Malaysia

Physically debilitating conditions such as stroke are currently the third leading cause of death around the world. The outcome for patients of conditions such as stroke is still extremely disfavorable — in Malaysia, 37% of all cases result in mortality, and the majority of survivors are left severely debilitated both mentally and physically. The proportion of survivors that undergo successful rehabilitation in developed nations is several orders in magnitude greater than those in developing countries. Among other conditions, stroke serves as a prime example of the current discrepancy in healthcare rehabilitation between first-world nations and developing regions.

At the Massachusetts General Hospital, stroke patient in North America receive up to 3 months of inpatient care depending on the severity of the stroke, and oftentimes another year of outpatient rehabilitation with anywhere from 10 - 20hrs/week of care. In Malaysia, it is common practice for patients to be discharged a mere 2 weeks after initial hospitalization in order to insure that all stroke patients receive enough care to ensure that they survive and are stabilized. The only sustainable outpatient rehabilitation facility exists within the hospital itself and its resources only allow for an average of 4hrs of rehabilitation per patient every two weeks. These conditions are common for all debilitating conditions and afflict a large proportion of the Southeast Asian community.

Through fundraising efforts both locally and internationally, SGH has worked with the Silver Jubilee Old Folks' Home and Penang General Hospital to develop outpatient rehabilitation facilities and stimulate community volunteerism. Through our continuing efforts in the region, rehabilitation conditions in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia have been drastically improved.