Looking Back in Time - Parkway Pantai

cover story18cover COMMUNITY story 19ConnectLooking Backin TimeConnectThis year, Mount Elizabeth Hospital celebrates its 30th anniversary. We talkto Mrs Kang Kee Chee and Ms Tang Yuet Lan about its early beginnings.Some of the older doctors are now in private practice.Whenever they come back to visit, they still call out‘Uncle Sham, you are the best!’How it All BeganBefore Mount Elizabeth Hospital became one of Asia’smost renowned healthcare and medical centres, it startedlife, as all buildings do, on paper. The hospital had beenconceived as one that would cater to a large foreign,notably Indonesian, clientele. Its location — at that time,it was the only hospital located near the Central BusinessDistrict — would see to its popularity with expats and wellheeledSingaporeans alike.Construction of the hospital began in earnest in early1978 and it was a process that involved not just topmanagement, but also staff like Mrs Kang Kee Chee, whowas the hospital’s first employee. The spry 68-year-old,Mrs Kang Kee Chee