Katie Mooney, Chief Nursing Officer and I had the opporutnity to travel to Hangzhou, China in April to tour the Second Affiliate Hospital of Zheijang. I’ve asked Ms. Mooney to provide a brief synospsis of her experience in China.
Hard to believe that it has been a month since we returned from China. When I think of the experience there really isn’t anything to compare it to. It was such a learning experience both as it relates to healthcare and from a cultural perspective. It certainly reinforced that it’s a small world. I had the opportunity to tour the Second Affiliate Hospital of Zheijang in Hangzhou and meet with the Chief Nursing Officer as well as the area managers. We had a discussion regarding Shared Governance as they are interested in incorporating that philosophy into their practice. The tour of the hospital included a tour of their Emergency Department, the VIP unit, outpatient pharmacy and the ophthalmology clinic. It is hard to believe but their ophthalmology clinic sees 1000 patients per day – yes that is correct I did say 1000. They have no appointments – patients just come and wait – if you come in today you will be seen today. So staff and providers work long hours and are very efficient. The Emergency department actually has three floors. The first for triage, resuscitation and minor treatment the second for infusion services and the third being the ED ICU where patients are kept for up to three days before being moved into the inpatient area. The hold is due to capacity issues – so some of the struggles we have are truly universal. They too have hallway patients. The VIP unit was beautiful and more reminiscent of a hotel suite than a hospital room. The rooms are actually three rooms – a living space, dining space and the bedroom with a king sized bed. Interesting to see how the medical air and gases were concealed but readily available. We also had some time to see some of the sites – including one of the three most holy places in China for those practicing Buddhism. Finally, the people were so kind, helpful and very generous. Everyone you met offered gifts – frequently tea which is grown in the area and known to be the best in China. So the most important lesson learned on the trip – we are more alike then different – what a valuable experience.
