If Yao Ming sprains his ankle at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which hospital will he be rushed to?

 

Silly question, one may think. But the NBA star is all of 2.26 meters tall, and a standard hospital bed is only 2 meters long.

 

Thankfully, Yao and other exceptionally tall athletes can take comfort.

 

"There's no need to worry because we have ordered up to ten 2.4-m beds from a US company. They will be here in two months," director of China-Japan Friendship Hospital's international medical department Xu Shuo said yesterday. The special beds cost about $20,000 each.

 

The Beijing health bureau selected 21 hospitals earlier this year to provide medical care during the Games, and the China-Japan hospital was chosen to treat international athletes and coaches.

 

"We are really honored to have been selected and our preparations are well under way," Peng Mingqiang, hospital vice-president and head of the Olympic medical service, said.

 

The hospital will spend 20-30 million yuan ($2.6-$4 million) to update a range of facilities and services, including redecorating wards and purchasing new equipment.

 

Thirty-one rooms will be used exclusively for athletes and coaches during the Olympics, Xu said. "We will do everything we can to make them comfortable."

 

All the rooms will have Internet connection, and athletes or coaches will have their walls decorated with their national flags, Xu said.

 

"Patients will be able to read English language newspapers and even enjoy their own cuisine."

 

The hospital is discussing with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) what types of dishes should be served, he said.

 

Utmost care will be taken to offer a good selection of quality food, Xu said. "All food and medical services will be provided according to the strict requirements of BOCOG."

 

More than 400 doctors and nurses have already undergone language and other special training, Peng said. Some other employees, too, will be trained in foreign languages and customs of other nations.

 

"Since the establishment of the hospital, we have provided medical services to people from 160 countries and regions, so we are confident of fulfilling our duty," he said.

 

The China-Japan Friendship Hospital opened in 1984 and is a leading international hospitals in Beijing. It employs about 1,600 medical staff, from which a 400-strong specialist Olympic team will be selected.

 

(China Daily July 23, 2007)