Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post
A Chiang Rai-based hospital director recently received the 2012 Outstanding Rural Doctor Award given by Siriraj Hospital’s Faculty of Medicine.
Read the following story to learn more about this special award.
Somprat Manjit, director of Chiang Khong Crown Prince Hospital, received the 180,000-baht prize at the hospital on June 17. The award, created in honour of Udom Posakrissana, former dean of the faculty and former public health minister, is given annually to doctors who work hard for the benefit of rural people.
TOP DOC
Somprat was chosen among 26 candidates for his hard work at rural hospitals in Chiang Rai for more than 22 years. Somprat is also director at Khun Tan Hospital, where he has developed several healthcare initiatives such as an HIV/AIDS prevention programme and a community-based healthcare system for the elderly.
HEALTH EDUCATION
Under the HIV/AIDS programme, Somprat has run a campaign to educate locals on HIV prevention measures. The virus had a high rate of prevalence in border towns like Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai about 20 years ago. At that time, HIV-positive people faced discrimination and stigmatisation, Somprat said.
Somprat’s campaign has created better understanding among local people about the disease and promoted the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
CHARITY RPOJECTS
Somprat also runs the Chiang Khong Crown Prince Hospital foundation, which provides financial support to needy patients and scholarships for underprivileged students.
More recently, Somprat initiated a programme to encourage locals to undergo regular hospital check-ups after finding that a large number of people in Chiang Rai have respiratory problems.
ROLE MODEL
Award selection committee member Anupan Tantiwongse said that Somprat was a perfect role model as a rural doctor who dedicates himself to his work. The committee also chose Somprat because of his talent in developing effective rural health care services.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, answer the following reading comprehension questions.
1. Who arranged the 2012 Outstanding Rural Doctor Award?
…………………………..
2. How many candidates were nominated for the award?
…………………………..
3. Udom Posakrissana was a former labour minister. True or false?
…………………………..
4. Somprat runs the Chiang Khong Crown Prince Hospital foundation. True or false?
…………………………..
Vocabulary
- stigmatisation (n): the treatment of somebody in a way that makes them feel that they are very bad or unimportant
needy (adj): not having enough money, food, clothes, etc.
check-up (n): an examination of something, especially a medical one to make sure that you are healthy
respiratory (adj): connected with breathing
dedicate (v): to give a lot of your time and effort to a particular activity or purpose because you think it is important
