Chairman Douglas Hsu’s Remarks on the 38th Anniversary of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital

Reflecting back to when Far Eastern Memorial Hospital was first opened 38 years ago, there were only 7 divisions and 150 beds.  Now, the Hospital has extended into 64 divisions, 2 centers and 1,383 beds.  Floor space also increased from 20,329 pins (67,187 square meters) to 58,000 pins (191,690 square meters).  Thanks to the joint efforts and support from everyone to achieve this present scale.

Thirty eight years ago, the Founder of Far Eastern Group felt the needs for medical care of the Group’s nearly 10,000 employees working at Banqiao area.  To serve the staff and local residents, he decided to establish a large modern hospital in Banqiao.  It was a challenging task to build a hospital in a remote area of Banqiao.  The idea was not taken positively, since most of the well-known doctors resided in Taipei City, and would not want to work in Banqiao.  Due to the Founder’s perseverance, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (“FEMH”) was inaugurated.  Through overcoming the challenges, plus continuous upgrading of facilities and talent, more and more outstanding doctors have been attracted to work in the Hospital which has become a highly appraised medical center.
　　
While celebrating the 38th anniversary of FEMH, this time also marks the Far Eastern Group’s 70th founding anniversary.  The theme of FEG celebration focuses on CSR endeavors, and all institutions have engaged in corporate social responsibility events working together for a promising future.  What comes next is to start planning the strategy for the next 5 to 10 years.  That is the most challenging task for leaders.
　　
I recently attended World Cement Association’s 3rd World Cement Conference in Shanghai, China, and visited Conch Cement Plant in Anhui Province.  Conch Cement is China’s second largest cement company, whilst Asia Cement ranks among top ten.  The plant site that we visited has an annual capacity of over 20 million tons, almost 5 times that of Asia Cement’s Taiwan annual capacity.  But there are only 9 employees working in the control room, which is expected to downsize to 1~2 employees within two years as a result of applying AI technology to manage their ample production facilities.  This demonstrates that the strength and power of AI is beyond our imagination.
　　
Technology is definitely the key factor to transform the future.  China has achieved major breakthroughs in AI, Big Data, and even more in 5G during recent years and raised concerns by the United States.  The ongoing China-U.S. Trade War is actually a measure for the U. S. to maintain its future technological and economic strength.
　　
In fact, for the manufacturing sector under Far Eastern Group, several new plants have already applied mechanic arms to replace human labor in manual moving tasks.  The retail sector also offers customers with AR and VR trial on services to save the hassle of changing outfits.  Automation and AI is not difficult, but one must set the target, enhance execution, and be motivated.  In particular, the management must always consider if the current system is in line with the needs for the New Economy.  Although the hospital is a non-profit institution, operating efficiency can be improved through management in order to help more patients.
　　
Furthermore, in the era of IoT, everything is connected through the cloud, expanding the demand for data transmission volume.  Far EasTone Telecommunications is expected to launch 5G services in the second half of 2020 with faster data transmission, and there will be more systems to assist in data analytics.  For example, in the retail sector, the customers visit and purchase, and the shopping cycles can all be attained through big data.  For the health care industry, under the regulations, we can also establish data for patients.  Upon patient’s entry into the hospital, the computer will show relevant medical information which will enable the hospital to quickly access the patient’s conditions and provide health care more efficiently.
　　
Many patients expressed their gratitude to the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital for its warm and dedicated caring.  From the recent forum hosted by the Group Foundation, one government official approached me and indicated that his parents were long-time patients of our Hospital.  Even if there are other hospitals in the neighborhood and they may have to wait, they choose FEMH because our hospital staff is so warm and caring that they insist to get treated in our hospital.  Even though his parents have both passed away, he is still grateful for FEMH’s care.
　　
Thank you all for your dedicated efforts to earn this recognition.  Just like each enterprise under the Far Eastern Group has been growing continuously, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital also strives to grow.  In the future, FEMH not only continues to play its role as a Medical Center in Banqiao, but is also engaged in planning its Taoyuan Branch.  Hopefully, that in the next 38 years, the Hospital can achieve larger scale, and benefit more patients.#