Kwong Wah Hospital

Kwong Wah Hospital (Chinese: 廣華醫院) is a major hospital in South Kowloon of Hong Kong. It is located at Waterloo Road in Yau Ma Tei.

The former Main Hall Building of Kwong Wah Hospital is preserved and houses the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Museum.

Contents

History

The hospital began in 1911 as a Chinese medicine hospital operated by a local charity body. After the hospital grouped with Tung Wah Hospital and Tung Wah Eastern Hospital to form the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Kwong Wah gradually became a full scale hospital in both Chinese and Western medicine.

In the early days, the hospital offered medical service free of charge to those who could not afford it, with funding provided by local merchants. That tradition continues today.

The hospital played a major role in the SARS epidemic which made its way from Guangdong province to Hong Kong early in 2003. On February 21, Liu Jianlun, a 64-year-old a Chinese doctor who had treated cases of SARS in Guangdong arrived in Hong Kong to attend a wedding. He checked into the Metropole Hotel (the ninth floor - room 911).[1] Although he had developed symptoms on February 15, he felt well enough to travel, shop, and sight-see with his brother-in-law. On February 22 he sought urgent care at the Kwong Wah Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He died on March 4.[2] About 80% of the Hong Kong cases have been traced back to this doctor. On February 25, the 53-year-old brother-in-law of the Guangdong doctor came to the Kwong Wah Hospital. He was not admitted that day but his illness worsened, and he was admitted on March 1. He died on March 19.

Notable people

Ma Ying-jeou, the current President of the Republic of China, was born in this hospital in 1950. This information is displayed in the Museum of the Hospital.

References

External links