Khon Kaen hospital to be Asean’s biggest in Bt24.5 bn revamp

KKU president Assoc Prof Kittichai Triratanasirichai said that the university has kicked off A fundraising campaign to back the project, which would expand the hospital into a 5,000-bed facility.
A ceremony to lay the foundation stone is expected to be held in December this year.
The project will comprise two buildings, of 20 and 39 storeys, to provide what the university says will be state-of-the art medical services and a car park. In the first phase, the hospital will require investment of Bt14 billion to raise the number of beds from 1,100 to 3,500. This phase would be completed over the next three years.
For the second phase, the hospital needs Bt10.5 billion to meet the goal of 5,000 beds, making it the largest hospital in the country and in Asean.
Assoc Prof Kittichai said that donors are categorised into two groups: 500 target donors with Bt4 million each and a further 2,000 people for donations of Bt5 million each.
All donors would get free medical services from the hospital for life and double tax deductions. In addition, they can file tax returns for three consecutive years relating to their donations.
Meanwhile, Assoc Prof Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, dean of the faculty if medicine at Khon Kaen University said that Srinagarind is important in its role as university hospital that produces 200 medical specialists a year. In addition to a focus on endemic diseases, the hospital is regarded as one if the leading research centres on tropical diseases in the world.
Srinagarind Hospital is the main tertiary medical centre in the northeastern region. It has set a goal to be recognised as one of the top 59 medical schools in Asia by 2020.
Charnchai added that in the future, the faculty aimed to develop an aged-care medical centre in response to the pressures of an ageing society.