A memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the tripartite cooperation on sustainable development goals (SDGs), university social responsibility (USR), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) was signed on March 21, 2023, by National Chung Cheng University (CCU), Nanhua University (NHU), and Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation in response to the trend of global sustainable development. CCU, NHU, and Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital will collaborate in the future to advance academic and practical cooperation in the medical, legal, environmental, and educational domains, ushering in a new age of sustainable development for the Chiayi region.

Since severe climate change, depleting natural resources, and health and well-being crises have had a significant impact on people, many nations have recently grown more aware of the significance of sustainable development. The 17 SDGs were also developed by the United Nations (UN) to ensure a better future for humans. In the past few years, CCU and NHU have both devoted themselves to sustainable development and had noteworthy accomplishments in the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA). Meanwhile, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital has achieved remarkable results from, the green hospital program to the implementation of saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, and then to the promotion of public health in daily life. Today, in the presence of the guests from the three parties, CCU President Dr. Zhang-Hua Fong, NHU President Dr. Tsong-Ming Lin, and Superintendent of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital Dr. Ning-Sheng Lai signed an MOU on their future cooperation, hoping that the “iron triangle” formed by the three parties can maximize the well-being of both the community and the environment.

“Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital has always been at the cutting edge of regional healthcare services. For example, the Dalin Tzuchi Dementia Center, which is supervised by Dr. Wen-Long Tsao, the director of the Dalin Tzuchi Dementia Center, has been the leader of the local home care medical service for many years. Several community activities launched by CCU have followed the steps of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital to work on promoting knowledge of dementia and helping residents.” Dr. Fong said that CCU is well-equipped with a variety of facilities, including living labs, and Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital would be the best partner for CCU because of its experience in medical service, which serves as both a guide for CCU's future academic research and an inspiration for CCU to create a new way of life for local residents.

According to Dr. Lin, NHU had integrated the 17 SDGs into their curricula and had gained distinguished achievements, such as entering the ranks of 401-600th in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022 and winning the model awards in the Global Views USR Awards for two years running. He expressed his hope that the three parties could use their capacities to improve community services and promote their ideals of building a sustainable environment, gaining recognition for their initiatives on a worldwide scale.

Dr. Lai emphasized that Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital has always aimed to achieve sustainable development. He claimed that by working together with the universities, academic theories could be supported by real-world data from the hospital, allowing the clinical units to discuss possible solutions within the context of the SDGs. This would increase the historical significance of their collaboration.
 
In addition, Dr. Amy Huey-Ling Shee, the Director of the CCU Taiwan Legal Information Institute and a professor in the Department of Law, and Dr. Wen-Long Tsao, the Director of the Dalin Tzuchi Dementia Center, also signed an MOU on CCU’s research project “Elderly Rights Clinic” today, aiming at the implementation of the third SDG “Good Health and Well-being”. The MOU will connect the Dementia Center, the Department of Family Medicine, the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, the Department of Nursing, the Department of Community Medicine, and other departments related to elderly medical services at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, and the Taiwan Legal Information Institute, the Social Responsibility Office, and other units of CCU that are in charge of elderly rights research and teaching and community services, together to provide the local community with all-in-one home services for medical and legal needs.

Dr. Wen-Long Tsao indicated that dementia care not only involves the patient’s family but also requires the integration of legal and medical resources. It is not until the students follow the steps of the hospital to participate in community medicine practice that they can truly see the struggle of dementia patients’ families without being constrained by law. Dr. Amy Huey-Ling Shee further pointed out that by exchanging different resources, the tripartite relationship can be even closer and achieve the biggest effect through the MOU. She also emphasized that the greatest benefit for students in the cooperation of the Elderly Rights Clinic project is learning how to face every aspect of life sincerely from the spirit of Tzu Chi and Dr. Tsao’s practical experience in dementia care. After all, classroom teaching is limited to academic theories and languages. Only if students walk out of the classroom and truly contact the community can they gain more opportunities to deeply explore the meaning of life and the importance of health and well-being.