Medical

The medical and dental situation for the poor in Yunnan is bleak. A Medical Clinic and Dental Clinic were established in Kunming at the Hua Xia Technical School (the majority of the students at this school are disabled) in 1998.  These clinics provide free treatment for the students of the school, as well as the poor of Kunming.  A special service that the medical clinic provides is for needy people from the countryside who have serious diseases. Our doctors give such treatment to several thousand patients each year.  When they are otherwise without hope, costs of their hospital stay and diagnostic tests are often fully covered.  More than fifty babies have received cleft palate surgery through this program with no charge to the families.  Another aspect of the medical care work is done through the Rehabilitation Department.  Free physical therapy for the disabled students of the Hua Xia Technical School is provided.  Therapy for the poor people from the countryside as well as the poorest areas of the city of Kunming is also provided.  Wheelchairs, crutches and other equipment are supplied for those who are unable to afford it.   A prosthetics department supplies high quality, affordable artificial limbs for disabled people.  Prosthetic limbs and physical therapy are provided at no charge for the poorest patients from the countryside.

In addition to the established clinics in Kunming, medical and dental trainings are held in different regions each year.  There is ongoing follow-up with the more than 2,000 village doctors who have been trained, and additional teaching is given on the topics of internal medicine, general medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, dentistry, burn care and other professional skills to help the workers improve their competence. 

There are many opportunities each year for Short Term Teams to join in the work of BCI. Several medical teams come every year to do special surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates, orthopedic and plastic surgery, and general surgery. Our remote teams who are working among the poorest of the poor select patients.