Friends World Program of Long Island University

Health & Safety

Medical Services

Students should check with their family physicians prior to their departure for China about any health-related concerns. Students are encouraged to monitor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website by searching for the keyword "China" on this site and the China page of the World Health Organization (WHO) website regarding communicable diseases in the region.

Another excellent resource is the Healthcare Guidebook for Foreigners in Hangzhou published by the local English language magazine, In Touch Zhejiang, which includes these sections: Major Hospitals Map, Hospital and Doctor Listings, List of Medicines, A Note from the Doctor, Phrases and Sicknesses, Photo Guide to Medicines, Home Remedies, Where to buy Chinese Medicine, Study TCM, Diagram of TCM Store, Body Diagrams, etc., and is available here.

Students should make the Academic Director aware of any persistent health issues prior to arrival. We want to accommodate you and make your stay in China as safe as possible.

IMMUNIZATIONS

We offer the following medical information to assist students to prepare for their study abroad. Every effort has been made to obtain the most current and accurate information, but health conditions and requirements change quickly. Inasmuch as medical information is outside our area of expertise, any information on immunizations and other health-related topics is given purely as a guide, not as authoritative medical advice.

Standard travel advice applies here in China and students should drink only boiled or bottled water, avoid raw vegetables and unpeeled fruits and vegetables, as well as shellfish, to minimize risk of contagious disease. Students should check promptly with the appropriate medical professionals regarding immunizations, since these may require an interval of four to six weeks to take effect. When discussing health precautions and immunizations, be sure all routine immunizations (Tetanus/Diphtheria, Polio and Influenza) are current. You should be certain to inform your physician that you are a student who will be living in urban areas of eastern China for several months and may spend up to one month in rural areas anywhere in the country. If you plan to travel after your China Center studies, be sure to inform your physician these destinations.

For the most accurate and current information regarding health precautions and what immunizations are necessary and how they should be administered, consult your physician, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, GA (Telephone: (404) 639-3534 / (800) 311-3435), your local public health office, or the travel department of your university health center. According to most current information provided by the CDC, students are advised to receive the following immunizations prior to arrival in China:

• Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG)

• Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood, have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months, or be exposed through medical treatment.

• Japanese encephalitis, only if you plan to visit rural areas for 4 weeks or more, except under special circumstances, such as a known outbreak of Japanese encephalitis.

• Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation.

• Typhoid, particularly if you are visiting developing countries in this region.

• Booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles, as needed

Although malaria is not reported in Hangzhou, you may want to purchase anti-malarial pills if traveling independently in Southeast Asia or in rural areas of the following Chinese provinces during warm weather, when malaria transmission occurs: Hainan, Yunnan, Fuijan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet (in the Zangbo River Valley only), Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Malaria transmission only occurs North of latitude 33° N, between July to November, and between latitude 33° N to 25° N, between May to December, and south of latitude 25° N transmission occurs year-round.

For your information, the municipal area of Hangzhou is between 30 and 31° N, and Suichang County in Zhejiang, visited in October, is between 28 and 29 ° N, Beijing, which is visited in December, is between 39 and 40 ° N, and Tongren County in Qinghai (Amdo region of Eastern Tibet), which is visited in February, is between 35 and 36 ° N. According to the CDC, "travelers to cities and popular tourist areas [such as Hangzhou], including Yangtze River cruises, are not at risk, and do not need to take antimalarial drugs." Chloroquine is the CDC recommended antimalarial drug for malaria risk areas in the above mentioned provinces of China, except for travelers to rural areas of the Hainan and Yunnan provinces, who should take one of the following antimalarial drugs (listed alphabetically): atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine, or primaquine (in special circumstances). Please consult the CDC website for recommended immunizations and prophylactics and please see the CDC website for malaria information for travelers to East Asia.

MEDICATION

Although many of the prescription medications available in the U.S. and other countries are now readily available in China, students should assume they are not and are requested to bring all essential medications, both for daily use and emergency use, including but not limited to asthmatic inhalers and birth control pills. In addition, we recommend that each student bring a personal first aid kit that they bring on all extended field trips taken with the Friends World Program China Center. Many prescription medications found in the U.S. are available in China without a prescription, and even antibiotics can be purchased over the counter (OTC) at many pharmacies, so students are warned to practice care in selecting and consuming all medications. Please also do not be alarmed if a Chinese doctor prescribes intravenous (IV) for common respiratory and intestinal problems or fever, as this is one of the most common means to administer antibiotics in China and is no reason for concern.

Many physicians in China prescribe western medicine or a combination of western and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Not all medicines prescribed by physicians in China have English packaging, instructions or notice of contraindications. It is the student's responsibility to know what medicine she or he is consuming and to what medicine she or he is allergic. We highly recommend that the student check the proper usage and warnings of the pharmaceutical components of all medicines consumed with their family doctor or in an online database, such as Net Doctor, which contains over 3,000 generic and branded medicines.

HOSPITALS

Students who become sick with the common cold or flu should first look after their own health, drink plenty of fluids and take rest. If after three days students continue to be ill, they are advised to consult a doctor at the campus clinic next to the Zhu Kezhen International Education Building on Yuquan Campus (see 3-D interactive map here) together with a bilingual friend or student partner or on their own at the VIP clinic at the Sir Run Run Shaw hospital or the First Zhejiang Hospital, where there are English speaking nurses and an expatriate doctor. Students who are ill for more than four days should notify their Faculty Advisor, and students who are ill for more than one week should also notify the Academic Director. If students are too ill to attend class, he or she should notify their Faculty Advisor and instructors. Any student who experiences very unusual or acute symptoms or who has suffered a serious injury should consult a doctor and then inform their Faculty Advisor by phone immediately. Students who require surgery or other serious medical intervention that requires a specialist should seek treatment at the World Link clinics in Shanghai. The Academic Director will report the case of any student who has suffered severe injury or has experienced sustained serious illness for more than one week to the appropriate administrator at World Headquarters, who will report the incident to the student's parents as necessary. It is the student's responsibility to carry valid health insurance and a valid credit card on their person at all times. In most cases, hospitals in China require payment in cash or by credit card in advance of treatment.

Some large hospitals have designated VIP clinics that provide preferential treatment to patients with economic means and facilitate care for patients with special needs and limitations, including foreigners with a limited understanding of Chinese. Typically, ordinary patients who pay less are required to register at one counter and take their registry book to wait in a long line at a general practitioner's office for a cursory diagnosis. The physician prescribes certain tests or procedures, for which the patient must first pay at another counter, before returning to the office for an evaluation of test results and a prescription for medications. These are then paid for at the payment counter and a receipt is taken to a pharmacy within or attached to the hospital. A typical visit can be confusing for non-native speakers and could require trips to multiple offices, several cash payments, and take many hours for even a routine checkup. All of this is quickly expedited through a VIP clinic, where English speaking medical staff will lead you directly to each office, often jumping queue, and it is not uncommon for some VIP clinics to bring the general practitioner and even some specialist to you and pay for your procedures and medications while you stay in the comfort of the waiting room. VIP clinics are, however, only open during regular business hours, so if an emergency occurs after 5:00 P.M. or during the weekend, please go straight to the regular emergency room.

Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital
The Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou has a VIP clinic and emergency room, both on the first floor, with English speaking nurses and an expatriate doctor on staff. Each year Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital sends eight to ten doctors and nurses to Loma Linda University Medical Center in California for a three-month medical internship and in return receives up to twenty interns from their American partner. The operating room is a first class facility with all medical equipment imported from the United States, Japan and Germany. Dr. Kurt Matthaus is the current expatriate doctor on staff and he speaks native German and is fluent in French and speaks excellent English and Mandarin. His broad-ranging medical experiences include once having served as the resident doctor for a fire brigade, the medical expert attaché to the French Consulate, and a medical fieldworker for a French NGO in Mongolia. Dr. Matthaus is a general practitioner with expertise in pediatrics and cardiology.

The regular VIP clinic hours are Monday through Friday 8:00-5:30. Dr. Matthaus is available at Sir Run Run Shaw VIP Clinic every Friday from 1:30-5:30 P.M. The registration fee for the VIP Clinic is CNY 80 to see the Vice-Chief and CNY 120 to see the Chief doctor or surgeon of any department. The registration fee to see Dr. Matthaus is CNY 360. The Head Nurse, Joannie (Gu Yueying) speaks excellent English and works at the VIP clinic from Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 P.M.

Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital
Phone: +86-571-86090073 (switchboard); 86006016 (VIP Clinic reception and appointments)

3 East Qingchun Road
Name and Address in Chinese: 杭州市浙江大学医学院附属邵逸夫医院贵宾诊室庆春东路3号
For a 3-D interactive map please click here.

Dr. Kurt Matthaus
Mobile: 13818634892 (dial 0 first in Hangzhou if not using a cell phone)


First Affiliated Hospital
There is an International Clinic at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University Medical College, in Hangzhou, which is not only the largest hospital in the province it is the first to be affiliated with Zhejiang University. The International Clinic, although no longer staffed with a foreign doctor, does offer physical examinations. The clinic is open from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., although the lunch hour can be as long as 11:00-2:00. The registration fee for a physical examination is CNY 50.

First Affiliated Hospital
Zhejiang University Medical College
International Clinic
79 Qingchun Road, 11th floor
Phone: +86-571-87236166
Name and Address in Chinese: 杭州市庆春路79号, 浙医一院, 国际保健中心 (十一楼)
For a 3-D interactive map please click here.

North American International Hospital
Dr. Matt Marko is an emergency medicine specialist and psychiatrist serving the local expatriate community. His office is at the North American International Hospital in Hangzhou, where he attends to the general medical needs of the expatriate community, although he can also help with referrals for more specialized medical problems. Dr. Marko also provides outpatient psychiatric care. Students who already take prescription psychiatric drugs or who experience unexpected depression or severe culture shock are encouraged to make an appointment with Dr. Marko, as China Center faculty are not qualified to help students with any psychological problems experienced while in China. Dr. Marko will be invited during the Orientation Period to discuss medical concerns with students. The registration fee to see a foreign doctor like Dr. Marko or Livingston is CNY 280 and CNY 180 for a Chinese doctor.

Dr. Matt Marko, M.D. Ph.D.
North American International Hospital
419 Hefang Street, Hangzhou
Office Phone: +86-571-87780120
Cell Phone: +86-13588141641
Personal Email: Yahoo or Hotmail
Website
BLOG

Name and Address in Chinese: 河坊街419号, 杭州北美医院,马俊杰医生

Students interested in seeking alternative treatment for chronic conditions have a variety of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospitals in Hangzhou to choose from, including the North American International Hospital (see address above), where students can be diagnosed and treated by an American physician, Greg A. Livingston, who is a Licensed Chinese Medicine Physician in both China and the United States and can treat patients in general medicine and gynecology using acupuncture, herbology and dietetics. The North American International Hospital is located on the south side of Hefang Street, just one block west of the beginning of the famous walking street by the same name, and just three blocks east of West Lake at Nanshan Road. Dr. Livingston also teaches an Area Studies course at the China Center each semester and writes the monthly columns, "Ask The Doc" for More Hangzhou Entertainment Guide and "Doc Livy" for In Touch Zhejiang.

Greg A. Livingston, L.Ac., Ph.D. (candidate)
Office Phone: +86-571-87780120
Cell Phone: +86-571-81712217
Email
For a 3-D interactive map please click here.

World Link Medical and Dental Center
For serious medical emergencies requiring surgery or long term inpatient care, students have access to the World Link Medical and Dental Centers in Shanghai, just two hours away, with expatriate doctors and imported vaccines. Here the student will have access to a team of international medical and dental professionals and over thirty expatriate physicians drawn from leading hospitals around the world, including the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. World Link Shanghai boasts a client list that includes international film stars and Vice President Cheney, who stayed here during the White House visit to Shanghai in April, 2004. Students will have access to a comprehensive range of high quality healthcare services, including inpatient care, and numerous specialty services in gynecology, orthopedics, pulmonology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, and many more. There is also a certified psychology team, an immunization program, and a women's healthcare program that offers comprehensive cervical and breast cancer screening. In addition there is 24-hour on-site urgent care, diagnostic services, and emergency medical evacuation coordination. World Link has a direct billing relationship with the following insurance partners: Aetna Global Benefits (AGB), Allianz Worldwide Care, BUPA International, CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits, HTH Worldwide, Insurance Management Systems Ltd. (IMS), Jerneh Insurance (HK) Ltd, and William Russell Ltd.

World Link Clinic
Phone: +86-21-62797688
Fax: +86-21-62797698
Appointments: +86-21-62798678
Address: 203-204 West Retail Plaza, 1376 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai 200040 (Located in the Portman Shanghai Center)
Website
Name and address in Chinese: 上海市南京西路1376号上海商城 西峰 203-204室波特曼医科及齿科中心

Last updated on May 15, 2006

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