Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals is Hong Kong’s longest standing charitable organization providing the diversified services. In the past 143 years, Tung Wah has been all along upholding its mission “To heal the sick and to relieve the distressed; to care for the elderly and to rehabilitate the disabled; to promote education and to nurture youngsters; and to raise the infants and to guide the children.” The Inauguration of the Board 2013/2014 is held on 2 April 2013 and is officiated by Mr. TSANG Tak-sing, GBS, JP, and Secretary for Home Affairs.

Dr CHAN Un Chan, Ina, Chairman of the Board 2013/2014 addressed at the inauguration that Tung Wah would continue its mission to provide multifarious services in an innovative and sustainable manner to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. In the year to come, Tung Wah would focus on “Family Based” and “Community Support”. Strenuous efforts would be made to rebuild the core values of family, enhance the resilience of family members and fulfill the functions of family with a view to upkeep the social stability and harmony in Hong Kong.

To enhance service quality and launch new service initiatives, various large-scale redevelopment projects will be embarked in this year, including redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital (“KWH”), which preparatory works including site investigation, antiquities preservation and preparation of outline sketch design will soon commence; the redevelopment of TWGHs David Trench Home for the elderly, which is scheduled to be completed by 2014, will serve as an integrated elderly services providing quality residential care places and one-stop multi-disciplinary elderly services to meet the needs of frail elders; the in-situ redevelopment of TWGHs Wong Fut Nam College. Construction works will be launched in early 2014 and the project will be completed in 2015; the conversion of the former school campus of the TWGHs Lee Sai Chow Primary School into a youth hostel scheduled to commence service by early 2017 to help alleviate the housing problem of youth.

The provision of the century-old free medical services for the needy has long been the prime objective of Tung Wah. In this connection, the Board has allocated $185 million to its hospitals and medical and health services centres for the provision of the Group’s free medical services, undertaking of capital projects, expansion and improvement of existing services and acquisition of sophisticated medical equipment. On the other hand, the Group has been proactively exploring ways to foster its closer ties with District Councils and community organizations for the promotion of our medical and healthcare services to community level. In its efforts of providing dental health care services, plans will be conceived for the provision of sedation dentistry for patients with psychological or physical needs. Besides, to accommodate the need of the general public for Chinese medicine, the operation of night outpatient services at our existing Chinese medicine centres will also be explored. Foreseeing the integrated Chinese and Western medicine becoming a trend in medical science development in long-run, a self-financed integrated Chinese and Western medicine in-patient services manipulated by Chinese medicine practitioners will be made debut in Hong Kong at the Kwong Wah Hospital. Meanwhile, the Group will also work out with the Chinese medicine schools in local universities for the provision of clinical attachment in Chinese medicine for Chinese medicine practitioners this year.

Being one of the largest school sponsoring bodies in the territory, Tung Wah has been moving forward with its mission of propelling holistic development of students over the century. To keep abreast of the changing society, the Group is planning to establish its first school under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (“DSS”) which will have special focus on implementing programmes on sports, arts and culture and providing a multi-dimensional language learning environment for students. This year, the Group will introduce innovative measures in education to develop the full potential of students and to nurture talents. On the academic side, clusters of schools will be formed in district network to facilitate exchange in teaching and learning and to launch different gifted educational programmes for students. Apart from academic studies, a music training centre is planned to groom talents. In respect of post-secondary education, Tung Wah College (“TWC”) has laid down its road map to become a private university specialized in healthcare services. The College will launch a number of programmes in different disciplines including the undergraduate programme in Occupational Therapy and the first undergraduate programme in Hong Kong focusing on Operation and Management of Non-Profit Organizations to meet the demand for manpower supply in the local community.

On Community Services, in face of the complicated social problems, economic hardship, social conflicts and pressure of life have undermined traditional family values. Together with the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the underprivileged families are indeed in need of support. To step up our efforts to help solve the soaring demands for family, elderly and poverty alleviation services, Dr Ina CHAN, the Chairman, denoted that the Board has allocated a funding of over $140 million for undertaking a series of welfare projects this year. To sustain its long-standing mission in youth development and well-being of their families, the Group’s first Integrated Family Services Centre newly set up in Yuen Long will be developed to serve as a one-stop community-based platform to provide outreach services to the needy families with an ultimate aim to prevent family problems.

On the other hand, in face of the aging population problem, which has induced growing demand for support to frail elderly as well as elderly residential places, the Group will provide more contract homes to accommodate their special needs. Meanwhile, feasibility on in-situ expansion or re-development of the care and attention homes of the Group will be explored to shorten the long waiting queue for elderly residential places. In accord with the Government policy of “Aging in Place”, the Group will establish a self-financing day care centre for elders in North Point and Sha Tin respectively. Day care services will also be added to 2 existing elderly homes so that eligible elders can be benefited with services according to personal needs.

To cope with the ever-increasing number of demented elders in the community, Tung Wah is planning to set up community support centres in Kwun Tong and Tuen Mun. Meanwhile, a dementia care unit will be established at Shuen Wan Complex for the Elderly to provide supportive services for the demented elders and their families.

In countering poverty, the Group will extend our “Hope Development Accounts” programme to more serving areas to help participants building up their assets and setting personal goals to enhance their self-reliance to tackle the hardships they encountered in life. Simultaneously, the Group will operate the Integrated Employment Assistance Programmes for Self-reliance in 4 districts to provide one-stop integrated employment assistance services for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme recipients with working capabilities. To step up its food assistance efforts, the Group will explore the feasibility of setting up another community canteen serving meals at discounted prices, as well as commencing a pilot food recycling campaign to help alleviate their financial burden. On its arm of facilitating employment of the disadvantaged, Tung Wah will continue to expand the various social enterprises of the Group and launch new projects such as flower basket packaging services to provide more training and employment opportunities for people.

Continuous efforts of the Tung Wah will be made in sustaining its corporate social responsibility by implementing the second phase of its Green projects and promoting the preservation of the heritage of Hong Kong as well as promoting the long-standing charitable spirit of the Group. The Board promises to sustain the solid foundation laid by the predecessors and to fulfill the lofty mission of Tung Wah in serving the underprivileged and in enhancing the well-being of the community.

The inauguration ceremony of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals was officiated by Mr. TSANG Tak-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for Home Affairs. Members for the 2013/2014 Board include:

Chairman: Dr. CHAN Un Chan, Ina

1st Vice-Chairman: Mr. SZE Wing Hang, Ivan

2nd Vice-Chairman: Mr. FUNG King Wai, Frederick

3rd Vice-Chairman: Ms. Maisy HO

4th Vice-Chairman: Mrs. Katherine MA

5th Vice-Chairman: Dr. LEE Yuk Lun, JP

Directors:

Mr. Haywood CHEUNG

Mr. LEE Shing Kan

Mr. TSANG Ka Yip, Alec

Miss Stephanie Joyce TAN

Miss CHAN Wai Lan, Joyce

Ms. Christine YIP

Ms. TANG Ming Wai, Mandy

Ms. Renee HUNG

Mr. Sunny TAN

Mr. Vinci WONG

Mr. WONG Yip Kong, John

Mr. AU Yu Fan, Gabriel

Ms. FUNG Siu Wan, Stella

Dr. TSOI Wing Sing, Ken

Since its establishment in 1870, Tung Wah has been all along upholding its mission “To heal the sick and to relieve the distressed; to care for the elderly and to rehabilitate the disabled; to promote education and to nurture youngsters; and to raise the infants and to guide the children.” Nowadays, Tung Wah has become the largest charitable organization in Hong Kong. For over a hundred years, Tung Wah’s medical and health, education and community services have developed rapidly to fulfill the needs of the society and to provide high quality services at low rates. Today, Tung Wah operates over 264 services centres, including hospitals and health services and Chinese medicine services centres, education services centres, community services centres that cover elderly, youth and family, rehabilitation and traditional services, whilst the Tung Wah Museum strives to promote, restore and preserve the heritage and relics of Tung Wah.

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Mrs. CHAN MAN Yee Wai, Viola (Left), Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2012/2013) handing over the title deeds and seals to Dr CHAN Un Chan, Ina, Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2013/2014).

Dr CHAN Un Chan, Ina, Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2013/2014) delivering the speech of inauguration.