Delegation of Chinese Health Officials Visits Department of Family Medicine

From May 29 through June 1, the Department of Family Medicine, in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Center for Global Health, hosted a delegation of eight health officials from the Peoples' Republic of China. The delegation was led by Dr. Du XuePing, who is vice president of FuXing Hospital in Beijing.

This was Dr. Du's fifth visit to Madison. Trained as a cardiologist, she is one of the major forces behind the development of Family Medicine in China. FuXing Hospital's residency began in 1997, making it the oldest 3-year Family Practice residency in the country. It currently has a faculty of 16 physicians and provides training in several outpatient clinics affiliated with FuXing Hospital, a community hospital of approximately 650 beds located roughly one and a half miles from the Forbidden City.

Two years ago, the Department of Family Medicine signed a faculty exchange agreement in which FuXing Hospital sends two physicians to observe our teaching and clinical activities in the fall and they invite several of our faculty members to participate in the Beijing Symposium on Family Practice and Community Health Services, organized by Dr. Du, in the summer. In addition, we send faculty and fellows (primarily from Integrative Medicine) to study TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Two will be traveling there in July.

Five of our visitors were also from Beijing:

• Dr. Zhang ShuJing, Vice-Director of Family Medicine Department of FuXing Hospital;
• Dr. Wu YongHao, Director of the Department of Community Health Services of the Beijing Health Bureau;
• Dr. Xu YoungSheng, Director of the Public Health Division of the National Development and Reform Commission;
• Dr. Zhu Xuefeng, from the Clinic of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and
• Mr. FengZhen, who served as interpreter.

Two of our guests came from other provinces:

• Dr. Hou Yan'nan, is the Chair of the Health Bureau of the ShenHe District in LiaoNing Province (in the Northeast of China);
• Dr. Li YunHau, is Chair of Health Bureau of the BaiYin District in Gansu Province (in China's Northwest).

All were interested in learning how we provide clinical services and educate residents.

We provided a variety of experiences for our guests. They toured four facilities:

• St. Mary's Hospital in Madison (including the construction site of the new wing)
• Northeast Family Medical Center
• Health Sciences Learning Center
• University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics

They also heard a variety of presentations on topics germane to health care and medical education. The second day's program was conducted largely at the Center for Global Health where scholars from various departments and programs described their activities. Several of them are involved in research projects in China.

Our guests also had the opportunity to do some sightseeing. They received a personal tour of the Capitol building conducted by Senator Mark Miller. While there they observed a debate and vote in the State Legislature, and received an official welcome from the Speaker. They also had the chance to sit on the Madison Memorial Union terrace on a beautiful spring afternoon and sample the world famous Babcock Hall ice cream.

This visit shows the vitality of our growing relationship with our Chinese colleagues. By all accounts, the relationship between the United States and China will become more important in the coming years. China has the daunting task of providing primary medical care for 1.3 billion people. We hope we can help them in this endeavor. Also, we clearly have much to learn from both their traditional and contemporary systems of medicine.