Zheng Qijin: Bringing "Famous Doctors" to the Doorstep of the People

“Don't worry, relax your mind. When your mood improves, your body will get better too.” On June 19, Zheng Qijin, Vice President of HeYou Hospital and Chief Physician of Traditional Chinese Medicine, comforted a patient while taking their pulse and providing consultation.

Sometimes to cure, often to help, always to comfort. In Zheng Qijin's view, TCM not only treats diseases but also heals the soul. Physical and mental recuperation is a powerful remedy for accelerating recovery. For every patient entering his consultation room, he engages in a gentle “talk therapy,” creating a relaxed atmosphere that helps patients shed psychological burdens and build confidence in overcoming their illness.

From a hero in the fight against SARS to battling COVID-19 and influenza A, he has consistently prioritized benefiting the people and safeguarding the health of the local community. Shifting between the roles of physician and administrator, he embodies the spirit of benevolence and aligns with the HeYou ethos, leading his team forward on the path of quality healthcare.

Starting from Scratch, A New Beginning at HeYou

Transitioning from a well-established hospital to HeYou in Foshan, Zheng Qijin is both a pioneer starting from zero and a challenger embracing new frontiers.

“When I learned that Midea was planning to establish HeYou, it was still a blank canvas,” said Zheng Qijin. He understood that “painting” on this blank canvas would not be easy. HeYou is a high-standard international general hospital with advanced global concepts, positioning itself as modern, international, digital, and intelligent.

High-standard planning and construction entail significant investment and complexity. This severely tests the organizational and teamwork capabilities of its leaders.

This challenge and potential were precisely the “strong magnetic field” that attracted Zheng Qijin. Without hesitation, he chose to start anew at HeYou, pursuing his dreams.

“HeYou is a large-scale modern hospital full of promise,” Zheng Qijin stated. He noted that the hospital's architectural design and founding philosophy deeply moved him, envisioning a future hospital that is truly inspiring. The hospital's mission aligns seamlessly with the principles he has upheld throughout his medical career.

On July 1 last year, he officially joined HeYou, diving into the intense preparatory work. The first challenge his team faced was the hospital's high ambitions, with many aspects unprecedented in China and lacking precedents. He led the team through research and consensus-building, turning difficulties into highlights. The second challenge was the tight timeline and heavy workload. Working from dawn till dusk, he sought ways to further enhance team efficiency, ensuring high-quality and high-standard progress across all tasks.

Beyond his roles as hospital founder and administrator, Zheng Qijin holds another identity—Chief Physician of TCM at the National Medicine Hall. With nearly 40 years of medical practice, he has a profound passion for clinical TCM work. After arriving at HeYou, he simultaneously engaged in clinical work and led the team in establishing the TCM department.

This, too, was a process of starting from scratch. He aims to guide the team in continuous advancement—technically and ethically—honing true skills to better serve patients and bring “famous doctors” to the people's doorstep.

Clad in White, Standing Firm on the Pandemic Frontline

Joining the HeYou “family” stemmed from a desire to solve healthcare accessibility through innovative models. “If I could go back to the beginning, I would still choose to be a doctor.” This statement reveals Zheng Qijin's original aspiration and his deep love for the medical profession and clinical work.

Over nearly four decades of practice, he has consistently used his benevolent skills to alleviate people's suffering. Years ago, the inpatient department of Zheng Qijin's hospital admitted a patient in their 60s. The patient was in shock with multiple organ failure, diagnosed with epidemic hemorrhagic fever—a naturally occurring zoonotic disease caused by the Hantavirus with a very high mortality rate. Rescuing such a critical patient was challenging. Zheng Qijin, alongside other experts, worked day and night, ultimately saving the patient from the brink of death.

Throughout his career, Zheng Qijin has emphasized leveraging the strengths of TCM, achieving remarkable results in critical care. A post-kidney transplant patient experienced uncontrollable bleeding, losing over 1000 ml within days. With the patient's life hanging in the balance, the TCM department intervened decisively. Zheng Qijin personally prepared a decoction of Dú Shēn Tāng (Ginseng Decoction) for the patient. The bleeding was quickly controlled, and the patient was discharged successfully a week later.

During the fight against SARS in 2003, a battle without smoke but fraught with life-and-death decisions, he remained stationed at the hospital inpatient department day and night, fighting continuously for three months to protect public safety. He was awarded the “Second-Class Merit for Combating SARS” by the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the “Advanced Model in Combating SARS” by the People's Government of Guangzhou.

With a heart of great compassion and a commitment to righteous action, Zheng Qijin has brought this spirit to HeYou.

On the battlefields against COVID-19 and influenza A over the past year, he led doctors from the National Medicine Hall in conducting free clinics and bringing medical services to the grassroots, allowing local residents to experience firsthand the efficacy of TCM in treating epidemics. Within half a month, Zheng Qijin helped over 2,000 patients recover from illness, also gaining many local “TCM enthusiasts.”

With his support, HeYou's COVID-19 and influenza A outpatient clinics were established. Medical staff devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the fight against the epidemics, acting as guardians behind the myriad lights of homes, ensuring the safety of the community.

Protecting Life, Promoting the Spirit of Lingnan Famous Doctors

“HeYou's mission is to uphold integrity and compassion, and to protect life.” Regarding future development plans, Zheng Qijin has a comprehensive vision. It is crucial to ensure that TCM department staff closely align with the hospital's mission and philosophy, working collectively towards the hospital's goals with wholehearted dedication to safeguarding life.

He constantly keeps the hospital's mission in mind. When recruiting and nurturing talent, he emphasizes subtle influence, embedding the mission of integrity, compassion, and life protection into the hearts and minds of new employees.

At the top-level design, the hospital has established a cultural system, with a series of activities such as cultural lectures and training underway. In terms of cultural framework, Zheng Qijin particularly focuses on enhancing the core competencies of medical staff and ensuring alignment with the hospital's culture. “We consistently strive for unified thinking and consensus, achieving a coordinated effort across the entire hospital and a united front from top to bottom,” he said.

TCM has long played a vital role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, offering unique advantages. Within HeYou's comprehensive healthcare process, TCM is a key component.

In developing the TCM department, HeYou will create a National Medicine Hall with Lingnan characteristics, bringing together “Lingnan Famous Doctors and Renowned Medicines.” Its talent pool will come from across the country, with a majority being TCM practitioners from Guangdong. The National Medicine Hall aims to build a “Lingnan Famous Doctors” team, radiating influence across the Greater Bay Area and even Southeast Asia.

The “Lingnan Famous Doctors” team will fully leverage the advantages of TCM in treating chronic diseases and preventive care, combining prevention and treatment with syndrome differentiation, striving for greater recognition from the public.

HeYou Hospital's TCM department will open in the first half of next year. Currently, the department has over ten medical staff, with plans to expand to a team of 50 and establish 50 beds.

Aiming to become a nationally renowned TCM specialty, HeYou Hospital's TCM department will be patient-centered, providing high-quality medical services through excellent TCM techniques and a superior healthcare environment.

Zheng Qijin stated that he will dedicate his lifelong learning to running the TCM department well at HeYou, continuing to promote and develop TCM for the benefit of the people.

■ Quality Healthcare Notes

Zheng Qijin: Providing Comprehensive, High-Quality Services for Patients

The core of quality healthcare lies in superior medical skills and higher service standards.

Doctors must use advanced medical technologies to effectively treat patients, especially those with complex and difficult diseases, alleviating their suffering. Hospitals must continuously improve service levels, making patient visits fast, convenient, and transparent. All service stages—pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital—should be seamlessly integrated to prevent patients from making unnecessary trips.

HeYou Hospital is precisely outlining the “blueprint” for quality healthcare. With high-specification and high-standard goals, HeYou aims to become a consultation, referral, and research center for critical and complex diseases in the local area, the Greater Bay Area, and even South China, as well as a base for advanced education.

In team building, HeYou recruits leading experts and renowned figures globally, building a high-standard expert team and cultivating medical experts and core staff with both medical excellence and ethical integrity. Technologically, it actively promotes the implementation of global and national advanced medical technologies, continuously improving treatment outcomes and service capabilities. Culturally, through comprehensive training and other measures, it ensures that all hospital staff fulfill their duties diligently, providing comprehensive, high-quality services to patients, while administrators offer strong support to frontline medical workers.

HeYou aspires to form a synergy for quality healthcare, alleviating the suffering of the people and achieving its founding goals as soon as possible.