Medical team funded for trip to China

The Children of China Pediatrics Foundation (CCPF) will go on its 2015 medical mission to China, supported by a donation from a Chinese company.

CCPF announced Monday that a donation of $100,000 from Linda He, chairwoman and president of China's Wailian Overseas Consulting group, will fund CCPF's 2015 medical mission to Nanjing in mid-April.

CCPF is a nonprofit organization that provides direct medical treatment for children with disabilities and deformities living in Chinese orphanages, including surgery, hands-on training and medical education for the children's providers and caregivers.

Made up of all-volunteer physicians and nurses affiliated with prestigious US hospitals, CCPF's medical team has performed life-transforming surgeries on children in need in China each year since 1998, in Henan province, Heilongiang province, Harbin, Nanjing, Nanchang and Chengdu.

"The number of operations is not important," said Dr David Roye, CCPF medical director. "It is the quality that matters."

With the same goal of helping children in need, CCPF works with host hospital doctors and nurses in China to exchange medical information and treatment techniques for each child, despite language barriers and cultural differences.

Dr Heakyung Kim, medical director of CCPF's rehabilitation mission, has gone on the mission since 2011, when Chengdu was the first city for the rehabilitation portion of the missions. Kim told China Daily that each year the team composed of 70 professionals and translators would stay in China for about 10 days.

In addition to performing surgeries on children, they give lectures, provide teaching materials to local medical staff and have follow-up phone conferences.

"We'll make sure of the surgery results and whether they've (the Chinese medical staff) learned what they're supposed to learn," said Kim. "We want them to be independent."

"You can imagine a team of 70 people," Kim said. "The problem will be CCPF is the one who provides all the medications, all the supplies, the whole team's air fare, the hotel fee, since we are all volunteers. It's a huge budget they need."

"Linda He's personal gift marks the largest gift given by a Chinese citizen to CCPF," said Gena Palumbo, CCPF's president. "We are hugely grateful for her commitment to our cause and look forward to working with Linda and her colleagues in providing care for disabled Chinese orphans by building bridges between US and Chinese medical care providersand business communities."

"For me, helping the American people is not only a good way to give back to the society, but also a good opportunity to gain a voice in the mainstream culture," Linda He said. "Perhaps the best way to adapt into US society is to contribute to programs that work for the truly disadvantaged and that encourage education and promote upward mobility."

Wailian is a Shanghai-based investment immigration company with 20 branches globally.

Hong Xiao in New York contributed to this story.