Heritage Snapshot: Part 243

LOMA LINDA>> Because Loma Linda University’s reputation in China is strong, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital has become a model hospital in China for quality cost-effective health care. The hospital has been nationally recognized as a leading health-care institution. Its leadership is stable and friendly and desirous of maintaining a long-time relationship with Loma Linda University, indefinitely. Leadership, both on the China and Loma Linda sides, has been consistent in their desire to have SRRSH deliver safe, high-quality patient care. Its Supervisory Board of Trustees brings leaders of both hospitals together to talk about what’s been accomplished and to discuss future plans. In addition to regularly communicating by email, or talking by telephone or videoconference, it provides an opportunity to meet face-to-face and truly dialogue. That connection is observed to be one of the reasons why the collaboration has lasted for more than 20 years. Loma Linda University administrators not only have witnessed tremendous growth in facilities at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China, (from 400 beds to more than 1,200) but also real growth in the development of the people and their expertise. Progress has been seen not only in technical abilities, but also in the teamwork, communication, and compassion of the people who are providing services. Starting in 1993, as a parent/child relationship, as the SRRSH staff has matured, collaboration has grown into a fully adult relationship that continues to benefit both cooperating institutions. It has become a two-way street; a fully developed mutuality based on friendship and trust. Innovation, learning, and appreciation now goes in both directions. Joanna Yang, RN, DPN, a Loma Linda University Medical Center nurse practitioner, summarized her experience after 10 trips to China, and reiterated the experience of others: “I think this exchange enriched us as well as them. It not only built the relationship and helped them, but it also helped us. Not only do I feel I shared my knowledge with them, I also learned a lot from them as well.” All participants in this joint venture involving East and West started with a noble goal. They wanted to help each other help the world, and they wanted to offer a new sense of hope and healing in both countries. Many people join the staff at Loma Linda in part because they want to participate in international collaboration, a process that strengthens Loma Linda. And in the process, it has helped to strengthen Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. In the course of time, unexpected administrative challenges and financial uncertainties occurred and eventually were overcome. The central objective had been realized with the establishment of a viable Western-oriented health-care facility in China. In 2001, administrators at SRRSH requested a further five-year extension of the contract with Loma Linda University. This was agreed on in consultation with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. A site visit by General Conference administration convinced them of the value of the program. The China Project coordinator makes rounds with general surgeons, consults on cases, attends conferences and gives lectures, studies Chinese, and attends hospital administrative meetings. A most appreciated contribution has been a weekly English medical journal session with the general surgery staff and another with the oncology surgery staff. It includes reading a selected journal article summary, helping the Chinese with pronunciation and understanding of medical terminology, as well as discussing the content and meaning of the article. Funding also includes an English training program at SRRSH and annual expenses for 8-10 SRRSH staff to spend 3-month “educational fellowships” at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The Supervisory Board of Trustees consists of representatives from SRRSH, Zhejiang University, government officials, and a representative from the Shaw Foundation. It is chaired either by the Shaw Foundation or a Loma Linda representative. A representative from the Seventh-day Adventist North Asia Pacific Division is always welcome and invited to participate. The real governing power is with Zhejiang University, which appoints the President and Party Secretary, the top two positions at the hospital. Zhejiang University is owned by the Chinese government. Loma Linda University’s “authority” is primarily through influence and trust. According to Gerald R. Winslow, PhD, at the time LLUMC Vice-President for Mission and Culture, “After more than two decades of collaborative effort, we think we have earned the trust, and we believe our influence is felt in many ways.”