NEW DAY VIETNAM
We are happy to report that we have recently acquired a Guest House apartment across the street from our main partner hospital. This will be used for families that bring their children for surgery.
Most of the families live in far-away rural locations, and they usually travel all night by bus to arrive at the hospital waiting room early the following morning. The hospitals are very crowded, and the days are long and tiring. Then, if the child needs to be admitted and a bed is not available, the families often struggle to find acceptable and affordable places to stay near the hospital while they wait.
The hospitals in Vietnam are very crowded – a minimum of 4 beds and sometimes 8 or more in the larger rooms with overflow in the hallways. One of the parents or caregivers usually shares the bed with the child, while any other family members are left to find alternate places to sleep (hallways, benches, outside locations, etc.) The challenge is even greater when the child is in surgery and ICU since the hospital bed is then given to other patients and no longer available for the family’s use.
We just began and already our Guest House is full hosting 3 families as they wait for their children’s heart surgery.
