To perfect its health care services, Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) has completed its new outpatient building, which contains three floors underground and eight floors above the ground. The new building was inaugurated today (July 9). As part of the outpatient services, the Hospital also introduces Robert, the Anthropomorphic robot, to assist the patients through an interactive approach. Nao, the humanoid robot, is designed to support the health care education, using multi-media and body languages. The mayor commended that this was a “patient-oriented” outpatient center. Its intelligent and human oriented services not only are the role model in the industry, but also ensure a superb medical environment for the patients, their families and the health care teams.

Accompanied by Director Lu Tsung-hsueh of the Health Bureau of Taichung City Government, Mayor Lin attended the inauguration ceremony of TVGH’s new outpatient building today. Legislators Ho Hsin-chun, Chang Liao Wan-chien, Chiang Chi-chen and former legislator Yen Chin-piao also participated in the event to convey congratulations. Other guests invited to this magnificent event include Minister Lee Hsiang-jow of the Veteran Affairs Council; Dr. Sheu Huey-Herng, Superintendent of Taichung Veterans General Hospital; members of the healthcare team and local representatives.

According to Mayor Lin, TVGH has injected NTD1.1 billion for the construction project. The outpatient building, newly inaugurated today, has a maximum occupancy of 6500 people for a day. In future, the hospital will focus on developing holistic and integrated medical services, so as to provide “patient-oriented” and multi-faceted health care services. It is hoped that these initiatives will elevate the overall healthcare quality in the great Taichung area, and serve as a best practice in the industry.

Mayor Lin indicated that, according to the plan of the Taichung City Government, people may take the MRT blue line in future to get straight to the TVGH new outpatient building. This will be very helpful for constructing the healthcare network in central Taiwan. The second-stage expansion project for the new outpatient building has been approved by the Taichung City Council in the urban planning deliberation. The new building, therefore, will be further expanded to make itself an integrated and human-centered healthcare center.

The mayor also commended the new outpatient building for having received various awards on architecture design. He praised TVGH for its efforts in supporting the government’s long-term care policy by integrating the accumulated experience and resources of the veteran centers, and believed these would bring further benefits to the public. The mayor, in the meantime, expressed his thankfulness to the people who had contributed to the successful completion of the new outpatient building.

Minister Lee Hsiang-jow of the Veteran Affairs Council pointed out that, over the years, TVGH had achieved incessant improvement in terms of the healthcare technologies, medical education and services. The hospital is widely trusted and recognized by both the government and the people. The completion of the new outpatient building marks a new milestone in TVGH’s history. The minister encourages all staff member to continue pursuing excellence, sustainability, as well as better health for all the people.

Dr. Sheu Huey-herng, superintendent of TVGH, indicated that the inauguration of the new outpatient building not only showcased TVGH’s people-oriented culture and its care for the environment, but also highlighted the technology infrastructure of this intelligent hospital. The service robots are employed to integrate the hospital information, provide healthcare education and guide the patients for the registration procedures. They all contribute to the high-quality medical services in central Taiwan and the improvement of public health.

According to TVGH, the daily outpatient number has increased from 1,000 to 6,500 as a result of the increased population in central Taiwan. The space of the hospital was apparently insufficient. The availability of the new outpatient building implies the readiness of a high-quality healthcare environment. The new building has received various awards, including the Gold Green Building and Silver Intelligent Building medals for its outstanding architectural design, electromechanical systems and landscape design. It is also the winner of the Gold Quality Award granted by the Public Construction Commission, the Executive Yuan.

The new outpatient building is distinguished by its cloud database, drug safety systems, all-round health consulting service center, case management system and holistic/integrated healthcare services. These enable the hospital to render superb medical services and to ensure the safety of patients. In terms of exterior design, the shining glass windows bring ample light and good view. As for the interior design, heightened ceilings creates increased space. The overall environment is very friendly to the physically-challenged patients, whether in terms of space or circulation design.