Press Release
HKBU receives HK$2 million donation from Tsang Shiu Tim Charitable Foundation in support of COVID-19 rehabilitation programme
Tuesday, 01 Dec 2020
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) received a donation pledge of HK$2 million from the Tsang Shiu Tim Charitable Foundation (the Foundation) in support of the University's Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme for COVID-19, the world's first clinically-validated rehabilitation programme for discharged COVID-19 patients.
To acknowledge the Foundation's generosity, a recognition ceremony was held on 25 November. Mr Tsang Wing-wah, representing the Foundation, and Professor Guo Yike, HKBU Vice-President (Research and Development), signed the donation agreement.
HKBU launched the unique Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme for COVID-19 to deliver comprehensive recovery care to discharged patients by integrating cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise training with the use of Chinese herbal medicine.
172 discharged COVID-19 patients will be recruited for a free 12-week intervention programme. HKBU's health professionals will instruct the participants to carry out exercises through an online real-time platform. Chinese medicine practitioners will prescribe a Chinese herbal formula to the participants that will nourish yin and moisten the lungs.
All participants will be followed up after weeks and will have three assessments to gauge the functional improvements in their metabolism and gut microbiota. All research findings will be publicised and shared with researchers, medical professionals and patients around the world.
Speaking at the ceremony, HKBU President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Roland Chin expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Foundation for its ardent support for HKBU over the years. He found this timely gift to be particularly meaningful at a time when the pandemic is affecting the entire world, and some discharged patients still suffer health problems. The success of the Programme will make a significant contribution to the world in the battle against COVID-19.
On behalf of the Foundation, Mr Patrick Tsang said that since the beginning of this year, there have been more than 60 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally and a death toll of 1.4 million. The Foundation is delighted to have the opportunity to support HKBU in launching this rehabilitation programme to help patients restore their health and return to normal life.
The Tsang Shiu Tim Charitable Foundation is an enthusiastic supporter of social services, having made generous donations to organisations dealing with healthcare, education and cultural causes. It has attached particular importance to the higher education sector, giving tremendous support to universities in Hong Kong including HKBU. In 2011, it made a gift of HK$10 million in support of the University's Campus Master Plan, while it donated an additional HK$10 million in 2017 for the establishment of the Tsang Shiu Tim Endowed Professorship in Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies.
Representatives of the Foundation who attended the recognition ceremony included Mr Tsang Wing-lok and Mrs Tsang Ho Yuk-fong; Mr Tsang Wing-wah and Mrs Evelyn Tsang; Mr Tsang Kai-yuen and Mrs Tsang Cheung Choi-chun; Mr Patrick Tsang Kai-chi; Mr. Tsang Kai Ching and Mrs Tsang Chu Shuk-han; Mr Lau Chi-wah and Mrs Lau Tsang Kai-yan; Mr Tsang King-hei and Mrs Tsang Law Pui-man. HKBU representatives at the occasion included Professor Roland Chin, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Guo Yike, Vice-President (Research and Development); Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Associate Vice-President (Chinese Medicine Development) and Tsang Shiu Tim Endowed Professor in Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies; Professor Julien Baker, Head of the Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health; and Mrs Lily Chan, Director of University Advancement and Secretary-General of the HKBU Foundation.
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