Heritage Snapshot: Part 239

LOMA LINDA>> In the beginning, Jan Zumwalt, executive director medical/surgical nursing, Loma Linda University Medical Center, served as The China Project’s nursing liaison. She is now the Executive Director, International Affairs, for LLUMC and Associate Director of the Global Health Institute for Loma Linda University Health. Loma Linda University’s School of Allied Health Professions sent a team to SRRSH to train Chinese physicians and nurses in advanced cardiac life-support techniques. Its School of Nursing held several continuing education courses for SRRSH nursing staff and other nurses in the city of Hangzhou. Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital arranged to provide most of its graduate medical education in English. This decision helped to stimulate its medical staff to learn medical terminology in English, which helped Chinese physicians effectively communicate in international clinical settings in academic medical centers around the world. What makes Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital unique in comparison to other, traditional hospitals in China? According to Zumwalt, "their service model, ‘Giving you confidence, sincerity and love,’ is very unique in the Chinese setting. From that, they are much more caring about their patients. Nurses tend to take better care of their patients like they would a family member. And, they’re more interested in whole-person care. This is very different than most Chinese hospitals.” According to Zumwalt, the impact Loma Linda has had on The China Project is due to the large number of exchanges between Loma Linda staff and those from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital who have come to Loma Linda. China has sent 300 people to Loma Linda, and Loma Linda has sent 750 people to China. The number of exchanges like that has created a critical mass of people who understand, and have seen something different. So, members of the China hospital’s staff have gained a vision that they never would have if they had not had the opportunity to come to Loma Linda. People from Loma Linda have gained in a quantitative way, too. Ms. Zumwalt says, “I am constantly amazed and thrilled by the fact that when we have physicians and nurses who come back from their time at Sir Run Run Shaw—maybe they only spend one week, two weeks—they are very energized and just thrilled at what they have learned and what they have had an opportunity to share. I think it is a real job-enrichment for our staff here, when they have had a chance to go over to Sir Run Run Shaw. This is definitely both a sharing and learning experience.” Over the years, LLUMC and SRRSH developed a faculty exchange program between the two institutions where the two different faculties can provide lectures, participate in clinics, and conduct rounds in each other’s institutions and share valuable insights. According to Daniel W. Giang, MD, vice president for Graduate Medical Education at Loma Linda University Health and member of the SRRSH’s Supervisory Board of Trustees, this faculty exchange program has been very fruitful for both institutions, and has fostered a great cultural exchange, as well. The California Business and Professions Code 2111 Program is a special medical license exemption, which allows Chinese physicians coming to Loma Linda to actually have supervised hands-on training in California. SRRSH has been very willing to provide the financial resources to allow their physicians to come to Loma Linda for this training; a marvelous way for them to work right alongside Loma Linda physicians. An additional benefit of the 2111 Program is the training of whole teams, including nurses. So, instead of training just one individual physician, Loma Linda can educate a cooperative team which can then export a whole service line from Loma Linda to China. In 1997, The Loma Linda University Overseas Heart Surgery Team successfully performed 18 coronary by-pass surgeries during a two-week visit, providing further training for SRRSH cardiovascular surgeons. Although initiated by David T. Fong, MD, Dr. Urs Brenner, an LLU-sponsored general surgeon, spent two years instructing SRRSH surgeons in laparoscopic surgical techniques, entering the surgical site through small ports instead of major incisions. This technique established SRRSH as a pioneer in laparoscopic surgery in China, and contributed to a reduction in its length of stay by more than 50 percent. In the course of time, LLUMC trained not only physicians and nurses, but also laboratory technicians, medical records administrators, finance people and dietitians. This educational program has also been implemented in additional service lines where physicians having learned a new surgical technique also have the nursing and ancillary staff to implement the new procedure in China. The clinical staff at SRRSH, including physicians and nurses, have increased the technical quality of health care to a level that is enviable throughout the nation. The key elements that have made a difference have been initiated by the combination of evidence-based medicine with great people. Now located about 10 minutes from the center of Hangzhou, SRRSH provides services in dentistry, dental hygiene, cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, neurology, general surgery, general medicine, oncology, orthopedic surgery, ear, nose, and throat, urology, family medicine, radiology, radiation medicine and chemotherapy. It sometimes sees more than 8,000 outpatients a day.