Global Director of Peers for Progress visits Min-Sheng General Hospital

Professor Edwin B.Fisher, Global Director of Peers for Progress came to Min-Sheng General Hospital to introduce that program, and learn about the initiatives taken by our hospital to support diabetic patients, and help them cope with the management of their disease. Peers for Progress is a program of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation to promote peer support as a key part of health, health care, and prevention around the world. Peers here refer to people dealing with a similar disease, or condition, who share experiences and can provide practical, social, and emotional support to manage and maintain good behaviors for health.

Even in developed countries, patients suffering from diabetes or depression are often left to deal with a disease or its aftermath by themselves, which can lead to a deterioration of their condition. The availability of a network of people -peers- who understand their predicament and needs can greatly improve the circumstances of these patients. Dr. Fisher who is a professor at the Gillins School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where the Peers for Progress program development center is located, was very impressed with the patient support system put in place by the Diabetes Center at Min-Sheng Hospital since 2005. Initiatives include bi-monthly information sessions, nutrition and body care classes, group exercise classes, and tele-monitoring of patients through Min-Sheng's SmartCare platform.

Min-Sheng General Hospital and Korean University to cooperate on hair transplantation technology.

Min-Sheng General hospital has entered a cooperation agreement with the Hair Transplantation Center of Kyungpook National University Hospital in Korea, to work on developing new cosmetic techniques to address baldness. A team of platic surgeons from Min-Sheng Hospital, lead by the director of the International Healthcare Department Dr. Chen Shing-Han, traveled to Daegu in Korea where they met with Dr. Kim Moonkyu the head of the Hair transplantation Center who has developed new tools to transplant hair follicles.

Plastic surgeons at Min-Sheng have been trained to use these tools and are proficient in the latest hair transplantation techniques. Cosmetic surgery is gaining acceptance among men in far eastern countries, and male patients are increasingly turning to surgical hair implantation to reverse baldness. These procedures normally involve taking a strip of scalp at the base of the hair line, separate the follicles, and implant them in the chosen areas. The whole process is routinely completed in a few hours, and performed under local anesthesia.

Min-Sheng General Hospital to host 2nd Asian Diabetes Surgery Summit

Min-Sheng general Hospital in Taiwan will host the Second Asian Diabetes Surgery Summit (ADSS) July 7, 2010. Diabetes is a pandemic and its effects are particularly felt in Asia where it is putting an ever greater strain on public health care. Bariatric surgery has recently been extended to metabolic surgery because of the associated gut hormone change and Incretin Effect.

Organized by Min-Sheng Hospital's Bariatric & Diabetes Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, the Diabetes Association of the Republic of China, and the Taiwan association for Endoscopic Surgery, the summit will look into the current state of diabetes surgery, and discuss the latest surgical techniques and disease management practices. The summit will also feature a workshop with live surgery demonstrations, including the latest technique, the "duodenum-jejunum bypass + sleeve gastrectomy." Says Professor Lee Wei-Jei, Chaiman of the organizing committee and Honorary President of the Asia Pacific Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Society, "It is an appropriate time for gastro-intestinal metabolic surgeons in asia to get together, learn cutting edge techniques, and share personal and institutional experience in the management of the disease."

The First Asian Diabetes Surgery summit which took place in 2010 led to the launch of a large scale cooperative study of diabetes surgery in Asia. More than two hundred patients have been enrolled and followed up in the study so far, and its findings will be discussed at the second summit.

CEO of Min-Sheng’s International Healthcare Center now also a licensed tour guide

Taiwan is stepping up its effort to attract foreign visitors to its medical facilities, and local travel agents have embraced the concept. Many are now offering packages that combine sightseeing tours of the island with a visit to a hospital or a clinic for a health check up, or a minor cosmetic procedure. Although these travel agents are mostly catering to Chinese tour groups and the Chinese tourists who will soon be allowed to travel individually in Taiwan, they also set up websites in english to tout visitors from other countries.

Foreign patients have been traveling to Min-Sheng General Hospital to seek medical treatment for quite while now, and the hospital has a department dedicated to these patients. The CEO of the International Healthcare Center (IHC) at Min-Sheng, Dr. Chen Shing-Han has long had a keen interest in the integration of the healthcare and hospitality industries, and was the first Medical Doctor in Taiwan to pursue a masters degree in hotel management. He took it a step further by passing the examination to become a licensed tour guide in Taiwan hence gaining credentials to manage most aspects of "medical tourism."

Happy patient comes back to Min-Sheng Hospital to show off her new figure

For seven years, Sarita from Durban in South Africa had been in and out of the hospital for various surgeries. All her problems had the same cause: she was seriously overweight and her body frame couldn’t cope with her excess weight leading to joint problems, falls, fractures, and other ailments. In 2008 when she was told that she would likely require yet another surgery on a knee she decided to radically tackle her obesity.

She had lost weight before using diverse diets, but only to regain the shed pounds shortly after. She then looked into weight loss surgery options, and her research invariably pointed to the Bariatric Center at Min-Sheng Hospital. Lead by Professor Lee Wei-Jei, the team at Min-Sheng General Hospital has already performed more than 3000 weight loss procedures, and Professor Lee is widely acknowledged as an authority on the subject in Asia and beyond. After she contacted Min-Sheng Hospital, a visit was organized and since she was a perfect candidate for this type of surgery a gastric bypass was scheduled.

Sarita underwent gastric bypass surgery in April 2008. She was back at Min-Sheng this week for a follow up visit and to show off her new self… fifty kilos lighter. Gone are her bone-and-joint problems and Sarita is now a more active, energetic and confident person. She stresses that patients wanting to follow the same path should prepare themselves psychologically for the changes the surgery will bring. As a matter of fact, although her looks have changed Sarita has kept the same engaging personality that she had when she first visited Min-Sheng Hospital in 2008.

Min-Sheng's Director of International Healthcare Department speaks at conference on medical tourism in Korea

Min-Sheng General Hospital was the hospital chosen by the organizers to present the current situation and the latest developments of the medical tourism industry in Taiwan at the third Medical Tourism Forum that took place in Seoul, Korea, at the end of 2010. Min-Sheng General Hospital‘s international reputation as a medical tourism destination was key in the choice of the organizing committee.

Organized by the Korea Medical Tourism association and the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Forum offered the opportunity for medical tourism service providers in Korea, North America and other Asian countries to showcase their achievements and share their experience.

Dr. Chen Shing-Han, Director of the International Healthcare department at Min-Sheng spoke about the benefits of traveling to Taiwan for surgery and of the steps taken by the Min-Sheng General Hospital to attract and deal with foreign patients.