Surigao del Sur is a province located at the northeastern part of Mindanao. It is one of the four (4) provinces of CARAGA Region. It is composed of seventeen (17) municipalities and two (2) newly created cities of Bislig and Tandag with Tandag City as its capital.

The idea of organizing a health cooperative in a far-flung place like Tandag came up when a native of Tago, Surigao del Sur in the person of Dr. Herwin Y. Villamor recognized the poor health delivery system of the area. He noticed that “Health Care” seems to be the least prioritized by the people in authority. These powerful people somehow forgot that for a nation to progress, the human resources should be in good physical shape.

As a physician who is the prime health care provider, the founder of Medical Mission Group Hospitals and Health Services Cooperative of Surigao del Sur (MMGHHSC-SDS) believed the he could make a difference to the lives of his fellow Surigaonon. He aimed to establish a health care institution that would benefit most the marginalized sector of the society.

In November of 1999, he started gathering information on the mechanics of organizing a Medical Mission Group under the guidance of Jose Ting Tiongco, the founder of Medical Mission Group Cooperative Philippines-Federation. He supposed that the cooperative scheme of this health facility is very much applicable to Tandag. Without further delay, he started convincing fellow physicians to join him. With their joint efforts together with some paramedics, MMGHHSC-SDS is now a legally existing health services cooperative by virtue of CDA REG. NO. CARA-0854 dated March 27, 2001.