Lam Wah Ee Hospital(南華醫院)

1981 Lam Wah Ee Hospital

Lam Wah Ee Hospital (traditional Chinese: 南華醫院) is a 700 bedded tertiary acute care hospital located at Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, Penang, Malaysia. This not-for-profit private hospital is accredited by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health and ISO 9001:2008 certified. The Hospital started as a provider of traditional Chinese Medicine treatment in 1883 while the Western Medicine division commenced operations in 1983.

The idea of setting up a community health care centre in Penang was first mooted by a few Chinese community leaders in 1876 and a fund-raising campaign was subsequently launched. A traditional-style building was completed in 1883 on a plot of land about 10,600 sq. ft. at Muntri Street. This was known as the Lam Wah Ee Hospital.
“Lam Wah(南華)” means “Chinese in the South” and “Ee(醫)” means “medicine”. Twelve community leaders were elected to be the first Board of Directors. Free consultation and medication in traditional Chinese medicine was offered to the public. Within a few years, this became very popular as a source of medical services not only to the Chinese community but also to the other communities in Penang. As a result of this, Muntri Street has since become known as “Lam Wah Ee Hospital Street”. As the demand for these services became more popular, two branch clinics were set up, one at Beach Street and the other at Magazine Road. The hospital during the time was practicing Chinese medicine only.

What Happened After The War

After the War, another campaign was launched to collect donations for rebuilding as the traditional-style building in Muntri Street was destroyed by air raids during the War. In 1955, the present two-storey building at Muntri Street was completed. The Beach Street branch was moved to Green Lane in order to benefit the people in the Jelutong and Green Lane areas. The Green Lane branch is situated on a piece of land donated to the Hospital by the British East India Company much earlier. This land is to become the site for the new hospital today. The site was once a coconut plantation. The new hospital was completed in 1981, Western Medicine division commenced operations in 1983.

List of President of hospital

1939林成辉
1940 Ng Sui Cam(伍瑞琴)
1947 Tan Hun Geok
1948 Ng Sui Cam
1949柯孟棋
1950 Chin Foo Sing
1951 Koh Sin Hock
1952 Ng Sui Cam
1953 Koh Sin Hock
1954 Ng Sui Cam
1955 Chew Chin Chye
1956 Ng Sui Cam
1957 Ong Keng Seng
1958 Ng Sui Cam
1959 Saw Seng Kew
1960 - 1964 Ng Sui Cam
1965 - 1968 Saw Seng Kew
1969 - 1972 Chow Peng Poy
1973 - 1976 Dato' Koh Pen Ting (DMPN, PKT, PJK)
1977 - 1980 Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew (DMPN, PKT, PJK)
1981 - 1984 Dato' Koh Pen Ting (DMPN, PKT, PJK)
1985 - 1988 Dato' Choot Ching Khoon (DMPN, PKT, PJK)
1989 - 1992 Dato' Tan Hoay Eam (DMPN, PKT, PJK)
1993 - 1996 Dato' Ong Hoo Kim (DSPN, DJN, AMN, PPN, PJM, JP)
1997 - 2000 Dato' Chua Chuan Teong (DSPN, PJK)
2001 - 2004 Dato' Chong Kum Kwan (DSPN, DJN)
2005 - 2008 Dato' Dr Tan Chong Siang (DSPN, DJN)
2008-?
2011-2012 Dato' Dr Tan Tat Wai (DMPN)