With the Third China International Import Expo (CIIE) fast approaching, much attention has been given to how event organizers will insure the health and safety of guests and exhibitors from around the world during the epidemic. As the only private medical institution among the 33 designated hospitals of the CIIE, Jiahui International Hospital is proud to be playing a role in the event’s prevention and control mechanisms for the third year in a row. Our international medical team and unique service characteristics have become an important part of guaranteeing the health and safety of CIIE attendees.

On October 21, Jiahui International Hospital held a hospital-wide mobilization meeting for the CIIE, and once again clarified the relevant procedures for protecting the CIIE to medical staff and service personnel, with a particular focus on the management of patients and epidemic prevention and control measures.

Jiahui began to make relevant preparations starting at the end of September, and from October 15th, the entire hospital and its staff entered the CIIE protection period. Jiahui has continued to carry out a comprehensive upgrade of its hardware and software in response to the COVID-19 epidemic in order to better ensure the safety of patients and staff.

Thanks to the strict standards according to which Jiahui International Hospital was designed and constructed, it is well equipped to fight the epidemic and protect patient health. Our facility is among the first in China to use the advanced VAVbox air conditioning system equipped with a three-stage medical filter, providing the necessary hardware to support our international medical team in its epidemic prevention and control efforts.

In an emergency, this air-conditioning system can switch to “fresh air mode” at any time. Once in this mode, it will introduce clean external air to form a constant flow of fresh air, effectively controlling possible cross-infection caused by airborne transmission. At the same time, the air filtration system is the equivalent of equipping each air-conditioning unit with a medical-grade N95 mask, achieving efficient and effective air filtration and purification.

Thanks to this solid foundation, Jiahui has been able to build a specially designed isolation ward on each floor of the Inpatient Department. Each of these wards has an independent air-conditioning system completely isolated from other areas, and a unique negative pressure system, which can isolate and protect patients with suspected infectious diseases and minimize the risk that they can infect other patients as well.

Since becoming a designated hospital for the first CIIE in 2018, Jiahui has continued to upgrade its hardware environment and response process under the guidance of relevant authorities, carrying out treatment drills for patients with suspected infectious diseases to ensure that the hospital and its staff are equipped to handle any emergency.

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Jiahui International Hospital's experience and strength played an important role in how it responded. On June 11, 2020, after inspection and acceptance by Xuhui District Health Commission, the Health Supervision Institute, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Fever Alertness Clinic at Jiahui International Hospital was officially opened, the first of its kind among private medical institutions.

The Jiahui Fever Alertness Clinic is a completely isolated area, separated from the entrances and exits of ordinary outpatient and emergency departments to minimize the risk of cross-infection. The consultation rooms are also equipped with an independent negative pressure isolation air-conditioning system, with one person per consultation room, and a patient hallway that is separated from the hallway used by medical staff. Clean areas, semi-contaminated areas, and contaminated areas are all available. Should examination in an isolation room lead to a suspected COVID-19 diagnosis, Jiahui International Hospital will initiate a rapid response mechanism, notifying the necessary authorities, and helping to quickly transfer the patient to a designated public hospital.

The third CIIE also coincides with the third anniversary of the establishment of Jiahui International Hospital. Through two consecutive years providing medical security to the CIIE, Jiahui has continuously accumulated experience and increased its strength as a medical institution.

Since September, the Jiahui International Hospital's CIIE Protection Special Team has been leading the emergency department and other departments to carrying out drills in preparation for the event. The emergency department has conducted special drills on the potential medical issues of foreign participants, including the procedure for patients arriving by ambulance, emergency walk-in patients, new and imported infectious disease patients, fever patients, and patients with a potential rabies infection.

The emergency department also launched a series of preliminary exercises for some common situations, including upper gastrointestinal bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, acute myocardial infarction, drug overdose, heart failure, septic shock, acute asthma attacks, spleen rupture, etc.

Based on past experience working with the CIIE, some specialized departments are also ready to serve participants. For example, at the CIIE last year, some an exhibitor visited Jiahui for treatment of their knee pain from walking too much in the exhibition hall. The team at the Jiahui Sports Medicine Department provided him with analgesic treatment and formulated a rehabilitation plan to help him successfully complete the exhibition.

As further proof of its strength as a medical institution, in July 2020, Jiahui International Hospital was the only private hospital out of 74 medical institutions and 29 third-party laboratories to be approved to provide COVID-19 nucleic acid testing to the Shanghai Clinical Laboratory Center. This also means that Jiahui, as an international general hospital, has further improved its service scope and capabilities, and can better serve the CIIE and users in need.