Yesterday's issue of the Straits Times carried an article reporting that Dr Tan Cheng Bock (former MP) had stepped down from the board of the upcoming Ng Teng Fong Hospital (formerly referred to as Jurong General Hospital) because he had moral issues with the idea that "a rich man could pay to have a public institution named after him".
I doubt most doctors/healthcare staff actually care enough - as long as they are paid on time - whether they are working at the Ng Teng Fong Hospital or the Middle-Earth Herbarium or the Dimwit Flathead Medical Center of Frobozz.
More to the point, this does not actually set precedence. Alexandra Hospital's replacement was named Khoo Teck Puat Hospital following a $125 million donation by the late tycoon's family, whereas the older local medical school was renamed the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (this is a particular mouthful) for a slightly less astronomical price of $100 million. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is also named after a man, but the circumstances were considerably different. He had contributed much more than just a once-off pay-out, as did Michael Bloomberg who has his family name on the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USD107 million in total donations over several years).
Should someone one day decide to contribute $150 million to any of the local hospitals/schools, will the current institutional names be replaced? That doesn't seem to speak very well of us, despite this creating sort of an incentive for huge public donations. Perhaps the practice should be reviewed and discontinued.
Donations for immortality
Sunday, April 3, 2011 | Labels: jurong general hospital, khoo teck puat hospital
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17 comments:
Donors donate for different reasons. Those reasons may be dumbed down when it comes to departments, faculties, schools, libraries or LTs/auditoriums. So I think those are fine. An entire public or pseudo-public institution such as university or hospital? Agreed - No.
Hmm... sounds like eBay. Highest bidder, er donor gets to have the building/etc named after him/her.
There are well-known exceptions. Johns Hopkins, for one.
Maybe they should come up with a price list of sorts...
Whole hospital - $100 million or above
One wing - $50 million to 100 million
One Hall - $10 million to 50 million
Water cooler - $1 million
I believe the objections could be possibly becuase Ng Teng Fong has not really contributed to te society at large and made millions out of the population building sub standard apartments, now wants to be remembered by society as a philantropher? just because the family donated a sum of money to the hospital.
But in Singapore, money talks. The receipient of the kidney from the Tang family got off lightly while the donor who was paid pittance got a heavy hand, ending up in jail?
Instead of naming hospitals after particular donors, listing the donors and the amounts donated at the entrance or some other conspicuous location in recognition of their giving should suffice. This will encourage a continuous stream of future donors over the years as they could be equally recognized for their contributions. It's not just the construction of the new hospital that needs money, but the day-to-day operations as well as the expansion and introduction of new technologies and facilities.
Naming hospitals after individual persons make more sense if they had spear-headed the setting of the hospital themselves and not just in giving financially.
No.
Toilets can be sold too. If another philanthropist decides to name a toilet after him, it may be known as the Yong Loo.
"Instead of naming hospitals after particular donors, listing the donors and the amounts donated at the entrance or some other conspicuous location in recognition of their giving should suffice. This will encourage a continuous stream of future donors over the years as they could be equally recognized for their contributions."
Yes - why sell the whole thing all at once when you can lease it out! Maybe we can have a scheme where the hospital can be named after a person for the price of $1 million a month...
Rent-a-name. That's an interesting thought. Except there'll be few takers. It's the posterity that's valuable. No free lunch there.
Maybe a bigger-than-life bust or a statute - I'm sure they can create a thoroughfare square where the philanthropist is never far from sight and mind.
But hey, not many future hospitals left. Scarcity value. With the donation sums involved, we can guess how it will all pan out. As they say, nice debate, fat hope.
Imagine the negotiations...ha!
A. "I wanna give 50." "Double that and you can have naming rights." "Er,ok."
B. "I'm thinking of giving 50 but I want naming rights." "150 for rights." "75." "140." "100." "125." "Done."
C. "How much for naming rights?" "175." "You give quantity discount?" "150." "Here's the cheque."
Btw, why resign only now?
Middle-Earth Herbarium? Hobbit, is that you?
We are deeply honoured. :)
Let's not decry 125m. It IS a big sum. Does the sick man care whether it's "Mr. X's Hospital" or "Westlife Hospital"?
While we are on scripts, shall we say, 50m for reputational uplift? 75m then for say, 100 relatives and 100 friends and business associates. 375k downpayment per soul. One can imagine the 125m comes with VVVIP access. Some places and some times, money can't buy a bed. Try hailing down a cab on a rainy day and you know what I mean. Presumably also, the business associates bit has some potential for returns. All in all, call it "considered generosity".
For a public hosp to be named after the rich, unknown, can also be confused as a private hosp - I guess. I went to a polyclinic pharmacy to collect the balance of a prescription from KTPH (subsidised patient/mother). The pharmacy staff informed 'these med will be charged at full cost. There is no subsidy for prescription from a private hosp. KTPH is a private hosp' This happened in late Dec last year. Hopefully the staff is awake by now.
Names certainly matter - that's why "never can go home hospital" had its name changed (no?) and since then patient load increased and new specializations introduced to meet demand.
Imagine a hospital named after philanthropists Mr Tan Ku Ku or Mr Sar Kar Leow.
It's a lost opportunity but given his problems with the tax people, it would have been nice had he got the IRAS building renamed Khoo Teck Puat. That would be a real kick to the mouth.
as Anonymous (07 April) said...the naming of NTFH makes one wonder if there are reasons similar to the 'tax problems'-related one behind the naming of KTPH.
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