With the contagion of COVID-19, most countries adopted social distancing to block the spread of the virus; therefore, countless academic conferences were cancelled or postponed. During this time, the Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZCH) took the initiative to improve international cooperation and exchange, minimizing the adverse effects of covid-19.

We are together online

On April 22, the 2020 PDA Management Forum was held in the form of a network video conference. Dr. Shu Qiang, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the hospital, was invited to give a keynote report——Multi-center Cooperation and International Cooperation in Clinical Research, which showcased the multi-centric clinical study of the National Clinical Research Center for Child Health of the hospital during the covid-19 pandemic, bringing enlightenment to peers across the country.

Previously, Dr. Junfen Fu, the Executive Vice President of the hospital, actively participated in the meetings of the APPES and IMPE to discuss the implementation of academic activities as the secretary general of APPES. On April 17, Dr. Fu actively opened a Remote International Classroom connecting with Dr. Ron Rosenfeld, a lifelong pediatrics professor at Stanford University for pediatric endocrinologists of the whole country.On May 16, she participated in the Covid-19 Prevention and Control Experience International Sharing & Health China International Public Health Management Training Project, and she shared the speech Diagnosis and Management of Pediatric Diseases under Covid-19 with an online audience of nearly 10,000 individuals.

“The pandemic is not an excuse to stop international exchanges，”Dr. Fu said， “Although face-to-face communication has been blocked due to Covid-19, many online academic exchanges and talks were conducted, which were very popular to our audience. We will try various ways to continue our international collaboration and exchanges in the future.”

Together we help

ZCH received strong support from international partners when the outbreak of covid-19 infection first occurred in China. The covid-19 infection was well controlled in China.  While the epidemic spread around the world, hospital leaders sent letters of sympathy to hospital overseas partners and shared the latest diagnosis and treatment experience for patients with covid-19, delivering the sincere care and blessings. In addition, employees who had studied abroad donated more than 6,000 pieces of medical surgical masks and protective clothing to international partners in need.

Covid-19 is an emerging infectious disease, so the experience in diagnosing and treating this infectious disease is invaluable. Hospital specialists who treated the confirmed cases participated in a COVID-19 Multicenter CICU Response weekly call (at 4 am Beijing time) and shared successful experience with global pediatric experts from North America, Europe, Asia, etc.

Together we thrive

The hospital organized a series of international, long-distance exchanges to ensure normal international academic exchanges and collaboration during special periods.

Starting in May 1, Dr. Li Haifeng, Director of the Rehabilitation Department, would lead the team members to make weekly video connections with the children’s speech rehabilitation team at Loma Linda University to conduct courses and to set up an international virtual classroom. Dr. Shen Jie, a cardiologist who returned from Boston Children’s Hospital, actively introduced the OPEN Pediatrics online course founded by Boston Children’s Hospital to doctors and nurses, promoting further international exchanges.Robert Dorazio, a biostatistician from the United States, was invited to give a Statistics and Research Lecture Series ——“Bob’s Talk” to facilitate scientific research. At the same time, Pediatric Gynecology, Stomatology, Endocrinology, Nursing Department and other specialties are on the way to carry out different forms of online international exchanges.

Not idling away any time, ZCH actively responded to the call and core value of ofWhat the world needs most now is firm confidence, concerted efforts, united response, and comprehensive strengthening of international cooperation. Hence, the hospital took the initiative to carry out various forms of international exchanges, expanding the breadth and depth of international exchanges and cooperation.