Columbia China this week is celebrating the reopening of the 232-bed Shanghai Kaiyuan Orthopedic Hospital as an Orthopedic Center of Excellence operating at the highest international standards.
Columbia China spent $75 million USD ($500 million RMB) to acquire and retrofit the Kaiyuan hospital in Shanghai’s Pudong District.
The reopening is part of Columbia China’s plans to expand in China through both acquisitions and greenfield projects and to provide China’s growing middle-class population with affordable, patient-centered care across a spectrum of healthcare and senior services.
“While we aggressively develop our own hospitals from the ground up, we are also always looking for opportunities to acquire hospitals and use our decades of healthcare experience to upgrade the building, services, technology and training to international standards,” said Nate McLemore, Managing Director of Columbia Pacific Management, one of Columbia China’s parent companies.
After buying the Kaiyuan hospital last year, Columbia China hired Dr. Wu Haishan, one of China’s most well known orthopedic surgeons, as President of the newly acquired hospital. Dr. Wu retired last year from the public health system after more than 30 years. He most recently served as Chief Physician of the Orthopedics department at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, and as Professor of Joint Surgery at the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai.
He’s the editor of several textbooks on orthopedic surgery and the author of more than 80 published papers. He’s also an officer of several professional groups, including Vice President of the Arthroplasty Surgery Society of the Chinese Orthopaedic Association.
Columbia China’s retrofit of the Kaiyuan hospital is designed by one of the largest architecture firms in the world, B+H Architects, and provides a welcoming and healing environment while also maximizing healthcare efficiencies.
The retrofit expanded the hospital from 200 to 232 beds and from four to six operating theaters, and added a new facade, lobby, all new inpatient and outpatient rooms, rehabilitation areas and upgraded equipment, including new MRI and CT scanners.
The reopening of the Kaiyuan hospital as an Orthopedic Center of Excellence was marked this week with a celebration attended by government leaders, business partners, medical experts and other distinguished guests from around China and overseas.
“The Shanghai Kaiyuan Orthopedic Hospital is positioned to be the Orthopedic Center of Excellence in joint, spine, minimally invasive surgeries and sports medicine, with the highest standards recognized around the world,” said Bee Lan Tan, President & Group CEO of Columbia China.
Columbia China is a joint venture between Temasek, the Singapore investment company, and Seattle’s Columbia Pacific Management, one of the largest and fastest-growing healthcare providers in Asia. Besides the Kaiyuan hospital, Columbia China has two multi-specialty clinics and three senior living facilities in Shanghai and Beijing. The company is also developing three multi-specialty hospitals of 300-500 beds, in Wuxi, Jiaxing and Changzhou, as well as a 300-bed senior living facility in Ningbo and a growing pipeline of other projects across China.
Columbia Pacific Management has been operating in Asia for 20 years. Columbia China’s expansion is similar to the network of hospitals that Columbia Pacific Management owns in India and Southeast Asia through another affiliate, Columbia Asia.
Columbia Asia opened its first hospital in Malaysia in 1996 and over two decades has developed one of the largest hospital companies in Asia, with 27 hospitals and two clinics delivering high-quality, affordable and standardized care.