Taichung City Government has set up a goal to raise NT$ 20 million for the startup of Central Taiwan Burns Institute, for which Mayor Lin Jia-long fired the first shot to donate NT$ 1 million. Thanks to the enthusiastic responses from the business community and individuals, the total donation has currently accumulated to over NT$ 19 million. It is hoped that more support can come forward to fill the gap earliest possible.

To take care of the burn patients along the long rehabilitation process, the Central Taiwan Burns Institute, which will be set up at the Taichung Hospital, is a patient-oriented service center to provide such "whole person" care service as physical rehabilitation, psychological rehabilitation, occupational therapy and occupational reconstruction, the Social Affairs Bureau said.

So far, over NT$ 19 million has been raised and only a small step away from the final target of NT$ 20 million, Social Affairs Bureau pointed out. “Through an open tender process, we will entrust the operation of the Burns Institute to a professional organization that shall comprise social workers, rehabilitation therapists, and other professional teams to provide all kinds of services to burn survivors, including rehabilitation, family life counseling, job skills training and so forth. The Burns Institute is scheduled to open in mid-November. It is expected that a bun patient and his or her families need to go through a rehabilitation process for 3 to 5 years,” said Social Affairs Bureau.

Health Bureau has been discussing with the large hospitals in Taichung City how to integrate medical resources so as to provide the patients with the "whole person" care service in the most appropriate and the most direct way.“We are planning to provide not only medical care, rehabilitation and psychological therapy but also plastic surgery, rehabilitative medicine, spa treatment, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, respiratory therapy, and so forth. We shall provide patient-centered and whole-person care services,” added the Health Bureau.