Heritage Snapshot: Part 233

LOMA LINDA>> Although direct management of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China, shifted after five years to the Chinese according to plans, Loma Linda University Health continued to be involved. It chaired the hospital’s Supervisory Board of Trustees, consulted and participated in special projects, including quality improvement and preparation for a Joint Commission International survey. During its first 10 years, SRRSH matured and became known as a pioneer hospital in China, even in academic medical institutions. Thousands of healthcare leaders from throughout China now visit SRRSH every year, continuously, wanting to improve health care, and trying to understand what is happening there. When they return to their individual hospitals, they implement changes in their management style and improve both efficiency and quality of patient care. Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital has become a major provider of health-care services in the province. It has earned the trust and confidence of the Chinese population and has become popular. The 12-story, 400-bed Tower 2 opened in 2002. It included a 13-bed hemodialysis center, a dedicated cardiac catheter laboratory, coronary care unit and 16 modern operating rooms. Additions were funded from operations. Within the first 15 years the hospital grew from 400 beds in 1994 to 1,200. Space adjustments and remodeling have taken the hospital’s total bed capacity today to more than 1,200 and the hospital now has 27 operating rooms. SRRSH accommodates from 6,000 to more than 8,000 outpatient appointments a day. At the time of the 20th anniversary, a 12-story, fourth tower was about to be completed. It will accommodate administrative offices, conference rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, warehouse, new cafeteria and dining room and other patient-support facilities. Today, a raised highway, called a viaduct, is under construction on a side street, and a subway, called The Hangzhou Metro, is under construction on the main street in front of the hospital. It will connect underground with SRRSH, which is now near the new center of town. No longer surrounded by small farms, in the past 22 years, the area has witnessed the construction of multiple high-rise buildings, including a 35-story apartment complex across the street from the main entrance. According to Dr. Yang Lili, RN, PhD, plans call for a new Tower 5 to be used as doctor’s offices and other supportive departments. Hospital administration answers to two government entities; Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Health Bureau. Zhejiang University oversees education, research, major recruitment and the nomination of leadership. The Zhejiang Health Bureau oversees the institution’s practice of medicine, outpatient care and finances. More than 750 Loma Linda University Health staff, students and volunteers have served over the years at SRRSH to teach new medical techniques and philosophies of hospital management. They also learn from the healthcare system in China and some of the 750 have been to China many times. Jan Zumwalt, RN, has been there 60 times. More than 300 SRRSH staff have traveled to Loma Linda for clinical mentorships, observation, training experiences and exposure to a unique culture of compassion and care for patients and colleagues alike. The relationship between Loma Linda University and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital is a collaboration from the “heart,” which has been said to have made the China Project successful. According to Dr. He Chao, president of SRRSH from 2003 to 2013, the biggest and most positive achievement of SRRSH is its organizational culture of service, value and mission. He stated that the unique, close and long-time relationship with Loma Linda University has been due to the dedication of Loma Linda people to the success of the project, which includes an exchange program of sending Chinese staff to Loma Linda for training. Patience and a positive attitude have been experienced by Chinese visitors to Loma Linda and also demonstrated routinely by Loma Linda visitors to China and that the relationship has been one of harmony. He stated that Loma Linda people “spiritually” are different from those of other collaborating institutions. Loma Linda people have taken more responsibility for the success of the project and have instilled confidence in their Chinese counterparts.