16/04/2026
A Health Seminar Helps Realizing a Wish | A Trans-Pacific Journey Home
A physician, has retired in USA in his 70s, and is long-term hospitalized after a cerebral hemorrhage with multiple complications. When his condition has stabilized, he expressed a simple yet strong wish, that is, to return to his home-land, Taiwan, to reunite with his family there.
Through connections made during overseas health seminars held by the International Medical Center of Taichung Veterans General Hospital, what once had seemed like an unattainable dream to him soon became a possible reality.
The home-coming process consisted of a relay of professional care, safeguarding every mile of his trans-Pacific journey:
The plan involved, among others, a medical air ambulance and international medical transfer.
Two medical teams, working in shifts, provided a continuous patient care, monitoring his health condition throughout the entire journey.
Upon landing Taiwan, seamless coordination ensured direct transfer on a local ambulance to the hospital.
So once the plane has landed Taiwan, the process represented not only the completion of a mission, but also realizing his long-awaited journey home.
Integrated Cross-Team Continuity of Care:
After returning to Taiwan, the patient was promptly admitted to the geriatric ward at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, where he was jointly cared for by a multidisciplinary medical team, including Director Shih-Yi Lin of the Geriatrics Center, Director Jin-An Huang of the Neurology Center, Director Yuan-Yang Cheng of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Director Chia-I Tsai of the Department of Traditional Medicine.
The medical team tailored treatment and rehabilitation plans based on the patient’s condition, providing integrated multidisciplinary care ranging from neurological care and functional recovery to overall physical conditions. Meanwhile, the nursing team, with attentiveness and patience, accompanied the patient through every stage of recovery. In what may seem like ordinary daily moments, each represents an important step closer toward full recovery.
On the day of discharge, the medical team, along with Division Director Wan-Yun Hsu of the International Medical Service Center and Head Nurse Ya-Hui Yeh, visited the ward in person to offer their blessings and encouragement, and carefully explained the rehabilitation plan that would follow. At that moment, what came together was not only the continuation of medical expertise, but also a sincere and profound expression of humanistic care, leaving a warm and touching mark on this journey that spanned thousands of miles.
At certain stages of life, the meaning of medical care is no longer solely about active treatment, but about enabling patients to go through important moments of their lives on a familiar ground, accompanied by their loved ones.