GEORGE TOWN – Penang will soon see the setting up of the Kek Lok Si Charitable Medical Centre which will open its doors next month in Air Itam.
The 50-bed hospital will be the fourth non-profit private hospital to commence operations on the island state, after the Adventist Hospital, the Lam Wah Ee Hospital, and the Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital.
Described as a hospital that is charity-driven with an emphasis on cancer treatment, the facility is built under the auspicious of the Buddhist-driven Kek Lok Si Temple.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow visited the hospital today where the state pledged RM200,000 as a start-up donation.
The hospital is the brainchild of the temple’s abbot Ven Xian Guan, who is the prime mover to make the facility a reality for the community here.
Hospital board member and medical superintendent Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said that the hospital will be ready to commence operations once it receives its license from the health authorities.
It is also ready to administer treatment for Covid-19 sufferers during an emergency or if the patient needs to undergo surgery here.
“We do not normally accept Covid patients but will do so if in the midst of our treatment, the patient has contracted the virus, then we will do the needful,” he said.
According to Dr Teng, patients will need to undergo the rapid antigen test kit where the results will take 45 minutes to determine if the patient is positive for Covid-19 or not.
He also appealed for more donations to be contributed to the charitable hospital as it will charge fees which are deemed among the most reasonable in Penang. – The Vibes, April 23, 2021
