In December, officials from Shijiazhuang Kidney Disease Hospital in China visited Western University of Health Sciences located in Pomona California to learn more about osteopathic medicine and to lay the groundwork for future collaborations.
The Hospital located 150 miles south of Beijing has more than 1,000 beds and specializes in kidney disease and specifically in Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy. This type of therapy treats kidneys by understanding the root of the problem and determining the cause. This treatment is able to expand local blood capillaries and promote blood circulation. The hospital is known for another specialty referred to as Stem Cell Transplant Techniques plus a program to apply blood purification before and after stem cell transplantation.
Dr. Xitong Cao, President and CEO and Dr. Ke XU, from the hospital’s Dialysis Center met with several Western university administrators and faculty members from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP), with Western University researchers, and with representatives from other colleges.
Dr. Cao reports that China is developing quickly which has caused a high demand for scientific and technical skills. He said,” We came to the U.S. to learn how to develop a successful management and educational style and then take this knowledge back to China. The doctors are looking for high quality professional people so that these professionals will be able to adapt to a fast developing county like China. There is great interest in an exchange program since it would enable Chinese students to learn about Western University’s innovative methods”.
“Also, Western University has a lot to learn from colleagues in China,” said Edward V. Barnes II, M.D who is a COMP Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. “The fact that a kidney hospital in China does things a little differently than we do in the U.S. might bring different perspectives and produce new innovations to increase our knowledge.”
Barnes continued to say, “It would be good to collaborate. They may have a different approach to research which might allow us to do a little more in-depth research on curative treatments for the kidneys rather than just managing chronic diseases. I think that we can both learn from each other by discussing models that we have here versus models that they have in China.”
