Celebrations at two health care facilities in Cambodia marked new centers that opened with donations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; one is the Church’s largest humanitarian project in the country to date, reported the Church’s Cambodia Newsroom in English and Cambodian.
A cardiac center at the Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital and a new outpatient building at Preah Net Preah Referral Hospital in Banteay Meanchey province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) and an hour’s drive northwest of Siem Reap, both opened on Feb. 26. Siem Reap is about 315 km (195 miles) and a five-hour drive northwest of the country’s capital, Phnom Penh.
Cambodia’s Minister of Health Chheang Ra spoke at both events — at the Siem Reap hospital in the morning and the Preah Net Preah Referral Hospital in the afternoon. Attendees at each included government and health care officials, doctors, nurses, residents and schoolchildren. He thanked members of the Church for their generosity, noting the many health care projects the Church has supported in Cambodia.
“I express my sincere appreciation for the help that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given, without expecting anything in return,” he said. He noted that the Siem Reap Heart Center is worth much more than the over U.S. $2.4 million cost of the new building and modern equipment due to its long-term value for treating and saving lives.
Ra praised the Church’s “talent for seeing and providing help to meet needs, in the right place and with the right group of people, to save the lives of our Cambodian people.” He added that this enabled the Church to align with the ministry’s and government’s goals of bringing quality health services closer to the people.
“As an individual, a citizen, a health worker, a health leader and the head of a health institution, the contribution of the members, no matter how small, truly touches the heart of the users, the citizens and especially those who need help,” he continued.
Elder Benjamin M.Z. Tai, General Authority Seventy and the Church’s Asia Area president, said at the Siem Reap event that he recalled the center’s groundbreaking held about a year ago, where they were “united by love of our fellow men.” He declared the new facility a “direct answer to prayers and a realization of our hope and faith.”
At both events, Elder Tai said: “May all patients always find professional treatment, compassionate service and charitable care here. May this become a place of healing of hearts and comforting of souls. We have tremendous faith in and the greatest hopes for you and the future of this facility.”
Elder Tai also paid tribute to “the faith, devotion, dedication and generosity of members of the Church across the world,” which make humanitarian donations possible.
Celebrations at both events included the traditional Khmer “Blessing Dance” performed by young women in cultural dress, accompanied by a pinpeat, the traditional musical ensemble featuring musicians chanting and playing drums, xylophones, gongs, wind instruments and small cymbals. The celebrations also showcased Khmer culture, with flags, flowers, colorful decorations and red carpets.
Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital heart center
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in January 2024 became the first leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to meet with Cambodia’s prime minister. Elder Renlund, a former cardiologist, announced the more than $2 million donation for the cardiac hospital in Siem Reap. The groundbreaking was in February 2025.
The new heart center in Siem Reap has a full cardiac catheterization laboratory, the first in the country outside of Phnom Penh, that allows doctors to more precisely detect heart problems and perform life-saving procedures, reported Newsroom. Previously, heart patients had to travel about five hours to Phnom Penh for treatment.
“Mortality has been high in our region for patients with heart disease, but now we have excellent infrastructure to treat patients with everything they need right here,” said Dr. Pen Phalkun, director of the Siem Reap hospital. “It is transforming heart care in our region.”
Preah Net Preah Referral Hospital outpatient building
The outpatient building at the Preah Net Preah Referral Hospital was in need of expansion, updates and renovation. The new building includes reception, waiting and registration areas; a pharmacy; a complete laboratory; examination rooms; a pediatric ward; a dental clinic; an intensive care unit; a psychiatry office; operating and postoperative rooms; and X-ray, ultrasound and EKG equipment.
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Gov. Oum Reatrey said, “We have earned the trust of the Church association as we provide excellent health services to our people.”
He noted that the Church previously funded renovations of the main hospital building, and, since then, it has been ranked among the best referral hospitals in Cambodia.
Hospital officials and doctors led tours of the new facilities, showing off the new equipment, patient rooms, operating rooms, intensive care units and facilities.
The Church in Cambodia
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 provincial hospitals and equipping and training doctors.
There are more than 17,300 Church members in 31 congregations across the country as of 2024, the most recent information available. The Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple is scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 23.
2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the Church receiving legal recognition in the country.
