- Dr.
Beat Richner's story
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- Beat
Richner was born in Zurich on 13 March 1947. After
receiving his medical degree in 1973 he specialised in
paediatrics at the Zurich Children's Hospital. In
1974/75 he was sent through the Swiss Red Cross (SRC)
to Cambodia to work at the Kantha Bopha Children's
Hospital. His mission came to an abrupt end when the
Khmer Rouge invaded the country. Dr. Richner was
forced to return to Switzerland where he took up his
former work at the Zurich Children's Hospital. In 1980
he opened his own practice in Zurich, which he shared
with a fellow practitioner.
- Whilst
pursuing his medical career Beat Richner developed the
character of BEATOCELLO, an artistic role which he
would slip into from time to time and which might best
be described as that of a poetic and musical comedian
or clown. He has given countless performances, mostly
in the German-speaking part of Switzerland but also
abroad. Beat Richner has also published a number of
books with simple line-drawings -mostly children's
book- to accompany his programs and his musical poetic
stories.
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- Kantha
Bopha I, the first hospial
- In
December 1991 Dr. Richner was asked by the Cambodian
government to rebuild and manage the Kantha Bopha
Children's Hospital which was destroyed during the
war; once again, his life took a sudden turn as he
accepted the job. In March 1992 he created a
foundation in Zurich, moved to Phnom Penh and began
with the actual reconstruction work. On 2 November
1992 Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital was back in
operation. Over the following years the hospital was
progressively extended and modified to meet the most
urgent needs.
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- Kantha
Bopha II, the second hospial
- 1995 the hospital
Kantha Bopha I became overcrowded with more than 1'000
outpatients every day and over 350 Hospitalisations,
the king Norodom Sihanouk offered a land in his Royal
Palast in Phnom Penh to build a new hospital.
On
12 October 1996 the second Children's Hospital was
inaugurated in the presence of Cambodia's king Norodom
Sihanouk and Jean-Pascal
Delamuraz,
president
of the Federal Council of Switzerland.
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- Jayavarman
VII, the third hospital
- On
March 9th 1998 a terrain was given by Hun Sen, Prime
Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, initiated by H.E.
Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, in Siemreap near
the temple of Angkor to build a third children's
hospital.
Jayavarman
VII Dr. Beat Richner's third children's Hospital in
Siemreap, annexe of Kantha Bopha I & II, was
open
on March 31th 1999.
As well
as in Kantha Bopha I & II all is free of charge
for all Children. There is a big prevention and Health
Education Center, a big Outpatient station and
facilities for the hospitalizations and the adequate
medical treatments of very sick children having to be
hospitalized in order to be saved.
The
conception of the new Hospital is the result of the
staff's 7 years experience in Kantha Bopha Children's
Hospital in Phnom Penh. It could be a global model how
to build and organize a Hospital facing similar
conditions.
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- Maternity
ward for HIV positive mothers
- At the inauguration
of the Jayavarman VII Children's Hospital, in Siem
Reap, Samdech Hun Sen, prime minister of the Kingdom
of Cambodia, announced in the presence of King Norodom
Sihanouk that the government would give additional
land for the hospital. (More
about it) Thanks
to several specific private donations, Beat Richner
was able to build and complete a maternity ward for
HIV positive mothers adjacent to the hospital
"Jayavarman VII" in Siem Reap
Ankor.
The
inauguration took place on October 9,
2001, and
the new ward is now in operation.
- in March 2005 an
Hospital's extension at the Kantha Bopha III
(or Jayavarman VII ) was opened with 350 additional
beds.
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- Kantha
Bopha IV
- In
2004 the
hospital Kantha Bopha I in Phnom Penh was too small
and two of its three buildings where in a very bad and
dangerous condition. Without a new construction Kantha
Bopha I could not function any longer. The
construction of a new hospital started on August 3rd
2004 after having bought a land giving on the Wat
Phnom. The new Children's Hospital Kantha
Bopha IV was
inaugurated on December 29th 2005.
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One of three buildings
of Kantha Bopha I will continue to function and the other
one where evacuated and restored later on. Kantha Bopha
IV is connected with the old Kantha Bopha I.
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- The hospital have
555 beds, 4 surgical operating rooms, two intensive
care units, a complete laboratory with a blood bank,
an imaging department (X Ray, 4 Ultrasounds and a CT
Scanner) a huge pharmacy, an outpatient station and a
prevention center. The costs of this Hospital
(all included) was 15 Million USD. Beat Rcihner asked
the Swiss people to contribute with a bill of twenty
Swiss Franks. With this action enough money went
together to finalise this undertaking. There were
school children helping too, Swiss citizens over all
Switzerland contributed a bill of 20 Swiss Franks.
(Aktion Zwaenzger Noetli 2004).
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- Kantha
Bopha V, The latest Hospital in Phnom Penh
(2007). Soon
after the inauguration of Kantha Bopha IV, the
hospital was overcrowded and in 2006 the amount of
hospitalized patients in Phnom Penh had increased by
50%. We decided to build the Kantha Bopha V which was
inaugurated on december 28th 2007 presided over by His
Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and in participation of
Samdech Hun Sen and the high ranking members of the
royal government of Cambodia.
The new Kantha Bopha V
has a prevention station, x Ray, Fluoroscopy,
Ultrasound, Laboratories and 9 units with 34
beds(About 300 beds). in addition to this we have a
conference room and a medical library. The costs were
9 Million USD.
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- December
30th, 2008
- An
extension at the hospital Jayavarman VII in Siem Reap
was inauguratd by Dr. Beat Richner wit the
participation of King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime
Minister Samdech Hun Sen. The extension is already in
function.
- Specifications:
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200 beds, laboratorium, pharmacy and
radiology.
- (Photo
right © SI, Monika Flückiger )
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- Kantha
Bopha has become a highly respected model for the
entire Southeast Asian region of just how efficient
direct medical and humanitarian aid -i.e., correct
medication unhampered by corruption combined with
targeted long-term training - can be in the areas of
curative and preventive medicine as well as in
research. Most of the hospitalís funds come
from private individuals in Switzerland who make
spontaneous donations for Kantha Bopha, very often
straight after one of BEATOCELLO's
performances.
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- From
1993 until 2008
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Kantha Bopha Hospital treated
- 8,2
Million outpatients
- 650'000
inpatients
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did 90'000
chirurgical operations
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- 550'000
children
- would
had not survive
- without
those hospitals.
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 - Beatocello
Playing "Kolnidrey" at the Mekong in 1996
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