Medical equipment from Baylor aids North Korean hospital

DALLAS —Hospital patients in North Korea will benefit from equipment made possible by Baylor Health Care System.

Medical equipment donated by Baylor Health Care System is loaded for shipment to a hospital in North Korea. At a time of escalating tension between North Korea and the United States, Yoo Jong Yoon, director of the Korean-American Sharing Movement of Dallas, hopes the gift of medical equipment serves as a peacemaking gesture from Christians who serve the Prince of Peace.

Yoon, former Korean mission field consultant with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, learned about the need for medical supplies at the Province People’s Hospital in Wonsan City, Kwangwon Province, through his ongoing relief work in North Korea.

Yoo Jong YoonYoon has traveled to North Korea more than 20 times since 1996, often supervising delivery of corn and other food supplies provided by Texas Baptist Men and other donors.

Last year, Yoon served on a mission trip to Cambodia with a Baptist layman from Dallas who serves on the Baylor University Medical Center board of trustees.

After Yoon told him about the need for medical equipment at the North Korean hospital, the layman contacted Don Sewell, director of Baylor’s Faith in Action Initiatives, who secured the supplies. Churches provided funds to cover shipping costs, with additional contributions from the Korean-American Sharing Movement of Dallas.

Baylor Health Care System provided a 40-foot container filled with examining tables, hospital beds, stretchers and other basic medical equipment. It also included more than 19,000 syringes donated to Baylor for global humanitarian missions and 12,000 sterile examining gloves.

“Since it’s equipment we no longer need, it has depreciated, and it’s difficult to determine the exact value,” Sewell said. “It’s old to us, but it’s gold to some hospitals in other countries.”

The cargo container was shipped to Nampo Port in North Korea, by way of Dalin, China. Yoon noted he has contacted North Korean consuls at the United Nations and in Senyang, China, and awaits confirmation of the shipment’s arrival.