integrated Health Services indicted merging the Provincial Health Office and the Provincial Hospital. Dr. Hilarion H. Tan and Dr. Meliton A. Querejero were appointed Provincial Health Officer and Assistant Provincial Health Officer respectively.
After Dr. Querejero, Dr. Manuel Salazar took over the directorship in 1988 and initiated several reconstructions of the hospital, among which were renovations of the administration building, technical building, and X-ray laboratory rooms.
In 1994, through Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, Quezon Memorial Hospital was devolved to the Provincial Government. After the term of Dr. Salazar, Dr. Romeo Maaño took office and was appointed as Provincial Health Officer II on July 1997. Under the Sulong Quezon Program of Governor Wilfrido L. Enverga, Quezon Memorial Hospital was transformed into the Quezon Medical Center in a newly designed 500-bed capacity modern building with three others, the Vicuña Building, the E-Care Building, and the Medical Services Building.