John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in October established a joint venture with the Envita Asia Hospital Corp. to provide American medical care for patients from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This was the first time either hospital organization has signed an international agreement.
The joint venture will provide the Vietnamese hospital’s most seriously ill and injured patients access to American health care expertise and technology.
The Vietnamese government recently approved private-sector development of the health care system in an effort to expand services.
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| Le Thanh Cat Van, president of Envita Asia, and North Mountain Vice President Cathy Lindstrom sign legal papers finalizing the patient care venture between their medical organizations. |
A consortium led by Le Thanh Cat Van, chairman and president of Envita Asia Hospital Corp., is rebuilding an aging French hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and plans to open a 70‑bed unit in February. The hospital currently has four physicians and 15 nurses. The construction, Le said, will cost between $16 and $20 million. His goal is to have 250 beds in service by 2011.
The first patient is expected to arrive at North Mountain in November. Each patient will be accompanied by a Vietnamese coordinator who will serve as interpreter, case manager and social worker. "The patients who come here from Southeast Asia will pay for their care just as any other patient would," said Cathy Lindstrom, North Mountain’s vice president of clinical and support services. |