Discover LA Medical Care, a new initiative by Los Angeles, has signed a deal to make it easier for citizens of China to travel to Los Angeles for treatment and care in five hospitals. More than 250 Chinese-owned firms do business in Los Angeles. Among them is China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest airline and the world’s third largest in passenger volume, which is a partner in the initiative, committed to raising the awareness with its customers of the Discover LA Medical Care initiative.
Discover LA Medical Care, a new initiative by Los Angeles, has signed a deal to make it easier for citizens of China to travel to Los Angeles for treatment and care in five hospitals.
More than 250 Chinese-owned firms do business in Los Angeles. Among them is China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest airline and the world’s third largest in passenger volume, which is a partner in the initiative, committed to raising the awareness with its customers of the Discover LA Medical Care initiative.
570,000 visitors from China visited Los Angeles in 2013. LA County is home to the largest Chinese community in the United States with nearly half a million residents, including 11,000 Chinese students attending colleges and universities in the area.
The five hospitals are all equipped to meet Chinese visitors’ needs with transportation, hotel accommodations and everything necessary to make them feel comfortable while away from home. Each is introducing its own initiatives and programmes with new websites, phone lines and staff trained to provide services to the residents of China.
• *Cedars-Sinai offers innovative treatment for cancer and heart disease, and has an International Health Department to assist Chinese patients.
• *Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has an International Patient Services team to meet the needs of Chinese patients–dedicated staff who speaks Mandarin and Cantonese and equipped with telemedicine capabilities to offer pre visit, follow up and second opinion consultations.
• *City of Hope is a specialist cancer centre, with dedicated phone lines and health care representatives who speak Mandarin and Cantonese.
• *Keck Medicine of USC has specialists in complex diseases including stroke, heart disease, spine problems, cancer, eye diseases and urological issues, with health care representatives able to speak on the phone with Chinese patients in Mandarin.
• *UCLA Health opens the UCLA Health – CTI Medical Laboratory in Shanghai in January to allow for an easier transition between China and the USA.
Other partners in Discover LA Medical Care are-
• *The City of Los Angeles
• *Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
• *Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.
Ten years ago, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles had its first patient from the Chinese mainland. Since that first patient, the hospital has seen an increase in the number of patients from China, and believes that growth will continue at a rapid rate with growth driven by the emerging Chinese middle class. From 2011 to 2013, the hospital had 44 patients from the Chinese mainland, and 18 in 2014, within a total of 84 international patients. The hospital has formed a cooperative alliance with several local Chinese hospitals, under which the Chinese hospitals will under certain circumstances recommend patients for treatment abroad. To cater to the demands of the Chinese patients and minimize language barriers or cultural shock, the hospital has an on-site translation team made up of 25 round-the-clock translators proficient in 42 languages, including Chinese. It is also working on a Chinese-language website to attract more Chinese patients.
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