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US hospital setting up base in Singapore
Prema Viswanathan
SINGAPORE, January 23: In tandem with its aspirations of becoming the region's medical hub, Singapore will soon have a private hospital and medical research centre under the Johns Hopkins logo, part of the famed Baltimore-based medical conglomerate. An agreement to this effect was signed here this week.The venture, expected to get off the ground in six months, will be Johns Hopkins' first outside the United States. The world class medical institution will help Singapore in three key areas -- clinical treatment, research and development and medical education. It will be staffed by doctors from Johns Hopkins. The initial focus areas for research will be cancer treatment and heart disease, but other specialties will be added to the agenda later. Dr William Brody, president of the Johns Hopkins University, explains the impetus behind the collaboration: "When Singapore officials approached us to help them develop a top-notch medical care centre in Asia, we created a win-win situation for patients, students,
clinicians and scientists at both ends." There are plans for a 100- to 200-bed hospital and medical centre to be built nearby, on a proposed 2.7-hectare plot on National University Hospital grounds. The new hospital is expected to provide medical care to patients suffering from complex diseases, which local specialists are not able to treat. The American corporation has also agreed to provide inputs to the medical educational institutions here, by offering fellowships in research and medical sub-speciality training, both here and in the US. The agreement will see Johns Hopkins teaming up with the National Science and Technology Board, the National University of Singapore, NUH and the Economic Development Board, which has been negotiating with the company since last year. Meanwhile, even as it encourages reputed medical institutions to set up base here, Singapore has been simultaneously spreading its wings in the region. The recent opening of Gleneagles Medan in Indonesia and Duncan Gleneagles in
Calcutta by the Parkway group, which owns both Gleneagles Hospital and Mount Elizabeth in Singapore, have been part of this agenda. Parkway is also looking into setting up a chain of cardiac centres and hospitals in key cities in India with the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre. The plan is to transfer expertise and technology from Singapore to other hospitals in the region. In Malaysia, Parkway is currently doubling the size of its 123-bed hospital in Penang, after having opened its acute care centre Gleneagles Intan in Kuala Lumpur last August. The group is also looking at completing its specialist Heart Hospital in London this year. One part of the hospital is already operational.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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