Cho Ray Hospital
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| Cho Ray Hospital | |
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| Name | Cho Ray Hospital |
| Native name | Bệnh viện Chợ Rẫy |
| Location | Ho Chi Minh City |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Healthcare | Public |
| Type | Tertiary referral hospital |
| Beds | 2,000+ |
| Founded | 1900 (origins) |
Cho Ray Hospital Cho Ray Hospital is a major tertiary referral hospital located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It serves as a primary referral center for complex medical and surgical cases from the Mekong Delta, Central Highlands, and southern provinces, and functions as a central institution for clinical care, training, and research in Vietnam. The hospital operates in close collaboration with national ministries, international organizations, and regional medical centers.
History
Cho Ray traces its origins to the French colonial era and the evolution of healthcare institutions in Saigon during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with early precursor facilities established in 1900 and successive reorganizations through the 1920s and 1940s. During the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War, the facility and related Saigon hospitals treated military casualties and civilians, interacting with entities such as the French Indochina administration, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and international relief organizations. After 1975, the hospital became an integral part of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's health system and expanded rapidly to meet post-war public health needs, aligning with national plans by the Ministry of Health (Vietnam) and provincial health authorities.
From the late 20th century into the 21st century, Cho Ray underwent modernization projects influenced by partnerships with foreign governments and institutions, including cooperative programs with agencies from Japan, France, and Australia, and technical assistance from the World Health Organization. The hospital has been involved in responses to regional outbreaks, natural disaster relief efforts in the Mekong Delta, and care coordination with tertiary centers such as Bạch Mai Hospital and Việt Đức Hospital in Hanoi.
Facilities and Services
Cho Ray occupies a large urban campus in District 5 with multiple patient wards, intensive care units, surgical suites, and diagnostic centers. The facility houses high-dependency units and specialized wards that interface with tertiary centers like Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy and facilities in the Saigon metropolitan network. Advanced imaging services include computed tomography and magnetic resonance scanners, supporting referrals from provincial hospitals such as Cần Thơ Hospital and Đà Nẵng Hospital.
The hospital's infrastructure supports large-scale surgical programs, including angiography suites and hybrid operating rooms, and maintains blood banking and transfusion services coordinated with entities such as the Vietnam Red Cross Society. Cho Ray's laboratory network provides microbiology, pathology, and molecular diagnostics and engages with regional public health laboratories and surveillance systems coordinated by the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City.
Medical Specialties and Departments
Cho Ray hosts wide-ranging specialties, including cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology, hepatology, transplant surgery, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, infectious diseases, and emergency medicine. The hospital is a national referral center for complex procedures such as liver transplantation, cardiac surgery, and neurovascular interventions, collaborating with specialist centers like Vinmec Times City International Hospital for technology transfer and clinical protocols. Departments often accept referrals from provincial referral networks including Bình Dương General Hospital and Long An General Hospital.
Subspecialty services include interventional cardiology, endovascular therapies, pediatric surgery, and advanced oncology treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy planning that coordinate with national cancer control programs and institutes such as the National Cancer Hospital (Bệnh viện K).
Education and Research
Cho Ray functions as a teaching hospital affiliated with medical schools and postgraduate training programs, notably linking with the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City and other academic institutions. It provides residency and fellowship training across specialties and participates in national examinations and certification processes overseen by the Vietnamese Medical Association and the Ministry of Health (Vietnam).
Research activities at Cho Ray include clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and translational projects in areas such as hepatology, infectious disease, trauma care, and cardiovascular medicine. The hospital has collaborated on research with international universities and institutes, including partnerships with academic centers in Japan, France, Australia, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services in capacity-building and clinical research protocols.
Public Health Role and Outreach
As a major referral institution, Cho Ray contributes to regional public health responses, emergency preparedness, and referral coordination for outbreaks, mass casualty incidents, and disaster response in southern Vietnam. The hospital engages with provincial health departments, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health (Vietnam), and non-governmental organizations for vaccination campaigns, infection control programs, and health education initiatives targeting communities across the Mekong Delta and southeastern provinces.
Cho Ray has participated in national campaigns for communicable disease control and has provided surge capacity and specialist consultation during epidemics and regional health emergencies, interfacing with agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross for humanitarian medical assistance.
Notable Staff and Leadership
Leadership at Cho Ray has included prominent Vietnamese clinicians and administrators who have held concurrent roles in national health institutions, professional societies, and academic bodies such as the Vietnam Association of Surgery and the Vietnamese Medical Association. Senior physicians and department heads have contributed to national clinical guidelines, academic publications, and international collaborations, receiving recognition from medical societies and government honors like national healthcare awards administered by the Ministry of Health (Vietnam). Several alumni and faculty have taken leadership roles in other major hospitals and health institutions across the country, strengthening referral networks and specialist training pathways.
Category:Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City