台灣花蓮慈濟醫院
用慈悲心關懷, 用歡喜心付出

In 1979, Master Cheng Yen announced that she had decided to build the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital. She spent four years and went through many hardships to build the hospital. The groundbreaking ceremony was finally held in 1983, and the grand opening of the hospital was celebrated on August 17, 1986.

There are five special characteristics of this hospital:

• No deposit fee is required because saving lives is the first concern of this hospital.
• The use of advanced medical equipment allows patients to recover as quickly as possible.
• The kindness of all medical staff in the hospital is stimulated so that they treat patients their own close relatives. When patients receive love from the medical team, they redirect that great love to other patients.
• Regular free medical services are provided to people in remote mountain areas. Since 1972, several free clinics have been in operation. Free consultation is provided to patients. TIMA volunteers made up of general practitioners, nurses, social workers, administration staff, and lay volunteers go to remote areas to deliver free medical and home care services to rural people.
• A palliative care ward provides services to terminally ill patients,. The ward is named "Lotus Flower of the Heart". It provides group therapy, which attends to both the patients' physical and their emotional needs. The caring staff accompany patients through the last stage of their lives.

Master Cheng Yen Celebrates the opening of a new Tzu Chi medical facility in Taiwan.		Master Cheng Yen Celebrates the opening of a new Tzu Chi medical facility in Taiwan.