Students help hundreds find medical treatment

While quarantining at his home in Shanghai's Hongkou district, university student Hua Rongqi has kept himself busy helping people gain access to much-needed medical treatment by creating a useful shared online document.

Hua, a third-year student at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, created the document on March 30 after he saw people asking for medical help on social media platforms. The document collects information about Shanghai residents who are under lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak and need medical care.

He has not slept much since then, as he has stayed busy updating the document and coordinating with other volunteers trying to secure medical resources for people in need.

By Sunday, nearly 1,700 people had logged their information on the document, mostly patients with cancer, diabetes and kidney failure who needed to access chemotherapy, dialysis or other treatment, according to Hua.

To help alleviate privacy concerns, people who sign up just provide their phone numbers and their treatment needs and avoid using their real names. Once the needs are addressed, the patients' information is deleted from the document.

Hua's effort soon drew attention, and the number of volunteers, mostly university students, quickly grew to almost 200.

Members of the team maintain and update the document with information such as which hospitals are still offering outpatient services, people's needs and whether and how they have managed to receive medical treatment.

Their main tasks are to call the people in need to verify their information, call workers to learn about the specific epidemic containment measures in communities and contact hospitals about whether they are still open for regular outpatient services.

"What we are doing is providing an information center for these people, who often feel lost and helpless in such difficult situations," said Hua, 21.

By calling hospitals and community workers and gathering information, the volunteers strive to share what they learn with those in need and pass on how other people got their medical treatment, he said.

The medical needs of more than 600 people have been met thanks to the online document, he added.

Zhao Yimeng, a Beijing university student and a volunteer with the group, said many people asking for help are seniors who are not tech-savvy enough to sift through information online to get the medical treatment they need.

Since joining the team on April 1, she has called more than 200 people to verify their information and help them get treatment.

"Sometimes, we help them by offering ways to get emergency treatment, and other times, we are just there to offer emotional support, so they will feel less helpless," she said.

Zhao, who is also busy with her studies, has devoted almost all her spare time to help people in Shanghai.

"The volunteer work has made me realize that kindness is part of human nature, especially during a crisis," she said. "Most people are willing to offer help to others one way or another, without seeking any returns."

Zhang Xuyang, another student from UIBE, agreed that no volunteer is doing this for personal gain. They are simply trying to help as many people as possible.

Due to the large number of people needing medical help, the group is in need of more volunteers and medical workers who have professional knowledge, he said.

There is currently a shortage of community workers, and they are not capable of handling all residents' medical needs. That's why volunteer work matters, he added.

Hua, the founder of the group, said that with professional knowledge, passion, spare time and communication skills, college students can play an important role in providing social services and helping vulnerable groups.

Young people are the future of the country and important drivers of progress. The vast majority of them are reliable and capable people who want to contribute to building a more prosperous country, he said.