This Fall the School of Nursing hosted five leaders of Nursing from Henan Provincial People’s Hospital (HPPH): Director Leah (Liming) Li, Dr. Naomi (Yuqi) Guo, Sarah (Weihua) Liu, Ruth (Mengjuan) Jing and Syrena (Shanshan) Liu. During their two-week stay the delegation observed BSN classes and labs, gave presentations to nursing faculty, and visited clinical sites – including hospice care (Laurel House), acute care (Richmond Hospital Emergency Room) and seniors residential care (Elim Village).
As China continues its rapid development, it faces complex challenges related to care of an aging population, rising health care costs, the development of a stable health care workforce, and the need for expanded community and home health services. The purpose of the exchange was to open up dialogue between nurses in both countries and to learn from each other regarding best practices in nursing education, practice and research. The Chinese nurses were particularly interested in Canadian approaches to care of the elderly, end of life care, and home care.
One of the highlights of the visit was a Nurse Networking Café held at TWU Richmond on November 1, 2017. Attended by 40-50 nurses and others, this event featured a presentation by Director of Nursing Liming Li (HPPH) and Dean of Nursing and Nurse Historian Dr. Sonya Grypma (TWU). Entitled “Nursing in China: Past, Present and Future” this presentation included Dr. Grypma’s research centered on Canadian missionary nursing in Henan province, and the long-standing relationship between nurses in Henan and Canada. Director Li presented on how health and nursing services in China are responding to today’s health care needs.
This visit was part of an exchange organized the previous year. In 2016 HPPH invited Dr. Sonya Grypma, Dr. Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham and Dr. Barbara Astle to visit Henan and give presentations at HPPH and two affiliate universities. Situated in Zhengzhou and established in 1928, HPPH is one of 16 public hospitals in China with more than 3000 beds. This was the first time HPPH has sponsored a nursing delegation abroad. We are grateful to all of the support from TWU and TWU Richmond faculty, staff, students and administrators who helped to make this visit a success. We are especially grateful to colleagues and MSN students and alumnae who provided translation services, and to leaders of the clinical sites, including TWU Board member Dr. Matthew Kwok. We are especially grateful to Dr. David Yang and his wife Maria who envisioned this possibility many years before and worked tirelessly to ensure its success.
