Notes from the President -- May 2015

This story really begins over 100 years ago, young by Chinese reckoning, but nearly at Loma Linda‘s beginning. A remarkable family moved from a village in the Zhejiang province of eastern China to the growing metropolis of Shanghai. The father began in the entertainment business, eventually followed by four of his sons, including one born in 1907 named Shao Renjeng. This son later came to be called Run Run Shaw, probably a transliteration of his name from the Ningbo dialect from the village where he was born. The family sold their business in Shanghai just before the Japanese invasion in 1937, eventually settling throughout Asia, with Run Run Shaw first moving to Singapore and finally to Hong Kong. Through astute anticipation of entertainment interests and trends, the brothers developed the largest movie production dynasty in Asia. Run Run Shaw was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 due to his significant donations to education, health care and the arts, primarily throughout China. He has more than 5,000 buildings carrying his name in the country, often known locally by his nickname, Yifu.

Most of us wouldn’t know much about this man were it not for an event early in his life. Apparently his mother became sick and sought care from an American doctor in Shanghai who had recently moved to China on behalf of the Adventist Church. Harry Miller was a 1902 graduate of the American Medical Missionary College in Battle Creek, Michigan, the forerunner of Loma Linda University. He eventually spent most of his career in China, earning the title of “China Doctor” while establishing two hospitals in Shanghai, and another eight, along with many clinics, throughout the country. When Sir Run Run Shaw was later living in Hong Kong, he also sought health care from the Adventist hospital there based on his early acquaintance with Dr. Miller.

And so it was that in the 1980s, when Sir Run Run Shaw decided he would like to build a modern hospital in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, he turned to the Adventist Church for assistance. And this is how Loma Linda University got drawn into this story, helping design, manage and staff Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, with our name proudly displayed on the building. We recognized its 20-year anniversary last year, when many who had worked at the hospital returned to celebrate friendships. Through those 20 years, over 500 staff from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital were trained at Loma Linda, and as many from Loma Linda spent time in the offices, wards, clinics and operating theaters there. Because of the hospital’s success and growing reputation, many have come from across China to learn from this Western-oriented hospital with the unusually close relationship with a place called Loma Linda University.

And this is where the next chapter of this story begins. Because of the current reputation of Loma Linda in China due to this relationship, many other enterprising businessmen and hospitals have been coming to our door, wanting to recreate the success of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. This has given us pause on two counts. What have we done that can be replicated elsewhere? In other words, what is the “magic” that Loma Linda and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital have created? And secondarily, with whom do we want to partner in the future? We recognize it is time to branch out from Hangzhou, but we must consider who is truly committed to creating this special kind of care versus who is looking for a good marketing edge by using our name.

In meaningful dialogue with our Chinese friends, we have concluded that any success in this relationship has been due to the sharing of our values, our culture. Probably it is the nurses, even more than the doctors, who have captured this culture of compassion and caring that makes Loma Linda, and now Sir Run Run Shaw, so unique. But can we create that elsewhere? China is now pushing 1.4 billion people, give or take 100 million, with thousands of hospitals, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. They have massive cities with modern freeways, subways, skyscrapers and hospitals. This is backed by an economy that owns much of our U.S. debt and continues to grow at an impressive rate.

To seek answers to these questions, a small group of us traveled to China a few weeks ago, visiting Hong Kong, Beijing, Hangzhou and Chongqing. We toured hospitals, listened to presentations, ate great meals with chopsticks, and discussed the best way forward. While China is opening up to Western ideas and programs, it is still a tightly controlled country, with little room for external organizations to work on their own. All of Loma Linda’s involvement to date has been in support of government hospitals and universities, including Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. Though “religious freedom” is allowed, it is carefully structured and monitored. Is there a role for a private, faith-based university now in China? Has the time come to see if this can happen? How would it best be organized? Where? What courses should be offered?

We shared these questions and concerns with the leadership of the Shaw Foundation, the current leaders at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, and with several large health systems across the country. Would it be possible for Loma Linda to provide effective consultation support, or even start a school of nursing, or dental hygiene, or other professional programs in China? Could we train health professionals from across the country, giving them clinical and administrative skills, as well as our values of caring and compassion? Our conclusion is that it is time to put forward a proposal that allows us to train students within a Loma Linda culture of caring. This would require both an educational building and probably a dormitory for students to stay in on a new campus. Even more importantly, we would want access to an appropriate hospital for clinical rotations. We feel this would best be done at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital itself, which has thoroughly endorsed this idea.

So a concept paper has been developed and sent off. Pray for this initiative, which could be a huge step to further involvement in this country with one-fifth of the world’s population. It would be a new frontier for Loma Linda, befitting our distinguished history of innovation around the world. And it just may have a national impact in a country even as big as China.

Sincerely yours,
Richard Hart, MD, DrPH
President
Loma Linda University Health

PS: Our campus in San Bernardino is going up. Please log on to http://lomalindauniversityhealth.org/sanbernardino/live-video.page for a live video view of construction. The image updates at brief intervals.

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