Red envelopes, desk calendars, and toys are on display at the entrances of Thu Duc District Hospital and its clinics, including Linh Xuan, Linh Tay general clinics, Binh Chieu and HiepBinhChanh medical centers. These products are hand-made by the medical staff, and for sale to raise fundsto bring a happy Tet to poor patients.
 Red envelopes and desk calendars are sold at Thu Duc District Hospital's entrance (Photo: VOV) |
In previous years, Thu Duc District Hospital hosted a “0 VND fair” to buy gifts for disadvantaged patients. But this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital’s Social Work department is calling on all medical staff to advertise and sell products online, in order to limit people gathering but still raising funds. Nguyen Thi My Chau, head of the department, said: "We plan to sell 1,500 desk calendars and 10,000 red envelopes. All the proceeds will be spent on 500 Tet gifts, which include sticky rice cakes, milk, sugar, and other necessities, for disadvantaged residents."
Other Tet programs are also organized at the Children’s Hospital No. 2, Tu Du Hospital, Ho Chi Minh Oncology Hospital, and Gia Dinh People’s Hospital. Tu Du Hospital has given 165 gifts to its poor residents, and is taking care of Agent Orange child victims at HoaBinh village. On New Year’s Eve, the hospital will give free meals to all residents and their families. In addition, 5 extremely disadvantaged patients will get discount on their medical bill, and 10 patients of the Oncology Department will be provided with medicine and bus tickets to return home for the Tet holiday.
 Some disadvantaged patients at Tu Du Hospital will get discount on their medical bill (Photo: VOV) |
Social workers at Cho Ray hospital are also busy with plans to support their patients on Tet holiday. Le Minh Hien, head of the Social Work department, said the hospital is spending donations from donors and enterprises on Tet gifts for poor patients. The “caring kitchen”, which provides thousands of free meals for patients and their families, will not close during Tet. "We have to mobilize other sources to make sure the kitchen’s budget can provide free meals for patients," Hien said, "Although we have to cut down on proportions, we are determined not to close the kitchen on any day of the year. This is a team effort between the hospital and kind donors."
The Children's Hospital No. 2 is organizing two events for inpatients and one event for patients to be discharged. The hospital’s board of directors will visit patients who cannot go home for Tet and give them lucky money on New Year’s Eve. An art program called “Warm Spring days” will also be held for all the patients and their families. About 1,200 Tet meals will be given to the patients and their relatives from the 30th day of the last lunar month to the third day of the Lunar New Year. A “Caring Bus” will be organized for outpatients from the 23rd to the 28th of the last lunar month to help them return home. Each patient on the bus will be given a gift worth 150,000 VND (6.5 USD) and 300,000 VND (13 USD) of lucky money. "There are kind supporters who regularly donate to the hospital. We are also introducing these programs on our website and Facebook fanpage to call for more support so that we can organize the events for disadvantaged patients," said doctor Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Social Work department.
The hospitals’ support for disadvantaged patients reflects Vietnamese people’s fine tradition of caring and sharing.