Patients who come to see me are often under pressure from their physical condition and mental state. So I provide them with "whole person" care. In other words, I give them friendly service to calm their minds and high quality medical service to cure their diseases.

--Superintendent Lin Chin-lon



Ten years ago, a group of people from the medically deprived regions of Yunlin and Chiayi Counties in western Taiwan asked Tzu Chi to build a hospital for them. After learning how precious lives were lost when critically ill or injured people could not receive prompt medical care, Tzu Chi agreed and appealed to the public to donate cement and steel for the construction of the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. Tzu Chi people around the world worked hard to raise funds. Finally on August 13, 2000, after ten years of planning and almost four years of construction, this hospital built with love from every region was opened to provide humane medical treatment.



Many deaths and tragedies can be avoided if there is a good hospital nearby. In the medically deprived countryside of western Taiwan, countless lives are lost each year to illness or accidents. People have even been killed in traffic accidents while rushing to far-off hospitals. The northern Chiayi region is a typical example. It is estimated that ten thousand people shared 4.6 hospital beds and 3.8 doctors. This insufficiency not only jeopardized lives, but also mocked the commonly held belief that "All people are created equal."

Out of respect for all life, Tzu Chi decided to build a first-rate hospital in Dalin, Chiayi County. After ten years of planning and nearly four years of construction, the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital was officially opened on August 13, 2000. The hospital is twelve stories high, provides one thousand two hundred beds and encompasses an area of eighteen hectares [44.5 acres]. It has the potential to serve millions of people living in west Taiwan.

Like the foundation's first hospital in Hualien, the Dalin hospital was built solely from donations. To raise funds, Tzu Chi volunteers all over the world held numerous activities such as designing T-shirts for sale, singing Christmas carols, holding charity banquets, and collecting and selling recycled goods.

An elderly couple visited the Dalin hospital twice, and then they decided to donate a van to bring patients from remote areas to the hospital. The couple could barely make ends meet, so when they handed in their money, hospital workers were moved to tears.

In addition to contributing financially, Tzu Chi volunteers also put in their time and energy. For example to make the hospital cozy, volunteers planted trees, pulled weeds, and cleaned the hospital and the dormitories of the medical staff. The most incredible achievement is that they paved an area of 66,000 square meters [712,000 square feet] with 720,000 bricks in just ten days.

Touching stories behind the construction of the hospital are abundant. Moved by the altruism of the volunteers, the medical staff remind themselves to have more consideration for the patients and provide them with humane medical treatment and respect.

A Mission in Life

The moment a doctor puts on the white coat, he or she must always think of the patients first and place their welfare above his or her own benefit.

--Superintendent Lin Chin-lon



Without a firm resolution to serve people in Taiwan, why would Dr. Lin Chin-lon, a cardiologist who spent twenty-five years in the United States, leave at the peak of his career five years ago and return to Taiwan for good?

Fully recognizing Tzu Chi's contributions in Taiwan and abroad, Dr. Lin, who was then superintendent of the Northridge Hospital Medical Center near Los Angeles, resolutely accepted Master Cheng Yen's invitation to devote himself to the Tzu Chi mission of medical service.

"Master Cheng Yen constructs hospitals to provide caring, high quality medical service," observed Dr. Lin. "To fulfill this purpose, the hospital must have excellent hardware." The hospital in Dalin is the second built by the Tzu Chi Foundation. Well planned, carefully constructed and provided with the best equipment, it is one of the best hospitals in Taiwan. However, besides outstanding facilities, it also needs first-rate, conscientious doctors, nurses and administrative personnel. "This kind of project is what brought me back to Taiwan," added Dr. Lin.

In 1998, while Dr. Lin and his wife were visiting relatives in Taiwan, they paid a visit to Tzu Chi. He was greatly touched by the Tzu Chi volunteers' spirit of giving without expecting anything in return. Thus as soon as he returned to the States, he joined the Tzu Chi Southern California branch and set up the Tzu Chi Free Clinic with Steven Huang, then branch CEO, Dr. Hsu Ming-chang and others.

The Tzu Chi mission of medical care urgently needed more professionals, so Dr. Lin resigned from his post as the superintendent of Northridge Medical Center and director of the Tzu Chi Free Clinic earlier than scheduled. In August 1995, he returned and became the vice-superintendent at the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital.

"The steps in practicing Buddhism are belief, vow and action. Thus, besides believing in the doctrine, one must make a vow and act on it. Since I have a medical background, I always emphasize practical science and clinical proof. Therefore we often say, 'Put up or shut up!'"

On this note, Dr. Lin smiles confidently for he believes that all the Tzu Chi missions of relieving suffering and giving joy can be "put up" to show people. This is the reason he unhesitatingly chose Tzu Chi.



Hospitals for patients

Having practiced medicine for nearly thirty years, Dr. Lin has been living up to the ideal of thinking for the patient. He once said, "The moment a doctor puts on the white coat, he or she must always think of the patients first and place their welfare above his or her own benefit." Now as the superintendent of this hospital built with love, he continues to uphold this philosophy.

In the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, it used to be that patients who had taken blood, ultrasonic or x-ray tests had to return to the hospital another day to find out the results. However, the hospital later designed half-day tests, so that patients could do "one-stop shopping" by taking tests, getting the results, receiving medical advice and getting medicine before 12:30 pm the same day. This is one of the achievements of the hospital that Dr. Lin enjoys talking about.

Another policy targeted white-collar office workers. "To take blood exams, patients could not have any food and they had to wait till eight o'clock, when the laboratory opened. After the blood tests, they had to rush back to work and some even had to take sick leave. Now that the laboratory opens at seven o'clock, patients have plenty of time to take blood tests, eat breakfast, and then go to work."

Dr. Lin said compared to the medical environment in the United States, Taiwan still has plenty of room to improve. For example, in Taiwan if a doctor leaves his or her own clinic a couple of days, patients can only pray that they will not fall ill. If they become sick, they have to go to another clinic. However in the States, when doctors know they have to be away, they arrange for other doctors to take care of their clinics. Moreover, even at midnight, on weekends or holidays, as long as patients seek their help, doctors will always be there. Dr. Lin believes that a strong sense of responsibility is one thing doctors in Taiwan still have much to learn about.

In addition, Taiwan tends to put less emphasis on the importance of sickness prevention than America does. "In the States, family doctors take care of patients' health and prevent illness. But in Taiwan, because medicine is less well integrated, a doctor only treats a patient's specific illness and pays no attention to other parts."

"When I was serving in the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, I promoted the Coronary Heart Disease Shared Care Program. When a patient has an operation or is hospitalized, the hospital instructs him on diet, exercise and medication. At the same time, to follow up on patients, the hospital keeps in close contact with public health clinics and private clinics. This way the hospital can provide patients with continuous medical care.

Hospitals exist because of the needs of the sick. Be it Dr. Lin's experiences in the States or the experiences of Tzu Chi Hospital in Taiwan, as long as they are beneficial to patients, they will be implemented in the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital.



Sincerity draws people

No matter how well built a hospital is or how sophisticated its medical equipment is, the key to providing the best medical service lies in the cooperation of the medical team. Looking back at the preparation stage for building the Dalin hospital, Dr. Lin said that recruiting staff was a little problematic.

"The salary we can provide does not measure up to that in other hospitals. In addition, there is the transportation factor. So basically most of the new staff joined us because they agreed with Tzu Chi's medical philosophy." The little town of Dalin is off the beaten track, far from major centers. Dr. Lin is very grateful to his new team, for they joined because they eagerly wanted to serve the local people or because they identified themselves with the Tzu Chi philosophy of helping the poor and the needy.

Holding a belief in humane medical treatment, Dr. Lin also attracts doctors with the same kind of passion. Dr. Lu Shou-jui, director of the Arthroscopic Therapy Center, recalled the first time he met Dr. Lin and learned about his belief in putting patients first. He realized that he had found someone who shared the same belief he himself advocated.

"The Arthroscopic Therapy Center combines osteology with traditional Chinese medicine and a rehabilitation center. This setup eliminates for patients the hassle of running between different departments." Dr. Lu explained. "Superintendent Lin is very friendly, and he doesn't just preach. He really humbles himself and does what he says. So I am very happy to work with him."

With the approaching opening of the hospital, Dr. Lin was completely immersed in handling hospital affairs. The pressure in his busy life can only be imagined. Yet he always wore a smile and was always ready to encourage others.

The hospital gradually moved from a construction site to a grand hospital. During this period of time Dr. Lin patiently helped workers peel wrapping paper off doors, and he called on his staff to help pave the brick roads on holidays. If someone was ill or injured, he would immediately go and treat that person.

During the personal sharing time at a Tzu Chi seminar, a new employee recalled that when he came to the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital for a job interview, he asked for directions from a janitor who was busy cleaning a toilet in the office. That janitor kindly showed him the way to the superintendent's office and said that Dr. Lin would come right away. A few minutes later, the same janitor stepped into the superintendent's office. The interviewee suddenly realized that the janitor was in fact Superintendent Lin. He was both dumbfounded and touched!

Hung Hsiu-mei, Dr. Lin's wife, became a disciple of Master Cheng Yen a long time ago and is a permanent volunteer at the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. The friendly couple set their own concrete examples for others to follow.

Make the Dream Come True

It is important to cure the disease, but it is more important to care about patients. We treat the profession as a mission so that doctors not only reflect Tzu Chi's light of compassion, but also radiate their own goodness from within.

--Medical Vice-Superintendent Chien Sou-hsin



Dr. Chien Sou-hsin, an outstanding surgeon, has been prais ed as a Renaissance Man. Plunging into the preparation work for the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, could he still retain the composure he always shows?

When we interviewed him, he seemed to be as composed and humorous as always. Although his son took the college entrance exams this year, he and his wife were so busy with the hospital that they had no time to worry about their son's grades.



A choice made twelve years ago

On the day Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital celebrated its second anniversary, Dr. Chien left the prestigious National Taiwan University Hospital for Hualien. "I made the choice twelve years ago to work at Tzu Chi because I loved the simplicity of Hualien and the beautiful green mountains, and because a group of partners from National Taiwan University Hospital came with me.

Through the passage of time, Dr. Chien has always reminded himself to act like a Tzu Chi person. Out of this sense of mission, he is now willing to uproot his stable career and family life, move to a little town in the western part of Taiwan, and take up the heavy responsibility of setting up a hospital.

"We can say that it's making a dream I had when I was young come true." Dr. Chien still remembers that during his student days, he was greatly moved by movies like "The Intern" in which doctors devoted themselves selflessly for their patients. Now the need of the Yunlin and Chiayi regions for good medical service has given him the chance to pick up that dream again. The only regret he has is that he has to leave behind his patients and colleagues with whom he has worked for many years and become close friends.

"Patients know that I can perform the surgery they need!" Dr. Chen's brilliant skill won him a good reputation in Hualien. Now that he is in Dalin, he will not fail to meet patients' expectations. This is definitely great news for people in Yunlin and Chiayi!



Predictable medical care

Both Dr. Chien and Superintendent Lin believe that equipment can be purchased to achieve high quality medical service, but the most precious factor lies in the excellent attitude of medical professionals in serving and respecting patients.

Having been a surgeon for years, Dr. Chien takes note of the blind points often found in hospitals. For example a patient about to undertake an operation tends to feel uneasy and often cannot fall asleep the night before. The patient has no idea what time he will be pushed into the operating room the next day. This makes it difficult for the family to arrange to take care of the patient. [In Taiwanese hospitals medical personnel generally provide only medical service, while personal matters such as feeding and washing the patient are usually taken care of by family members who actually stay with the patient in the ward.]

Moreover, the patient must put on a one-size-fits-all surgery gown early in the morning. This dress is designed not for the convenience of the patient, but rather for that of the surgeons so that they can undress the patient in the shortest time and finish the surgery. From this we can see that Taiwanese medical personnel often do not take the patient's feelings into consideration at all. Just think: the patient cannot wear anything under the gown. If the patient is physically large, then he or she will find it awkward not to reveal the body.

The patient is then ushered into a cold, unfamiliar operating room where the staff will ask him routine questions like: "Are you wearing dentures or contact lenses? Do you have heart disease or high blood pressure?" After the patient wakes up from the surgery, he may feel excruciating pain from the wound. While he is resting in the recovery room, his family may know nothing about his condition.

"From all this we can conclude that we hardly ever think of the patients." Dr. Chien frankly admits that there is still plenty of room for improvement. For example, to help patients sleep more soundly, doctors can prescribe a suitable amount of sleeping pills and alleviate their pressure the day before the surgery. Furthermore, hospital gowns can be made available in various sizes or patients can even be allowed to wear underwear so that they can retain their dignity.

The Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital will try to rectify such noticeable, correctable shortcomings. Dr. Chien gave an example: when patients arrive, the hospital can give patients and their families an orientation of the hospital to make them familiar with the environment. The hospital can also inform patients of the procedures they will undergo, even for those who are only getting health checkups, so that they can know what tests they will take in the morning and afternoon. "Being informed beforehand can lessen the anxiety the patients and their families might experience," remarked Dr. Chien.

"On the whole, we hope to have a predictable medical service, and not just let the service take its own course," explained Dr. Chien. "To attain high-quality medical service, we have to take the dignity of the patients into consideration. This is what we call humane medical treatment."



Think of the patients

Despite any changes the medical environment of Taiwan might undergo, patients will always have to face the pressure of illness. In order to become conscientious doctors, medical personnel must let patients feel their mindfulness by alleviating their physical pain and also caring about their feelings.

Dr. Chien thinks that doctors overall spend a tremendous amount of time on their professions, but little time on humanity. Hence doctors inevitably become rather "cold-hearted." As they become more professional and acquire higher status, they have less time to reflect on themselves.

Dr. Chien is one of the promoters of the Tzu Chi style of medical service. He hopes to rely on Tzu Chi's humanistic atmosphere to redirect the emphasis on curing illness to caring for the patients. Thus, topics like environmental protection, humanities and art will be included in professional seminars. Thus, in addition to acquiring medical knowledge, doctors can also see things from the view of social workers.

"The patients are always on our minds. I hope that everyone can work professionally with a sense of mission and think about the welfare of the patients." Dr. Chien sincerely invites all staff members in the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital to become a part of Tzu Chi, so that they will not only reflect Tzu Chi's light of compassion, but radiate their own goodness from within.

Not Just the Will of God

We should learn from the Tzu Chi volunteers' spirit of altruism in order to give more in accordance with the needs of the patients. In this way, this hospital can truly become a model of Great Love.

--Administration Vice-Superintendent Huang Ja-jing



Huang Chia-ching holds the uncommon title of "Administrative Vice-Superintendent." His background is also special. A Christian and an elder of the Presbyterian Church, Huang serves in the medical mission of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation.

Some time ago, members of the Taiwan Christian Health Care Alliance visited the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. Vice-Superintendent Lin Kuo-chuan of Changhua Christian Hospital acknowledged that local Christian hospitals only employ Christians in senior positions. Yet Dr. Chen Ying-ho, the incumbent superintendent of the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, and Huang Chia-ching, vice-superintendent of the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, are both Christians. This shows that Master Cheng Yen is very open-minded and considers professional skill and talent to be more important than religion or other elements.



It's all karma!

"I'm just fifty years old and I'm still physically fit, so I should do something more meaningful." With this thought in mind, Huang resigned from the post of administrative vice-superintendent of Mackay Memorial Hospital, where he had served over twenty years and accumulated much experience. He abandoned the chance to sit back and relax and chose instead to join the Tzu Chi mission of medical service.

After graduating from the Industrial Engineering Department of Tunghai University in central Taiwan, Huang worked at a factory where he was in charge of productivity and quality control. Impressed by his performance in school, a university dean recommended that he take the post of administrative assistant to the superintendent and vice-superintendent of Mackay Memorial Hospital. Since then, he has always worked in the realm of medical administrative management.

After serving for two years, the hospital sent Huang to the United States to take graduate courses in medical management. Originally he had intended to practice in a medical firm for one year, but because Mackay Memorial Hospital urgently needed him, he returned to Taiwan right after he submitted his thesis. In 1975, at the age of twenty-nine, Huang became the administrative vice-superintendent of Mackay Memorial Hospital.

"When I joined Mackay, there were only around 400 beds. By the time I resigned, there were altogether 2,200 beds in Taipei and in the Tamsui and Taitung branch hospitals." Grateful to Mackay Memorial Hospital for providing him with opportunities to learn, Huang urged himself to continue contributing his experiences and expertise to society.

In August 1998, Huang joined the Tzu Chi Foundation as the director of the Mission of Medical Service Development Office. Whenever asked why he chose to work for a Buddhist organization, he always answers humorously, "It's all karma," instead of saying "It was God's will" like most Christians would say. This change did not come easily, for he pondered on this issue for half a year.

"Before I joined Tzu Chi, Vice-President Lin Pi-yu took the time to tell me all about Tzu Chi. A person with a management background like me stresses rational operation and efficiency. However, Tzu Chi is more humanistically oriented and focuses on religion, charity and volunteer services. Since the two are quite different, I inevitably had to make some adjustments. I also read Tzu Chi publications to see what the group as a whole is doing."

"I know everything Tzu Chi does aims at helping people. Although Tzu Chi speaks of Great Love and Christians speak of universal love, the tenets and actions are identical." Huang recalls that when he visited Master Cheng Yen in Hualien, the Master told him that religions should respect each other, and that as long as they do not promote anything related to superstition, the goals of all proper religions are basically the same.

"The Master said that it is quite all right for a Christian like me to work at Tzu Chi. In fact, she was worried that I wasn't devout enough in my religion! At that moment, I greatly admired the Master's magnanimity." After that meeting, Huang finally decided to serve at Tzu Chi.

[Douglas Shaw, the editor of this magazine, can't help but comment that he, a firm Catholic, also supports the work and goals of the foundation and is grateful to the Master for allowing him to take part!]



Affirmation builds reputation

The administrative vice-superintendent is mainly in charge of the administration of the whole hospital. The quality of the medical service provided depends not only on the medical techniques, but on the entire flow of the medical service.

Huang remarked that current plans for the goals, budget, medical personnel and number of patients have been closely designed. In the future, after the hospital starts implementing the ISO-9002 standard, all management will be systematized and automated so that administration can become more efficient.

"Medical resources are like a well," Huang commented. "We should save what can be saved and only spend on necessities. Although this is a religious hospital, it should try to achieve a reasonable surplus in order to maintain sustainable development. I hope that three years from now, the hospital's revenues and expenditures can be in balance."

From his two years of experience at Tzu Chi, Huang and his colleagues all realize that they have to learn from the Tzu Chi volunteers' spirit of altruism and give more in accordance with the needs of the patients. In this way, this hospital can truly become a model of Great Love.

"In the initial stage, the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital only has roughly four hundred staff members. If we want to build up our reputation around here, then everyone must pitch in."

To Huang, the tenet of Christian hospitals is to cure and preach. He believes a Buddhist hospital should also make its special characteristics clear, not only to its employees but also to people on the outside.

"For example, in May of this year the 'showering the Buddha' ceremony, was held on the first floor of the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital's Chronic Disease Building. Like the Christian Christmas, people can gain a deeper understanding of Tzu Chi and Buddhism through actual participation. At the same time, it satisfies those who want to enter a religion by getting in touch with it and learning about it. So I think that the hospital can emphasize religious activities to some extent."

Huang's wife, Lin Kui-hui, moved to Dalin with him. Whenever time allows, she volunteers at the hospital. Getting ready for the grand opening, Huang and his wife were both extremely busy. She filled in wherever she was needed. Sometimes she did dishes or cooked breakfast for the staff. Sometimes she walked around with a floor map drawn by art designers in the hospital to ensure that the map was accurate. She had the altruistic spirit of a volunteer in taking care of the staff and serving the patients.