Medicine

Many families tend to fall into financial hardship when a family member becomes seriously ill. To assist the Hualien poverty-stricken communities in need of medical services, Tzu Chi rented an apartment and established its first free clinic on Yan Ai Street in September 1972. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, Tzu Chi volunteers and doctors and nurses from Hualien Hospital provide free medical services for this community.

Because of the lack of medical facilities in the general Hualien area compounded with the difficulty of traveling from remote mountain areas to distant hospitals, many of the ailing either become more ill or die. In addition, once at the hospital, these people are often too poor to afford the expensive deposit fees that are required by all hospitals in Taiwan.

Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
It became apparent to Master Cheng Yen there was a great community need for a general hospital that would not require deposit fees. In 1979, Master Cheng Yen announced that she plans to build the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital. She spent four years and underwent many hardships looking for land to build the hospital. The groundbreaking ceremony was finally held in 1983. Upon the completion of the hospital, the ceremony held on August 17, 1986 not only celebrated its grand opening but Master Cheng Yen's vision becoming a reality.

There are five special characteristics of this hospital:

1. No deposit fee is required because saving lives is the first concern of this hospital.
2. The use of advanced medical equipment allows patients to recover as quickly as possible.
3. The medical staff in the hospital treat patients like family. The patients also share that Great Love with other patients.
4. Free homecare, medical services and consultations are provided regularly to people in remote mountain areas. Free clinics have been in operation since 1972. These services are provided by general practitioners, public health nurses, community workers, administration staff, and volunteers.
5. "Lotus Flower of the Heart," a palliative care ward is designed specifically to provide service to terminally ill patients. The ward provides team therapy and taking care of patients' physical and emotional needs. The staff accompanies patients through the last term of their lives.

Tzu Chi Hospital, Talin Branch
According to the health departments of counties of Chiayi and Yunlin the medical facilities in these two counties in south-central Taiwan are insufficient. Under the national health department's policy to build an island-wide medical network Tzu Chi decided to build a hospital in Talin, Chiayi County and in Chiayi City. Both hospitals will have 1,130 beds in each hospital and will be modeled under the same characteristics as the Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien.

Tzu Chi Disabled Children's Rehabilitation Center
In addition, Tzu Chi is planning to build the Tzu Chi Disabled Children's Rehabilitation Center for mentally and physically disabled children. Training courses are provided for medical staff to relieve the distress of the children's families. It is the hope that the center will provide the children with skills to lead their lives more easily and with confidence and dignity.

Famous singers from Hong Kong gave a benefit concert in Taipei in 1995 to raise funds for the rehabilitation center. In November and December of the same year, special cards were sold to raise additional funds for its construction.

Volunteers at Tzu Chi General Hospital
The volunteers from overseas and from every part of Taiwan come to Tzu Chi General Hospital to serve patients. The volunteers take care of patients who have no relatives or friends, and counsel those with families by facilitating good relationships between patients and their families. Bringing happiness to patients is one way to help relieve pain and frustration.

Volunteers deliver patients' medical records, bathe and shave patients, wash and cut their hair, teach sign language, accompany them for walks, and pray for them in accordance with their personal religions. Volunteers compassionately take care of the terminally ill who will then carry warm and good wishes to the next world. Perhaps when they are reborn, they will also help the needy.

A hospital is like the university of human life. There, one can find birth, aging, illness, death, and all walks of life. It is not unlikely that in the hospital, many people start to ponder the significance of life. During the process of serving the patients, a feeling of peace and of being needed emerges. The most valuable reward that volunteers obtain is the beauty from the smiling faces of the patients. Volunteers learn to be grateful, appreciate and be satisfied with what they have and create more positive relationships with people.