Two years ago, I took the opportunity of traveling to the United States and visited several hospitals in Portland on the west coast, which was an eye-opener.
After arriving in Portland, I visited Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU for short, including a medical school and several research institutions) under the enthusiastic leadership of my friends. According to some data, OHSU ranks among the top ten medical schools in the United States all the year round, and the comprehensive ranking of research categories is also among the best. Cancer research is a highlight.
In 2008, OHSU accepted a charitable donation of 1 billion dollars for cancer research. The donors are phil knight, the world-famous founder of Nike, and his wife Penny Knight. It is not unusual to know "Nike", but not many people know that its headquarters is only 40 minutes' drive from Portland. Because of time, I couldn't go to Nike headquarters this time. I look forward to the next time.
OHSU is built on the top of the mountain and is called "Mountain View Hospital". You can drive from downtown Portland, or take a cable car called tram from the mountain to the hospital. There is a cable car running in the city, which sounds quite romantic. A friend said that his daughter is studying in medical college and volunteering here in the summer vacation. It is fun and happy to go to work by cable car every day.
Warm waiting area
Arriving at the hospital in the evening, the free clinic has ended. Standing on the balcony next to the waiting room, Panshan Highway winds down like a silver belt, and the charm of Portland slowly unfolds in the light. A city doesn't need to be too big. As long as there are mountains and water, it will be vivid and vivid.
Walking in the corridor of the hospital, watching and listening, is refreshing. Just after Christmas, the lights on the Christmas tree are still flashing. The huge waiting area is quiet and peaceful under the soft light, with all kinds of sofas, coffee tables, soft chairs, books, newspapers, magazines and televisions. This is more like the lobby of a five-star hotel than a hospital.
Passing the emergency room, the door opened without warning, and two nurses pushed out a surgical cart filled with patients with tubes. The reality of the boundary between life and death makes people have no courage to look at it again, so they can only silently bless.
The children's hospital adjacent to OHSU has a richer living atmosphere. If it weren't for the metal pole hanging from the patient's wheelchair, it would be like a children's paradise everywhere. It seems that you can play the piano and play with building blocks by stopping casually.
There are many children's paintings hanging in the corridor, some of which make people laugh, and some make people feel childlike. The family lounge is like a warm reception room, with a sofa, a coffee table, a TV and a water dispenser, and a free laptop.
The buildings of OHSU, Children's Hospital and Veterans Hospital are independent and interconnected, and can be directly accessed from the top floor. Interestingly, after seeing OHSU from Children's Hospital, when I want to go back the same way, the automatic door can't be opened. While wondering, I bumped into a nurse passing by pushing a cart. After asking, my friend learned that this is a "one-way street" and you need an ID card to enter the children's hospital from OHSU. The nurse learned that our car was parked in front of the children's hospital and enthusiastically asked us to "enter the customs" with her, saving us the trouble of going out from the main entrance of OHSU and then going around for a long way to the parking lot.
I was very curious when I heard an American doctor say something about the American Veterans Hospital. Why should a separate medical system be established for veterans? What's the difference between Rongmin Hospital and other hospitals? Where are the doctors who deal with disabled patients all day, and what are their medical skills? My mind is full of question marks. Unexpectedly, Portland Veterans' Health Care System is next door to OHSU, and there is a closed air corridor between the two buildings. It's really hard to find a place to get it, and it doesn't take much effort to get it.
When it comes to American Veterans Hospital, we must first understand American Veterans Day. There are many public holidays in the United States, such as New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, Independence Day, Washington's birthday, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Veterans Day (VA) is165438+1October 1 1, and various celebrations and commemorative activities are held all over the country, such as the Veterans Day parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, new york, and the memorial ceremony next to the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington. From the president to the citizens, without exception, we pay tribute to veterans, especially those who have participated in various wars.
Established in 1989, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the second largest cabinet department after the US Department of Defense in terms of the number of employees. Some people say that American veterans are "tramps in broken military uniforms", but now they enjoy world-class treatment. The Department of Veterans Affairs gives them subsidies including disability compensation subsidies, pensions and tax incentives, establishes a special medical security system for them, subsidizes them to receive re-education and vocational training, and provides post-mortem burial services. The Department of Veterans Affairs also receives an annual budget from the government for health management, psychological treatment and services for female veterans.
On the expressway in the United States, you can often see signs printed with the words "VA" (please don't get me wrong, it's not AV) telling people how to get to the Veterans Hospital. It can be seen that the number of Veterans Hospitals is not small.
Along the corridor, three steps and five steps, from design style to commodity display, are no different from OHSU and pediatric hospitals, which makes people feel as if they are in the rest area of art galleries or the lobby of hotels, but they are not as good as hospitals. Of course, these are all superficial impressions. According to a friend, the medical expenses paid by American veterans to see a doctor in VA Hospital are determined by the degree of disability. Generally speaking, more than 50% of the disability index is completely free, and the medical expenses between10% and 40% are very small. Non-disabled veterans have to pay a certain proportion of medical expenses for medical treatment and physical examination.
Portland Veterans Medical Center has 277 beds, 362 doctors and 105 1 nurse. Last year, there were 9035 outpatients/kloc-0 person-times and 7444 operations. My friend also said that many foreign doctors who hold American doctor's license and work in American hospitals with J 1 visa will choose to volunteer in Rongmin Hospital after their work expires, make contributions to society and improve their medical level. The "American volunteer spirit" advocated by American society has been fully and well reflected here.
Covered with the vast night, set foot on the way home. After a few hours' visit, I got a basic understanding of Marquem Hill Hospital Cluster, which consists of OHSU Hospital, two famous pediatric hospitals, an ophthalmology center and Portland Health Medical Center for Veterans.
In the era of information explosion, introducing how good Japanese hospitals are is often the object of everyone's push, so there is no need to waste more ink here. If you have to compare hospitals in Japan and the United States, take corridor walls as an example. From my point of view, the words, photos and paintings of the latter are dizzying.
Words are generally hospital introductions, health lectures and various information. From management to doctors, every hospital introduces them in detail, and some even introduce new residents grandly. The faces of several Asian doctors aroused our curiosity, trying to judge their nationality by their names, and the conclusion was only a rough guess. The abstract or realistic paintings make the hospital full of warmth.
I remember taking the elevator downstairs with a white woman in her thirties in a pediatric hospital. Seeing her carrying two bulging bags, her friends greeted her warmly. She replied cheerfully: Because my daughter is hospitalized here, she comes once a day and brings a lot of things home to wash. I like the dialogue between strangers in western society very much, which is kind and natural, just like chatting with neighbors.
During my trip to America, I wandered between several cities, visited hospitals and wrote down my impressions. I would also like to thank Dr. Shuangshuang and my friends for their enthusiastic guidance.