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| Dr. Zhang Baoan and the Bajiaolou Hospital | Patients in a ward of the hospital. |
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Bajiaolou Hospital
A REQUEST FOR FOREIGN HELP
by Wu Bangfu, December 10, 1998
Bajiaolou Hospital is the best in Yajiang (Nyachuka) County. There are three doctors working in the hospital, which has only eight beds. It was first built in 1964. In the beginning, the doctors were Han (Chinese) people who didn't understand Tibetan. The local people didn't understand Chinese, so after a short time the hospital stopped operation and the building was dismantled. At that time, there was a local "barefoot" village doctor called Zhang Baoan who could understand both Tibetan and Chinese. So, in 1973, with the support of the government and the local people, the house was rebuilt and Zhong Baoan started working there with another Tibetan doctor. (The second doctor was transferred to another unit in 1994). The two worked in the shack-like hospital for over 20 years. In 1994 the government distributed 20,000 yuan (about US$2500) to have the house repaired. Nowadays the patient load is increasing and the hospital can't keep up.
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| Dr. Zhang Baoan and the Bajiaolou Hospital | Patients in a ward of the hospital. |
There are many people who prefer to see a Tibetan doctor, but in this area there are very few such doctors. The first reason people come to this hospital is Dr. Zhang Baoan, who is very famous. He is 47 years old, and was recognized as a "National Advanced Village Doctor" in 1994 and 1998. Patients come from every township of Yajiang County to see him, as well as neighboring Kangding and Jiulong Counties. Patients who have been successfully treated at Zhang's hospital refer others to him. Another reason that the hospital has so many patients is that the charges are very low. This is a big attraction for poor people, but it's not very good for the hospital, which cannot bring in enough money to expand. There are not enough wards in the hospital to separate patients with communicable diseases such as dysentary, common in the area. The hospital lacks money to buy basic medicines. The doctors' wages are very low: Dr. Zhang earns 380 yuan ($47) a month; two other doctors earn 300 yuan a month each.
In order to offer better care to the patients, the doctors want to enlarge the hospital from eight beds to twenty. They also want to build separate wards for infectious diseases, and offer other services such as prenatal care, pediatric hygiene, and vaccinations. They would like to build a kitchen. These are their ideas, but they don't know where to get the money to implement them. Dr. Zhang believes the total cost might be some 300,000 yuan ($37,500).
[Editor's note: In this region, a medium sized building costs $8,000-$12,000. If plumbing and electricity are included, add perhaps another $4,000.]
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO HELP THIS HOSPITAL, CONTACT KHAM AID FOUNDATION.