Gatton Student Center, University of Kentucky, Avenue of Champions, Lexington, KY | Photo by W_Lemay via Wikimedia Commons
Part XIII of a “Cancer/Medical Moonshot” Series
Actually, this initiative is about replicating the 1901 U.S. Medical Center in the City of Manila for the 21st century and beyond in another site in the Philippines. The idea was also discussed earlier with the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
This column first learned of Commonwealth of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s concern for healthcare when this writer read about it in the New York Times. It became the column’s topic the following Sunday. This columnist wrote about the governor, a Democrat, who laid out a framework on November 12, 2024, for his party to win back the American people’s trust. He said, “Democrats need to focus on core issues that matter to people every day—like jobs, housing, and healthcare.”
Here is the link to read the column article, “Governor Beshear Talks Indirectly About Pocketbook Politics,” that was published on November 17, 2024.
An article about the Beshears was also published on July 20, 2025, titled “Can Kentucky Spearhead a ‘Super Aging’ Movement?” The cover photo featured Former Gov. Steve Beshear of the Commonwealth of Kentucky with his son, Gov. Andy Beshear.
Four months earlier, another article was published on March 23, 2025, titled “Kentucky Must Help the Philippines Become a Bluegrass Siamese-Twin Commonwealth.” Eventually, the staff of Governor Andy Beshear invited this columnist to become an “Honorary Member of Team Kentucky”. He accepted it. Then he started researching the University of Kentucky (UK) and its medical infrastructure and systems.
The UK operates a comprehensive academic medical center similar to Duke University. It features a College of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Health Sciences. It also houses the Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with UK Chandler Hospital, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, and several specialized institutes.
As the adage goes, “the more, the merrier”. And of course, the better universal healthcare for the Third World. That is, if the successful 1901 Medical Center project of President William McKinley and William Howard Taft, his chosen first civil governor general for the Philippines, is replicated. Yes, with the help of a medical consortium spearheaded by the University of Kentucky and Duke University.
As this writer said earlier in this column, a new state-of-the-art medical center could be financed by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, with guarantees from the Central Bank of the Philippines. And backed by investments from Filipino-American communities, whose households collectively earn $ 92 billion or more per calendar year.
By the next issue, this column will discuss the November 1997 trip of this columnist to the “Cathedral of Learning” of the University of Pittsburgh. And more innovations for the proposed “Cancer/Medical Moonshot”. As noted earlier, this initiative was inspired by the “Cancer Moonshot” proposal from then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2016.
