• Country: Vietnam
  • Official Title: Associate Professor/ Doktor der Medizin
  • Department: University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City
  • E-Mail: khoi.lm@umc.edu.vn

Speech Title

Outreach Initiatives: Building a Strong Reputation While Enhancing Healthcare Systems

Outreach activities play a crucial role in enhancing the healthcare system’s capabilities and building a university hospital’s reputation.

By extending services beyond the hospital’s walls, outreach activities contribute to a more equitable healthcare system. Studies have showed that outreach programs effectively reduce healthcare disparities and improve access to essential services in rural and underserved populations. Through outreach, university hospitals can provide training and resources to local healthcare providers, thereby enhancing the overall capability of the healthcare system. For example, outreach training programs can improve the quality of care in rural areas, reducing the burden on tertiary care centers. These impacts are even more important in a developing country with limited resources as Viet Nam.

Besides enhancing the healthcare system, outreach activities help establish a strong relationship between the hospital and the community. By engaging in health fairs, educational seminars, and preventive health screenings, the hospital demonstrates its commitment to public health, fostering trust and goodwill; increases brand awareness and visibility; showcases its expertise and leadership.

The University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC), a teaching hospital affiliated to University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, is the first university hospital in Viet Nam. Along journey over the past 30 years, UMC has focused in three pillars: treatment, training and scientific research. One of UMC’s priority is outreach activity. UMC has taken part in all the important programs led by the Ministry of Health: satellite and core hospitals, clinical training for professionals from provincial and district hospitals, transferring novel medical techniques, organizing hundreds of CME and scientific symposia, conferences annually. Moreover, UMC is active in mobilizing social resources for its charity and philanthropic excursions.

These outreach activities have contributed significantly to enhancing the healthcare system in the South, Central Viet Nam and Central Highland and building the hospital’s reputation as the leading one in Viet Nam.