帛琉共和國(Republic of Palau)，位於西太平洋上的島嶼國家，由一個大堡礁和無數小島組成，全國共有約340座島嶼，人口大約2萬人並多數集中於舊都柯羅(Koror)；在地理上是最靠近台灣的邦交國，多年來雙方在教育、醫療、人文交流、經濟發展…等領域有著長期合作、密不可分的關係。
隨著全球新冠肺炎疫情持續延燒，本年度醫療計畫除了持續堅守崗位提供醫療服務、轉診服務，防疫合作上亦不鬆懈，藉由輸出臺灣優質衛生醫療經驗，加強臺帛防疫合作及醫衛技術交流，彰顯我國軟實力與醫療援外之效益。

The Republic of Palau is an island nation in the western Pacific Ocean made up of a barrier reef and numerous small islands. The country has about 340 islands with a population of about 20,000 people, who mostly reside in Koror, the former capital. It is geographically the closest country having diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Over the years the two sides have had a long-standing and inseparable relationship in the fields of education, medical care, humanistic exchanges, and economic development.
With the continued global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's medical cooperation program not only continues to provide medical services and referrals, but also actively engages in epidemic prevention cooperation. By exporting Taiwan's world-class experience and expertise in health care, the program strengthens cooperation in epidemic prevention and technical exchanges in health care between Taiwan and Palau, further demonstrating the benefits of Taiwan's soft power and medical aid to foreign countries.
在疫情影響下，使得旅遊及群聚變得更加危險，遠距醫療逐漸崛起與成熟，結合資通科技與醫療專業技術，讓與會者能遠距離互動，達到診療、照護、教育等目的，新光醫院帛琉工作小組也依帛琉衛生部的需求不間斷舉辦多場視訊會診及教學，與此同時，在醫療量能許可下派遣帛方迫切需求的醫事人員跨海抵帛提供援助，除了看診、手術、舉辦工作坊，亦為資源短缺的帛琉攜來所需藥物及醫療耗材，常駐的醫事人員也持續推動慢性病篩檢、執行校園營養計畫、營養推廣宣導與疾病防治宣導等各項公共衛生計畫，深耕鞏固雙邊情誼。
疫情期間使得各項計畫推動上受到許多限制及充滿變數，幸運的是我們處在疫情相對輕微的帛琉，加上是唯一有直航的邦交國，雖然因為防疫政策有些不便，但還是可以派送短期駐診的醫事人員抵帛支援，在這段格外辛苦的時刻，這些幫助無疑是雪中送炭。

Due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of travel and cluster infections have become more serious. With emerging and maturing technology in the field of telemedicine, professional health care services are integrated with the latest IT technology to enable participants to interact with each other over long distances for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment, care and education. The Shin Kong Hospital medical mission in Palau organizes video conferences and instructional sessions according to the needs of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Palau. The hospital also dispatches a long-term medical team to Palau to provide assistance wherever resource capacity permits. In addition to medical consultations, surgeries, and workshops, the Shin Kong team also brings much-needed medicines and medical supplies to Palau, which is lack of resources. The resident medical staff actively promotes chronic disease screening, school nutrition programs, nutrition advocacy, and disease prevention and treatment among other public health programs to strengthen the bilateral ties.
During the pandemic, there were many constraints and uncertainties in the execution of various programs and initiatives around the world. Fortunately, we are in Palau, where the spread of the pandemic is relatively low, aided by the fact that Taiwan is the only diplomatic ally with direct flights to Palau. Although there were some inconveniences due to epidemic prevention policies, it was possible to dispatch a short-term medical team to Palau, a great help during this extraordinarily difficult time.
印象尤為深刻的是一位誤吞硬幣導致異物卡在喉頭的小女孩，當地兒科醫師及專門做內視鏡的醫師都沒有自信能在當地將異物取出，束手無策之下欲將小女孩緊急轉診至台灣，當時聽聞此事的兒科穆淑琪主任立刻協助請教新光醫院小兒腸胃專科的同事，討論後認為如果執意轉診，在搭乘飛機期間異物若不慎挪動卡住氣道，將會將小女孩置於更危險的處境，甚至可能導致飛機迫降他處，協商後決定由穆主任使用無菌導尿管將管路置入食道後打水將異物取出或將異物內推至胃內，由病童自行排出，但過程亦可能造成異物不慎卡住氣道，一開始向家屬們解釋處置過程時，只見他們全程臉色緊繃甚至有些家屬因為擔心害怕在討論過程中一度哽咽，最後女童家屬決定讓我們在當地執行處置，於是帶著一顆忐忑的心，我們換上了手術衣在手術室等待麻醉團隊到場(擔心若卡住氣道需要做呼吸道處置，所以需要整個團隊待命)，等待過程中也不斷模擬處置期間會發生的各種狀況，隨著團隊的抵達及女童不安的哭喊，處置在全程與台灣端連線的情況下快速地結束了，在聽到硬幣從女童口中掉落地面的聲音時，全場大家尖叫歡呼，大家懸著的一顆心也終於安定下來，女童家屬也在結束後進來安撫女童，並且大哭著擁抱在場的每個人，嘴裡不斷說著感謝，我想我一輩子也不會忘記當下那個擁抱的熱度、那聲聲感謝的重量以及那令人激動又感人的時刻。
最後我想說：疫情仍在蔓延，但我們的愛絕不間斷，光無所不在，心與你同在~

A particularly impressive case was a little girl who swallowed a coin that subsequently got stuck in her throat. Local pediatricians and the endoscopists were not confident that they could remove the foreign object, so they were at their wits' end and wanted to refer the little girl to Taiwan for an emergency procedure.
At that time, Dr. Mu Shu-Chi, Director of Pediatric Department, heard about the incident, immediately helped to consult with colleagues from the Pediatric Gastroenterology Department of Shin Kong Hospital. After discussion, she found that if referral to Taiwan was continued, and if the foreign object moved and became further stuck in the airway during the flight, it would subject the girl to a more dangerous situation and might even cause the plane to perform an emergency medical landing elsewhere. After the consultation, it was decided that Director Mu would use a sterile catheter to place the tube into the esophagus and then remove the foreign object with water or push the foreign object into the stomach and let the child expel the object naturally. But the process may also cause foreign object to become even more stuck in the airway.
At the beginning, when explaining the medical procedure to the little girl’s family, we observed their tense facial expressions, with some members even choking up during the discussion because they were worried and afraid. Finally, the girl's family agreed to let us perform the medical procedure locally. Therefore, with apprehensive nerves, we changed into surgical gowns and waited for the operating room and the anesthesia team to arrive (we were worried that if the airway is stuck, we needed to perform emergency procedures, so the whole team needs to be on standby). During the wait, the team constantly simulated various scenarios that might occur during the operation. With the arrival of the team and the girl's anxious cries, the medical procedure was completed quickly and successfully, with the Taiwan-based team connected live throughout the process. When the sound of the coin falling out from the girl's mouth was heard, everyone screamed and cheered in joy, and all could let out a sigh of relief. The girl's family also came in to comfort the girl after it was over, and cried and hugged everyone there as well as expressing their gratitude to all present. I don't think I will ever forget the warmth of that hug, the weight of that thank you, and that sentimental and touching moment.
Finally, I would like to say this: Despite the ongoing pandemic, our love has never stopped. The light is omnipresent, and may our hearts always be by your side.