June 2008, Wednesday- Prof Cho, our beloved Korean song seng nim (Professor) planned an industrial visit for eight of us, biomedical engineering students. We took about 45 minutes by subway, Prof Cho fetched us and moved to the Parkside Rehabilitation Hospital. Along the way to the hospital, Prof Cho told us a bit about the hospital. I can guess, this is not the ordinary human rehabilitation center. Some points made me curious, and some facts made me excited.
What so special?
We arrived there 15 minutes later. "This is a private hospital", that was my pre-deduction after looking at the structure of the buildings. I could see a lot of abstract-message pictures on the walls. Who of ever thought that the 81-bed rehab facility which also sees about 80-90 outpatients per day is just a year old. The center's director, Dr. Insun Park-Ko was very friendly. Jovial wouldn't be too strong a description. She greeted us at a conference room. Prof Cho told us some stories behind the ambitious women and impressed us with her vision for rehab and the design and operation of the facility. The building and equipment are very modern and cheery.
Dr. Park-Ko was the first hospital leader in Korea that I have heard describe a credible target market segment and positioning. Basically, she wants to attract Korean Americans on the West Coast of the US who need speech therapy after a stroke. As she pointed out, patients need to do speech rehab in their native language. For patients whose native language is Korean, it's going to be a heck of a lot easier to find Korean language therapists in Busan than in the US. Busan is a pleasant, beachfront community, and the hospital can make arrangements with nearby res idences to house patients and their families so they can have therapy on an outpatient basis.
If you are connected with the Korean community on the US West Coast and are looking for a promising entrepreneurial opportunity, there are possibilities here worth examining. In particular it could make sense to connect with a TPA serving Korean owned and operated businesses.
All of us were motivated and impressed with her ability and courage. I will always think of her if I facing difficulties in my way to achieve my dreams. Before we went back (move to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea), I addressed people a speech as a representative of biomedical engineering students to express our appreciation for the well treatments and meals we had.
Next to Parkside is a UN cemetery where Korean War veterans are buried. We had a look from the hospital's rooftop and then took a stroll there. The park has sections for various nationalities that fought in the Korean War, including Americans, Canadians, Australians and so on. In addition there is a black granite wall reminiscent of the memorials on the Mall in Washington, DC where the dead are listed by country and state. It's a peaceful place where we saw many Koreans who looked liked they were veterans of that era. Dr. Park-Ko mentioned that she has sent her students over to the park in wheelchairs to experience what it's like as a PT patient. After an hour wheeling around they come back exhausted.
What so special?
We arrived there 15 minutes later. "This is a private hospital", that was my pre-deduction after looking at the structure of the buildings. I could see a lot of abstract-message pictures on the walls. Who of ever thought that the 81-bed rehab facility which also sees about 80-90 outpatients per day is just a year old. The center's director, Dr. Insun Park-Ko was very friendly. Jovial wouldn't be too strong a description. She greeted us at a conference room. Prof Cho told us some stories behind the ambitious women and impressed us with her vision for rehab and the design and operation of the facility. The building and equipment are very modern and cheery.
Dr. Park-Ko was the first hospital leader in Korea that I have heard describe a credible target market segment and positioning. Basically, she wants to attract Korean Americans on the West Coast of the US who need speech therapy after a stroke. As she pointed out, patients need to do speech rehab in their native language. For patients whose native language is Korean, it's going to be a heck of a lot easier to find Korean language therapists in Busan than in the US. Busan is a pleasant, beachfront community, and the hospital can make arrangements with nearby res idences to house patients and their families so they can have therapy on an outpatient basis.
If you are connected with the Korean community on the US West Coast and are looking for a promising entrepreneurial opportunity, there are possibilities here worth examining. In particular it could make sense to connect with a TPA serving Korean owned and operated businesses.
All of us were motivated and impressed with her ability and courage. I will always think of her if I facing difficulties in my way to achieve my dreams. Before we went back (move to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea), I addressed people a speech as a representative of biomedical engineering students to express our appreciation for the well treatments and meals we had.
Next to Parkside is a UN cemetery where Korean War veterans are buried. We had a look from the hospital's rooftop and then took a stroll there. The park has sections for various nationalities that fought in the Korean War, including Americans, Canadians, Australians and so on. In addition there is a black granite wall reminiscent of the memorials on the Mall in Washington, DC where the dead are listed by country and state. It's a peaceful place where we saw many Koreans who looked liked they were veterans of that era. Dr. Park-Ko mentioned that she has sent her students over to the park in wheelchairs to experience what it's like as a PT patient. After an hour wheeling around they come back exhausted.
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