Monday, November 4, 2024
¡@

 
  Home > Media Information > Current News Releases > IPC 5th Anniversary

 
Jen-Ai Hospital International Patient Center Celebrates 5th Anniversary!

2008/09/30
BY DOUGLAS HABECKER
TAICHUNG, COMPASS MAGAZINE


¡@¡@Ask almost any expatriate resident or traveler to describe a worst-case scenario overseas and the answer will often include illness or injury. What might already be a stressful experience in one's home country can be magnified significantly in an alien country and culture, where an unfamiliarity with language, medical options and procedures, quality of care and other factors all come into play. This can lead to situations that range from slightly inconvenient to terrifying.

¡@¡@Foreign residents and visitors in Central Taiwan can consider themselves very fortunate that such scenarios have grown increasingly rare over the past five years, thanks to the existence of the International Patient Center (IPC) at Jen-Ai Hospital in Dali City, Taichung County. This month, the IPC marks its fifth anniversary of service to the international community and more than 70 nationalities.

¡@¡@Jen-Ai Hospital deserves tremendous credit for taking the initiative in 2003 to create what was then unprecedented for Taiwan--a full-service department exclusively focused on assisting international patients in need of medical care. The goal has been to ease the stress of medical visits and procedures, primarily through the provision of an interpreter who literally walks the patient through the process, from scheduling appointments and hospital registration to doctor visits, translation of medical documents, expediting payment transactions and even arrangement of Western-style patient meals.

¡@¡@In addition to the hospital's bilingual staff members who offer on-site English and Japanese services, services are provided by a team of volunteers who, with three days' advance notice, can be on hand to interpret in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Afrikaans, Thai, Malaysian/Indonesian, Tagalog, Burmese and Cantonese, among 20-plus languages. In the case of emergencies, three-way conference calls can also be arranged with the patient, doctor and interpreter.

¡@¡@According to Program Director, Mark K. Chan, the IPC to date has directly serviced over 6,750 patient visits from close to 1,600 international patients from an amazing total of 72 different nationalities. The number of patients and patient visits has shown consistent growth, even as the hospital has earned a number of awards, including the Department of Health's "Excellent Bilingual Friendly Hospital" Award, the Executive Yuan's "Very Good English Environment" Award, and a number of international awards. Furthermore, the hospital has signed contractual agreements to become the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) in Taichung for International SOS & MedAire, Inc.

¡@¡@"Our experiences as patients at Jen-Ai Hospital have been great, and we have found that going to the doctor in Taiwan does not have to be stressful. Mark Chan and his staff have been there to interpret for us and lead us through the process of seeing doctors, having tests and getting medicine," said American artist, art curator and Fulbright Scholar, Jane Ingram Allen, who has lived in Taichung for three years. "We find the care at Jen-Ai Hospital is excellent, and the doctors seem very competent. The International Patient Center is certainly a unique and valuable service that makes this hospital an excellent choice for any foreigners in Taiwan."

¡@¡@"From the day that I was admitted until the day that I was discharged, I was treated with nothing but respect and sincere kindness by all the staff," said South African teacher, Sandra de Sissing, who recently just moved to Taiwan and underwent surgery at Jen-Ai Hospital. "My week-long stay in the hospital has truly convinced me that this place feels more like home than my own country!"

¡@¡@"In the future, IPC hopes to provide more information in additional languages and introduce best medical practices that are widely available elsewhere, into Taiwan," said Chan, noting that this expansion would include specialties popular among international patients, as well as attracting medical tourists from overseas.

¡@¡@For detailed information, including on-line appointment request forms, the IPC has one of the most comprehensive English hospital websites in Taiwan at http://www.jah.org.tw/international.asp and may also be contacted via an English Information Hotline at 0963-175-765, Monday ~ Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Jen-Ai Hospital (Dali) is located just over the Taichung City / County border in the south of Taichung Train Station at 483 Dong Rong Road, on the corner of Guo Guang Road.


Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
China
Colombia
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Lithuania
Macau
Macedonia
Malaysia
Mexico
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Senegal
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Vincent
Swaziland
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
U.K.
U.S.A.
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
 
Media that featured this news:
   
Compass Magazine 1 
Compass Magazine 2 
Compass Magazine Website 
Circle Magazine 1 
Circle Magazine 2 
IWAT Website 
Xpat Magazine 1 
Xpat Magazine 2 
englishintaiwan.com 
Morrison The Echo Newsletter 
   
 
Related Links:
   
IPC Official Launch 2003 
IPC Open House Event 2004 
Dreams Come True Event 2005 
IPC 3rd Anniversary Event 2006 
IPC 4th Anniversary 2007 
IPC 6th Anniversary 2009 
IPC 7th Anniversary 2010 
IPC 8th Anniversary 2011 
IPC 9th Anniversary 2012 
IPC 10th Anniversary 2013 
IPC 15th Anniversary 2018 
 
     
Press Release from 5 Years Ago 
Press Release from 10 Years Ago  
 
 
©Copyright 2013 / All Rights Reserved / Jen-Ai Hospital
Disclaimer / Privacy Statement
e-mail to:  ipc@mail.jah.org.tw
Date Modified: 10/03/2008

Home