Project HOPE, in close collaboration with China’s Ministry of Health, officially launched the China Rehabilitation Medicine Program in Beijing on Tuesday (post here). This comprehensive three–year program is addressing the need of rehabilitative services for those recovering from injuries suffered during last year’s earthquake.  At the same time, the program is helping to build rehabilitative care throughout China.

Of course, the comprehensive program would not be possible without the generous support of Project HOPE donors.  While the goal of the program is to bring standardized rehabilitative care to those suffering from earthquake related injuries, the scope of the project which works at the community, city, provincial, and national levels has allowed our donors to get involved at many different levels.

The Baxter International Foundation is supporting HOPE’s development of physical rehabilitation programs and training of health care professionals in Dujiangyan city, an area severely impacted by the earthquake. Those professionals will then help build physical therapy capacity at regional facilities and help establish a rehab Center of Excellence to benefit others in need of services.

The Avon Foundation for Women grant is helping HOPE develop a standardized national rehabilitation training curricula and guidelines for community and city level rehabilitation services, targeting training programs for health care providers in physical and occupational therapies, as well as psychological support for earthquake affected children and adults. The grant is also helping provide equipment and facility upgrades to community health centers and a city-level hospital. 
 
Johnson & Johnson is supporting HOPE in developing, testing and validating standardized rehabilitation training materials and certification criteria for professionals and piloting a community-based rehabilitation model that can be replicated at the national level to serve more people in need of physical therapy and to better position and prepare China to respond to future disasters.

Abbott Fund, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Eli Lilly & Company, Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc., Hospira, Medtronic Foundation and Wyeth have also contributed to the local, regional and national rehabilitation program.

We are proud of our work in China for more than 25 years, as well as our ability to help victims of the devastating earthquake when it happened and into the future. I want to offer my thanks to our corporate and foundation supporters who allow HOPE to do what we do best: provide long-term help following disaster situations and help build even stronger health care systems even in the face of tragedy.

John P. Howe, III, M.D. is President and Chief Executive Officer of Project HOPE.