PLA Daily 2003-06-05

　　Eight experts from the World Health Organization(WHO) paid a visit to the designated SARS treatment Xiaotangshan Hospital at 9 a.m. Tuesday in a northern suburb of Beijing.

　　Dr Zhang Yanling, the head of the hospital, made a brief introduction regarding the hospital's construction, equipment, treatment and disinfection.　When several experts didn't catch his point because of the noise, Wang Yali, the general head nurse, gave them an additional remark in fluent English.

　　After putting on the three-layered exposure suits, the WHO experts stepped into the isolation wards to examine the disinfection and ventilation systems. Among them was Dr Dominick, a laboratory specialist who once worked in China for 18 years and can speaks idiomatic Chinese. He had a chat with a patient in a sick-room on medical treatment, meals, and daily life in the hospital.

　　"I don't feel far from my family here," said the patient. "We have telephones and televisions. Look, you can see flowers outside the window. A nice environment, isn't it?"

　　Dr Dominick nodded and told Dr Zhang Yanling that he felt humanity and gaiety in the patient's voice. "You are providing top-notch care and service here".

　　Dr Guo Xiaozhong, director of isolation wards A, and head nurse Chen Hong answered the experts' questions in English, sometimes in German and Japanese. When learned that Dr Guo once refused an invitation to work as a visiting professor abroad,　but choosing to stay at the　Xiaotangshan Hospital instead, an WHO expert asked him why he didn't seize this opportunity. The doctor responded simply: "I'm a serviceman. It's my responsibility to do so."

　　"How great the Chinese servicemen are!" The WHO experts expressed their admiration for the 1,383 medical workers of the PLA at the Xiaotangshan Hospital who have treated one-eighth of the world's SARS patients without getting infected. They were pleasant to take group photographs with the medical workers present after their inspection.

　　At 12:30 P.m. the WHO experts went on board to leave, smile on everyone's face. Before their departure, they all made gestures at the medical workers with the "V" ("victory") sign.

　　By Zhao Bo

　　(June 5, PLA Daily)