Harvard and Evergrande Clarify Plans for China Hospitals

A hospital affiliated with Harvard University this week restated its interest in developing hospitals in China together with real estate developer Guangzhou Evergrande. The potential cooperative healthcare project was first reported in December last year, shortly after the property firm revealed a major donation to the university.

According to a report in Bloomberg today, Brigham and Women’s Hospital is “considering a proposal” from Evergrande boss Hui Ka Yan to found the first Harvard-University affiliated hospital to expand to China. Bloomberg notes that,

Spokeswoman Erin McDonough said that Brigham and Women’s, which trains Harvard Medical School students, is exploring “the possibility of collaborating” with Hui’s Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. (3333) on a hospital in China. Evergrande said it reached an agreement with the hospital and is seeking a site for the project, according to a company release.

The real estate developer seems to have made a serious commitment to global health in November last year, as it was announced as the benefactor for three major new initiatives at Harvard during the first week of December, including a new medical facility.

According a statement from Evergrande at the time, it would be sponsoring the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Evergrande’s gifts to the university are unrelated to the China hospital proposal, McDonough said. The spokeperson clarified that Brigham and Women’s began looking into the partnership with Evergrande because of the hospital’s commitment to global health.