The opening of a new hospital in Cambodia marks the culmination of a multiyear collaboration among The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the country’s government and others.
The Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital will serve more than 400,000 people in the Koh Thom district, and Kandal and Takeo provinces, which are about 50 kilometers, or 35 miles, south of Phnom Penh, reported the Church’s Cambodia Newsroom earlier this week.
The Church has also been involved in the renovation of three other hospitals in the Kampong Thom province, about 180 kilometers, or 110 miles, north of the country’s capital of Phnom Penh, which have been recently completed,, according to the Church’s Cambodia Newsroom.
The collaborations are through the Cambodia Health Improvement Effort, which was started in 2018 by the Church’s Asia Area presidency to help improve health care. Local Church leaders work with government and health care officials on a variety of projects; past ones have included renovating and upgrading province hospitals and equipping and training doctors.
Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital
The Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital is Cambodia’s first newly constructed large public hospital in 20 years, reported the Church. It is nearly 130,000 square feet and includes 150 beds and advanced medical equipment.
On Wednesday, March 13, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet helped cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for the hospital. Hun Manet presented Elder Kelly R. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Church’s Asia Area presidency, with a sash order medal during the ceremony to recognize the Church’s contributions and efforts to help support the health care of Cambodian people.
Elder Johnson noted the global reach and impact of the Church’s humanitarian efforts, made possible by the donations of its members.
“Because of the generosity of members around the world, we’re able to take these resources and provide wonderful upgrades to medical facilities to bless the people,” he said.
The hospital is named in honor of former Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen. It was established under the initiative of Sun Chanthol, deputy prime minister of Cambodia, and Chheang Ra, director general of Calmette Hospital. Construction began in January 2022.
Through the Cambodia Health Improvement Effort, Church humanitarian medical specialists have collaborated with the hospital management team on the hospital design and provided funding for a variety of equipment for diagnostic imaging, laboratory analysis, rehabilitation, critical care, surgery, obstetrical and neonatal care, dentistry and infection control.
Hun Manet said: “Having surgical and maternity care available at Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital will save lives. … Women in this region have been suffering from high maternal mortality rates due to the need to travel to Phnom Penh for care. Now, with this hospital’s services, we are responding to that need and improving access to critical health care.”
Prior to construction of the new hospital, the Church contributed to the renovations and equipment for the nearby Porthi Reamea Health Center to serve as an interim facility, which enabled the center to provide essential care while the original hospital was being demolished and rebuilt.
Renovations of 3 hospitals in Kampong Thom
North of Phnom Penh, the renovations of three hospitals were celebrated at a ceremony in Kampong Thom on Monday, March 11, with Nhek Ban Kheng, deputy governor of Kampong Thom, Elder Johnson and Dr. Srey Sin, director of the Health Department in Kampong Thom.
The projects at Kampong Thom Provincial Hospital, Baray Santuk Referral Hospital and Stoung Referral Hospital included renovating and expanding more than 40 buildings, mitigating flooding issues, providing medical equipment and training medical staff, reported Cambodia Newsroom.
The medical equipment provided ranged from oxygen delivery systems and maternity, gastroenterology, dental, orthopedic and ophthalmology equipment to operating room supplies and diagnostic laboratory equipment.
Elder Johnson shared his gratitude for the generosity of Church members worldwide and spoke about the Church’s teachings on fasting and fast offerings. “The money for these projects comes from our members all over the world who choose to regularly fast for two meals and contribute the value of those meals to help those in need.”
Elder Johnson added: “We are all brothers and sisters. We want to do good things. We follow our Savior’s charge to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”
Kheng acknowledged the love and support from the Church. “We are all brothers and sisters, helping one another. We feel the love from the Church. The renovated buildings are beautiful, and the patients are happy to receive care here. The hospitals are now cleaner and have better hygiene,” he said.
Also, leaders of local Church congregations, hospital administrators and staff, humanitarian missionaries and medical specialists from the Church, and over 100 members of the public attended.
The hospitals are referral hospitals, which provide care for all people — particularly the poor and needy. The three referral hospitals in the rural province serve more than 800,000 people.
The project was announced in December 2022 and work began in January 2023.
Church in Cambodia
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Church receiving legal recognition by the Cambodian government on March 4, 1994.
Earlier this year, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quroum of the Twelve Apostles ministered in Cambodia, including meeting with with Hun Manet, members of the Church and visited the site where the Church’s Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple is being built. He also announced the Church of Jesus Christ is donating nearly $2.2 million to add a cardiac center to a hospital in Siem Reap, about 318 kilometers, or nearly 200 miles, north of Phnom Penh.
There are more than 16,000 members of the Church in Cambodia across 10 wards and 18 branches.
