#MeetTheNeed – How Asia Medical Mobilized its Wuhan Hospitals at the Outbreak of COVID-19
General Atlantic launched #MeetTheNeed, an initiative to collect and share the inspiring stories of the entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations making a positive impact around the world. We’re amazed at the ways our portfolio companies and the broader GA network have mobilized in response to COVID-19. Our teams around the globe are donating to these efforts, and the GA Foundation is amplifying this giving by matching employee donations.
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From Yumeng Wang, Senior Associate in Hong Kong
Tse Chun-Ming, founder of Asia Medical, boarded a flight to Wuhan in late January and flew into the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. Mr. Tse had been with his family ahead of the Chinese New Year before deciding to join his staff at Asia Medical’s Wuhan hospitals for the coming months.
Asia Medical is a General Atlantic-backed private hospital operator in China with two hospitals in the Wuhan area. Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital specializes in heart and cardiovascular procedures and Wuhan Asia General Hospital is a multi-specialty hospital that opened in 2018.
As the COVID-19 outbreak worsened, Mr. Tse flew to Wuhan and stayed with his staff to lead and fight on the front lines until the situation stabilized. His son, Steven Tse, stayed in Hong Kong to procure critical medical supplies for undersupplied hospitals in the region.
The Asia Medical team mobilized to provide critical support. In the early days of the pandemic, they relieved overwhelmed public hospitals by launching fever clinics to admit COVID-19 patients. On February 10, Wuhan Asia General Hospital was designated an official COVID-19 treatment center, dedicating its nearly 500 beds to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. On February 13, the team took over the construction and management of a mobile hospital in the region. In three days, they set up a 1,000-bed mobile center and immediately put it into operation.
Over the next two months, Asia Medical devoted a team of nearly 1,000 people in the fight against the pandemic. In total, they treated over 1,800 COVID-19 patients while continuing to provide specialty procedures. Even as Wuhan was in complete lockdown, banning all public and private transportation, Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital performed 65 cardiac procedures.
As of today, both hospitals have resumed normal service. In the face of this extraordinary challenge, Asia Medical brought its medical expertise, technology and efficient management to bear and became a leader in helping the Wuhan community in the face of this crisis.
– Read our article on XP Investimento’s efforts in Brazil here
– Read our article on Life Science Cares’ work in Boston and Philadelphia here
– Read our article on Echoing Green’s efforts to support social entrepreneurs here
– Read our article on Unacademy’s commitment to online learning in India here
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