Heritage Snapshot 227: Ye Zhihong RN, PhD

LOMA LINDA>> Dr. Ye Zhihong (Jenny), RN, became the nursing vice-president counterpart to Kerrie Kimbrow’s, vice president for nursing at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China. The new nurses relationship to hospital administration was an adjustment in the minds of the Chinese people. As Zhihong and Kimbrow worked together through the years, Kimbrow made most of the decisions as the American mentor. Working closely with Zhihong, she helped to influence decisions. Kinbrow and Zhihong worked together as a team crafting decisions and strategies to improve nursing care and nursing as a profession in China. By the end of the first five years, gradually Zhihong took on more of the leadership role and made most of the decisions while Kimbrow observed. “Seeing that happen over those five years was amazing to see that transformation,” Kimbrow said. Zhihong has since earned advanced degrees in nursing including a master’s degree and doctorate in nursing. In addition to working closely with an American Western-medicine counterpart, she said she appreciates the contributions made by Loma Linda nurses over the years. She said the Chinese nurses and their American counterparts have worked together as a team. Lu Fangfang, RN, an outpatient department nurse, in a speech made to nursing staff during International Nurses’ Day, eloquently expressed the essence of the collaboration between institutions. “I feel so proud that I am working as a nurse at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital," Fangfang said. "When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of becoming an ‘angel dressed in white,’ who is so gentle, kind and warmhearted. Though the work is much harder than I imagined, I feel very happy and satisfied when patients recover. There are many experienced workers (at SRRSH) including many foreign experts. We are happily working together. Our cooperation is just perfect. It has proved that love has no national borders.” Dr. Gordon Hadley, the second president of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, promoted the value and importance of nurses throughout his presidency. He said nurses are there around the clock and it is important that they be included in the process of change and improvement. From the beginning, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital had a vice-president for nursing who reported to the top level of hospital administration. Today, Dr. Jenny Ye, continues to meet with the top administrative leaders when they make decisions about the future of the hospital. The hospital also has a unique centralized nursing education and training program, based on what staff has learned at Loma Linda University Medical Center. According to Yang Lili, RN, vice director of Nursing Education, Loma Linda management laid a good foundation for nursing education and nursing practice, which led to high-quality of patient care and safety in China. Nurses then strived for excellence and Loma Linda’s faith-based values had a positive impact. Yang just received a doctorate degree in nursing at the recent Loma Linda University School of Nursing graduation. In 2015, 35 nursing experts from all over China organized by the National Ministry of Health came to SRRSH to discuss criteria to evaluate the good hospitals. One of the questions they asked was "how did SRRSH become like it is?" Participants call it “The Shaw Model” and “the Shaw Phenomenon.” In 2015, almost 800 nurses from all over China studied at SRRSH for at least one month; some up to six months. Since 2006, up to 6,000 nurses have participated at SRRSH.