Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University

About

Following the Second National Economic and Social Development Plan (1964–1966), the Thai government aimed to increase the number of doctors and nurses in order to meet the needs of the country. In August 1964, the government cabinet approved the plan of setting up a new medical school which would be located around the Phyathai area, opposite the Ministry of Industry. HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej graciously conferred upon the name of this new medical school “Ramathibodi” and laid the foundation stone for the building on December 30, 1965. Four years later, the King came to open the new faculty on May 3, 1969. Apart from the government’s fund, the faculty was financially and academically supported by the Rockefeller Foundation from the United States of America. Since then the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital has been fully equipped and has provided medical education and services as well as research facilities to the public.

The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital has three principal buildings to serve more than 5,000 out-patients per day. The main building, Building 1, provides more than 1,000 beds for the tertiary care of complicated and severely ill patients in various specializing departments and units. The second building, Queen Sirikit Building, hosts Advanced Diagnostic Imaging and Imaging-guided Minimal Invasive Therapy Center (AIMC), Cardiovascular and Metabolic Center (CVMC), and Queen Sirikit Medical Center (QSMC), serving as a center for advanced projects, e.g., bone marrow transplantation project. It also houses modern operating rooms and intensive care units.

The third building at the intersection corner of Rajawetee road and Rama 6 road, Somdech Phra Debaratana Building (royally opened by Somdech Phra Debaratana on August 14, 2011), which is the largest and newest building, serves as the most excellent service complex for thousands of out-patients of all types of healthcare coverages per day. The building houses Somdech Phra Debaratana Medical Center (SDMC) hosting well-equipped facilities to perform high standards of healthcare in the Southeast Asian region. It provides 350 beds, 16 operating rooms, 14 Intensive Care Units, and comprehensive state-of-the-art service centers such as Stem Cell Transplantation Center, Minimal Invasive Endoscopic Surgery Center, Elderly Care Unit Center, Child Development Center, and Complicated Diseases Services by specialized doctors.

One of the Logos of the Ramathibodi Hospital Faculty of Medicine is the shape of ร (called ror-reu).

The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital is one of the two medical schools within Mahidol University. The older sister is the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University.

Departments

A New Project and Expansion

In 2010, the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital launched a new project to ensure of being an excellent medical center in Asia to cerebrate the 84th Anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday. The project approximately costs 6 billion Baht.

Details

1. The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital has provided medical support, education and research for more than 40 years, and it has a potential to develop and succeed its challenging mission. Dramatically, the numbers of patients and students have increased, but there are so many restrictions such as limited space, learning-teaching resource shortage, dormitory and space for various activities deficiency. Most importantly, there is no space for primary and secondary care practicing and teaching.

2. With the supports of the Royal Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary in Samut Prakan province, the Faculty of Medicine had an opportunity to have an additional medical campus in Samut Prakan province. Actually, in Samut Prakan province and the eastern part of Thailand which have very big metropolitan and industry area, people are living densely with environmental and occupational health problems. However, there is no excellent medical center in the area. There are only primary care units and medium-sized hospitals which may not be able to adequately serve them. Thus the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital has offered a campaign to found a hospital in this area, which is still associated with main Ramathibodi Hospital for higher patient care quality.

3. The project is located in a 291-1-63-Rai Raja Patsadu area at 119 Soi Sukapibal, Bangplee, Samut Prakan province to fulfill the following objectives and missions:

3.1 To the Faculty of Medicine (education mission). There are adequate facilities for teaching medical students, nursing students, graduate students, communication disorder science students, and other related field students. Thus the faculty can produce more students to meet the needs of the country. With the addition of this new campus to the original become-complicated-tertiary-care-only campus, the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital will become a very comprehensive medical school producing doctors and nurses with sufficient knowledge on primary care, while providing postgraduate training at the forefront of medicine.

3.2 To host a 400-bed hospital with very high health care and public health standards. It will provide medical care for patients at all levels from primary, secondary, and tertiary, including health promotion, rehabilitation, and preventive medicine, occupational health rehabilitation for older patients, and end-stage patients. Moreover, the education and research in family medicine will be emphasized.

3.3 To be a model for a patient-centered treatment focused on network settings. The faculty will promote and teach about the collaboration among hospitals, public health district, as well as private hospitals in serving patients. Knowledge transferring in order to enhance the health of people in the East region will be accentuated. This will be a model for maintaining the complete health care for Thai people.

3.4 To be the centers of medical education, continuing medical education, and medical consultation for general public (consisting of medical centers and the network of medical services, as well as the centers of excellence in education and research). Finally, It will be a learning, living, and park community complex model.

4. Total project duration: 5 years (year 2011 to 2015).