Project
Church-run hospitals / clinics
Background
Since its foundation, the Chinese government has been practicing a policy of religious freedom. With the deepening of reform and opening up to the world, the government is encouraging legal religious organizations to improve their work to meet the needs of rapid social development. Responding to the government's call, as well as to show Christian love to all people, the Chinese churches have been trying all means to come into contact with society, to serve society, and to let society understand the churches.
One of China's achievements during the period of the command economy was to provide a large majority of its population access to basic health services at an affordable price. The structural changes following the economic reform, especially the introduction of the rural production contract responsibility system, led to a decline of the cooperative medical system. The government has not replaced the cooperative medical system with a new health financing structure. Most Chinese have to pay directly for health services. Severe illness and cost of medical care is believed to be an important cause of poverty.
In the past few years, many Chinese churches have built hospitals and clinics, aiming at providing medical service at an affordable price. The cost in Church run hospitals/clinics is usually much less than that in others for the same service. While these services bring people a great convenience, it creates a big problem for the church-run hospitals and clinics to buy necessary facilities for further development. The Christians have already donated all they could to build the hospitals/clinics. They cannot donate any more to help the hospitals/clinics to buy necessary furnishings and equipment.
1. Zhoukou Gospel Hospital, Henan Province
The Zhoukou Gospel Hospital was founded in July 2001, putting an end to the city's history of being without any church-run hospitals. There are 1,000 churches in Zhoukou. The number of Christians has increased up to 800,000, covering 8% of the whole population of the city. But as an underdeveloped city, the health condition in Zhoukou is still very poor. Many Christians cannot afford the high cost of medical care when they get sick. The Christian Council of Zhoukou decided to build a hospital to provide services at an affordable price to all the Christians and other people.
Mr. Ma Xing, the director of the hospital, and his father, are famous doctors for asthma treatment in Zhoukou. They even have a workshop for their registered medicine for asthma. After the opening of the hospital, more and more people came for the cheap but good medical services. But the lack of necessary examination equipment brings the doctors a great difficulty. The doctors cannot make correct diagnosis without proper examination. The churches want to help, but the little donation from the Christians is far from enough for the hospital to buy necessary equipment.
The hospital consists of five departments: inner medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, Chinese medicine, and 7 wards holding 20 beds. There are 16 doctors and 8 nurses in the hospital.
2. Christian Gospel Kidney Hospital in Qi County, Henan Province
The Hospital was founded in 1993 by the Christian Council. After its founding, the hospital was getting more and more famous for its doctors who are well known with their rich experience in kidney disease treatment, and its own registered medicine that was proved very effective. Many patients come for treatment from many other places far away. To be responsible for the patients, it's urgent for the hospital to buy some modern equipment to help the doctors make correct diagnosis. But as a low profit hospital, the cost is too high for them to afford. The clinic consists of inner medicine division, kidney disease division, and wards holding 50 beds. There are 11 doctors and 4 nurses.
