A groundbreaking collaborative agreement to promote better clinical care in China and the U.S. recently resulted in a literal groundbreaking, as officials from UNMC and its partners celebrated the ceremonial beginning of construction of Hainan Chaotan Bay International Hospital, at Hainan, China.
Hainan is a tropical island province of China, known for its beaches and rainforests.
This new international hospital will serve not only the people of Hainan province, which continues to grow and develop, but also patients from mainland China and other countries, who travel there for treatment.
It is the latest project in the partnership between Hainan Medical University, Chinalink Medical Investment Inc. of the Shuangwei Group, and UNMC.
“This groundbreaking represents the beginning of the new phase of our further collaborations,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “It is our hope that through our collaborative efforts, the Chaotan Bay Hospital will become one of the best hospitals in the region, in Hainan, in China and in the world.”
The partnership between Hainan Medical University and UNMC started in 2011 when the Sino-U.S. Lymphoma Center was established at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University. The Department of Hematology/Oncology at that hospital has since become one of China’s key departments in the field.
The collaborative project of Hainan Chaotan Bay International Hospital between Hainan Medical University, Chinalink Medical Investment Inc. of the Shuangwei Group, and UNMC, first formed in 2013.
Don Leuenberger, special assistant to the chancellor, David W. Mercer, M.D., chair and McLaughlin Professor of Surgery at UNMC, Kai Fu, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Asia Pacific Rim Development Program, and Bo Han, M.D., Ph.D., business development specialist for UNeMed Health Consulting-Shanghai (UHCS), represented UNMC and participated in the Oct. 28 groundbreaking ceremony at the city of Wenchang, Hainan, with Shuangyin Hao, president of the Shuangwei Group, Dr. Xishan Hao, an academician and honorary president of the Chaotan Bay International Hospital, Dr. Xiaoping Liao, president of Hainan Medical University, and hundreds of others.
Hainan Chaotan Bay International Hospital will feature 1,500 beds, and its close, collaborative partnership with UNMC and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center will help it become a top cancer hospital in the region, Dr. Fu said. It is set to open by the end of 2018, and its presence further expands UNMC’s name brand as one of the top international partners in China when it comes to medicine, education, clinical care and scientific research, Dr. Fu said.
A team of consultants from UNMC helped with the designing of the International Hospital last summer.
UNMC also will help train the hospital staff, in addition to consultative services and further collaboration in patient referral, clinical care, and medical research.