Medicopolis is Chiang Mai University’s initiative to improve Chiang Mai’s economy and the people’s quality of life by building a healthy society, reducing the inequality of access to technology and services, creating added values to research, and boosting the economy through medical innovation. It is expected that the added economic values would amount to at least 2.52 billion baht by 2022.
Professor Pongruk Sribanditmongkol, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of CMU, has mentioned that ‘food, health and elderly care’ are the issues of priority indicated in the University’s proactive strategies, which have been implemented in continuation of the improvement in the quality of life, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To implement the University’s policies, three objectives of the CMU BCG Platform have been established: Medicopolis, the city of medical innovation, Biopolis, the centre of research and innovation for industrial development through biobased economy, and Creative Lanna, the centre and leading agent in knowledge, arts and culture and innovation for preserving the local spirit.
Medicopolis is the continuation of the ‘food, health and elderly care’ strategies, which aims to build the society of good health, reduce unequal access to technology and services and produce medical research, innovation and added values to drive the local economy. The goal for the added economic value is at least 2.52 billion baht by 2022, generated through CMU health facilities as follows.
The Medical Hub is the centre of medical care with the bed capacity of 450 and a nine-story parking building, located within the Faculty of Medicine. The Hub can increase the capacity for accommodating OPD patients by 400,000 per year, IPD patients by 30,000 and long-term rehabilitation patients by 2,000. This is also a part of the government-funded program that aims to promote Chiang Mai as the Medical Hub & Wellness Centre of ASEAN, which would also contribute to tourism as well. The construction is set to begin this year and is expected to be completed in three years.
The Senior Wellness Centre was established based on the University’s vision in accommodating the transformation into an aged society in the coming years. It aims to set up a standard for life quality development facilities for the elderly by promoting self-dependence that would allow them to live in the society with independence and good quality of life in all dimensions – physical, emotional, intellectual and social. The Senior Wellness Centre is composed of four main bodies, namely the Intelligent Training Centre for the Elderly, the Model Elderly Daycare Centre, the Senior Recreational Hub and the Intelligent Park of Health Innovation for the Elderly. All four facilities aim to transfer the knowledge to the elderly in all forms. Training is provided for the elderly and their caregivers in accordance with the health goal of ‘aging with good health’ to minimize illness. Currently, the Centre is under construction on a 22400 m2 acre of land on the bank of the Ping River in Pa Daet sub-district, Mueang district, Chiang Mai, and is expected to open for service by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Long Term Care has the main objective of providing comprehensive elderly care in partnership with Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital and the Geriatric Medical Centre, which would yield great benefits for the elderly in terms of treatment and the quality of life in the physical, mental and social dimensions, as well as the research and development in long term geriatric care. This facility can accommodate and serve the needs of elderly patients with incapacitation or bed bound patients by alleviating the care duty of their relatives who must leave for work and cannot take care of them all the time. Long Term Care, soon to be open for service, is comprised of three four-storey buildings with examination rooms, physical therapy facilities, dining halls, recreational spaces and accommodation.
Furthermore, the Medicopolis program includes the Centre for Medical Excellence, which provides advanced and comprehensive care. Other healthcare facilities include the 216-bed Hariphunchai Centre for Medical and Public Health Services, and Thai Traditional Complementary Medicine (TTCM).
CMU has always been determined to provide excellent medical service, produce healthcare innovations and increase the access to healthcare for all, in hope to maximise benefits for Thai people and build society of good health.