Fifty-three years ago, there was a seed whose name was ¡§love¡¨.
From cold and far Norway, chasing the wind, flying across oceans and mountains, and making a trip of thousands of miles, it arrived at the subtropical Taiwan. On the land of Pingtung Plain, with the nurturing of God, it grew gradually day by day.
Like the sun brightening the earth, it takes care of the body of Pingtung people.Like the stars illuminating the sky in the night, it guards the health of Pingtung people. It is what is called by Pingtung people as ¡§foreigner hospital¡¨-Pingtung Christian Hospital.
¡§Foreigner Hospital¡¨ was founded by a group of medical personnel from USA, Norway, and Finland in the poor and desperate 50s.
These foreign missionary doctors did not only offer medical service in the hospital, but also went deep into remote mountainous areas to visit sick people during holidays.In an era when the transportation was not convenient, missionary doctors had to trek across mountains and walk on cragged trails for numerous hours to reach aboriginal communities such as Wutai, Haucha, and Mudan to offer free medical service. In the hearts of older aborigines, they consider Pingtung Christian Hospital as their hospital.
No matter the patient had leprosy, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, or cerebral palsy, missionary doctors took care of them as their own family, not leaving or disserting them.
In 1956, poliomyelitis invaded the entire Taiwan, many children were infected and could not walk and go to school anymore, only climbing on the ground.Dr. Olav Bjorgaas and Dr. Kristoffor Fotland saw the needs and hence initiated the treatment task of poliomyelitis. They established wards especially accepting children with poliomyelitis, and treated patients from all parts of Taiwan for free.They also imported Sabin Vaccine and offered free vaccination for more than 4000 children from Pingtung area.This was the first large-scale poliomyelitis vaccination in Taiwan medical history.
In order to allow children paralyzed on the bed to move freely, PTCH established the first factory of support equipment and measured sick children to make support equipment and help children to walk again. Walking means going out and going to the school to be educated.
In 1963, PCH coordinated with Jen-Ai Elementary school to hold special class.
Let these children go to the school!
This was an important landmark in Taiwan special education.
However, as these children grew, the curve of the spine became even more serious and would pressure the breathing system if not treated.Therefore, they also invited experts from overseas to instruct remedial surgery of spinal curve.Thereby, PCH was not only the first hospital to offer poliomyelitis medical rehabilitation in Taiwan, it was also one of the eight spinal remediation centers in the world.Because it takes two years to remediate spine, in order to allow sick children to receive regular education during the treatment, PCH, again, and Bureau of Education, Pingtung County initiated the first ¡§bedside teaching¡¨ in Taiwan which was conducted by teachers alongside the bed of the sick children.
From curing the body to assist sick children to be independent, why do I always see these missionary doctors in the most needed places? From where do the loves of these foreign missionary doctors come
One of the founders of PCH, Dr. Olav Bjorgaas, once said a sentence which made all of us feel moved for a long time: ¡§not for anything else, simply because God loves me and sacrifices for me, I, therefore, love and sacrifice myself.¡¨Through hands and hearts of these missionary doctors, we see the representation of love and kindness. We see, beside treating physical pain, that we need to further learn to use the heart, given by God, to care and serve patients, offering holistic treatment of body and soul to them.
Until now, PCH still maintains this tradition.
The missionary personnel from the priest department chant, stand as witness, and distribute gospel messages for patients and their families.
They go to hospital wards to chant, bringing comfort and hope to patients.
We deeply believe that sorrowful soul makes the body wither and only a joyful mind is the real cure!Propelled by the time wheel, PCH building and hardware were successively upgrade and expanded.In 1999, the construction of medical buildings named after Luke, John, and Mark were completed.From a local hospital with only more than 100 beds, it was transformed to a regional teaching hospital with more than 600 beds.
The quantity of clinic visits elevated to 2500 persons.
The average daily emergency quantity is 250 persons.
The development like this entails the increase of the responsibility of PTCH.
Therefore, PCH actively brings medical resource into communities and promotes sanitary education. It enforces the ideal of ¡§prevention over treatment¡¨ and develops family-community medical department.
No matter it is home care of elders, single-living senior care, teenager health promotion, community health development, or self-pay medical check-ups, it fulfills health needs of all age groups.
Additionally, in order to continue and go into aboriginal communities, PTCH established aboriginal health-promoting center. It enters aboriginal communities to promote prevention & maintenance and sanitary education, initiate aboriginal special clinics, send over medical buses to Sandimen, Taiwu, and Majia to transport people in need of clinical visits to the hospital. Native-language-speaking aboriginal medical personnel serve them and assist hospitalized aborigines in solving medical, nursery, economic, and social welfare problems.
From 2000, it conducted National Health Insurance Integrated Health Care Delivery System(IDS) For The Aboriginal community.
This elevated the percentage of local medical visits and efficiently improved the medical environment of aboriginal communities.
PCH continues to expand the scope of its service in recent years and provide long-term care for single-living senior, low-income families, handicapped people, and seriously ill patients in aboriginal communities.More than fifty years of care and contribution in aboriginal medicine won the recognition of Council of Indigenous Peoples, Executive Yuan, PCH proudly being a merit-bearing organization?
in promoting the development of aboriginal society.??
In looking back, PCH is a hospital founded by foreign missionary doctors to contribute to Taiwan and is a medical preaching base inspired by God.
Therefore, when there was some extra resource left, PCH launched the overseas medical support. In 1994, medical evangelism team was first sent to Wah State near the border of Thailand and Burma which was then at war. Using limited medical human resource, they established a medical station there, founded the most basic medical care system, trained local young people to become medical personnel, and went deep into each village and community to do public hygiene and free clinic work.With 10 years of effort, PCH and Wah State have developed a 200-bed hospital and three branches.
Situated in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is the second site of overseas preaching.
Now hope clinic and youth center have been established locally to offer medical service and instruct computers and languages.Followed is Yangon, Burma, the third site where efforts of Christian medical personnel are gathered together to serve people based on a medical patrolling car with functions of clinic, operation, and examination.The dedication of overseas preaching department received recognition by winning Medical Contribution Award in 2001.
In addition, PCH was consigned by Minister of Foreign Affairs to be in charge of Taiwan medical team in Malawi, send medical personnel to Mzuzu Central Hospital, offer training to Malawi medical staff, and be responsible for medical diplomacy.
Medical stations or behaviors extended from PCH as the starting point are like seeds, flying to the places in needs with goals and hopes.
There they fell, rooted, grew, bloomed, and fruited.
The circulation and convention like this are all from one starting point. That is the love of God.PCH, with 50 years of age, marching into an era of e-hospital and diversification of medical service, has already completed Picture Archiving and Communication System, PACS and distance medical visual system.In continuation, it will develop cancer treatment center, allowing cancer patients to be cared by professional group.
In the future, there are still plenty of affairs and plans waiting for us to do!
And all of these are because our needs were seen and fulfilled. Therefore, now we will also see where other people¡¦s needs reside and go for them!The Missionary :In 1953, with the full hearted missionary passion, he envisioned of eliminating the poverty and diseases of this country which barely recover from World War II.
Leprosy was an unknown and fearful disease among very few Taiwanese in 1956. Missionaries will search out the deserted patients and try to cure or look after them.
The People
Later, the allied Norwegian missionary joins, people like Dr. Olav Bjorgaas and Dr. Kristoffer Fortland and many others who came from Norway, Finland and America.
They initiated the enthusiastic passion to serve the people in this region and the community of Pingtung.
First time in this country, the people of this poor region felt the warm hearts that across the ocean from two far away continents.
Series of missions have been taken against poliomyelitis which was epidemic in 1959 on the whole island. Surgery for scoliosis,executing rehabilitation and activities founded. A stand factory which was the first one in Taiwan.
During the time, a rare disease called leprosy was endemic in southern Taiwan.
The patients started with numbness of their feet and hands due to neuropathy. Because of constant abrasion, they finally loses the extremities without noticing it.
These missionaries approach these isolated patients to help their physical need and comfort their spirit.
In 1959, poliomyelitis spread through Taiwan whole island, causing many children paralyzed after high fever.
The virus attacks the spinal cord and causes permanent damage to the nerves that induces patients¡¦ lower limb unable to stand up through their whole life.
The missionary clinic set up a special program for these kids. One workshop to customize the artificial limb for the kids and to provide a special-designed mobile bus for the transportation of these handicapped children.
In order to help these children who suffered from scoliosis, missionaries got overseas resource to perform operation for them.
The rehabilitation center for the poliomyelitis was one of the eight biggest centers in the world at that time.
After years of expansion and development, now we have 21 divisions. OPD visits are average 1518 per day. ER visits are 205 per day. Total bed is 716.
The medical and spiritual triumph of this hospital is really taking off by it's new construction in 1990.
Three Luke,John and Mark buildings were able to accommodate more patients.
Through the years, modern equipments like CT, MRI have been installed which shorten the diagnostic period, improve the service quality for the patients.
-Cardiovascular Catheter Room
-The Cardiovascular Care Center
The training of the medical staff are continuously emphasized. We have close cooperation with several different universities.
Some of our staff are also teachers in these schools.
Staff has been encouraged to do more research. Publications on the medical journals are rewarded
To feedback the love from God and missionaries, our hospital has a great tradition to serve people overseas.
It is like in Burma, one mobile ambulance was well equipped to serve people in the remote area.
In Kyrgyzstan, cooperated with Luke Service International in U.S.A., the Hope Clinic provides free medicine for the poor people.
In Malawi, our medical mission has treated more than 3600 AIDS patients. In order to handle ARV medicine correctly, we used fingerprint to identify each person. This information system has been proved time-saving and cost-effectively to improve the clinic management.
In Wa-State, one isolated mountainous area between Burma and Thailand, started from 1994, we now has built up some hospitals and trained more than 100 local medical staff
They set up a medical clinic, when the villagers came out from deep woods, they seek medical attention from the medical team.
Later they came back again, brought more people to civilization, the PTCH team trained the local youths to learn medical practices, soon there¡¦re some doctor assistants and nurses.
The People In Wa-Ban
The medical evangelists set up schools by the helping hands of the locals, they build cabins for the kids to stay and learn to read , back in Taiwan PTCH collected used toys and books for the kids in Wa-Ban, soon after 10 year¡¦s cultivation, the former Wa-Ban is now? 200 beds hospital and three branches in that area.
Kyrgyzstan, once a union of Russian Republic, is surrounded by beautiful scenery. PTCH has set up the ¡§HOPE¡¨ clinic, cooperated with local and American resources.
Hope Clinic has provided free medicine for those poor people who need medical care.
In addition to the medical service, one Youth Center has provided both English and computer classes to help the local youths.
In Burma, PTCH pour in man power, equipments, medical supplies, doctors, nurses to assist one local doctor.
This mobile vehicle equipped with surgical and diagnostic facilities can have comprehensive medical service for patients. It can go to remote rural areas to help those people who are lack of medical service.
Malawi
Malawi, located in the southern Africa, was long plagued by poverty and diseases like AIDS and malaria.
Since 2002, PTCH has sent one medical team to Malawi to assist the Mzuzu central hospital in the northern region.
Closely cooperated with Malawian staff, we promoted the medical service and public health in the northern region
The Rainbow clinic, providing free ARV medicine for more than 3600 AIDS patients currently.
PTCH has also designed one information system integrated with fingerprint to manage the pharmacy and clinical information.
Rainbow is the sign from our heavenly God to remind His ever-lasting love for the people.
Our mission: Where there is needed, there we are, guides us to reach the people in need.
Based on the God¡¦s power, we will try our best to recover the dignity of the sick people through our medical and spiritual service.
This is the brief introduction of our hospital, Pingtung Christian hospital.
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