Hart visits Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou. [Photo provided to China Daily]

His university carried out more projects in China after that.

In the late 1980s, Run Run Shaw, a well-known businessman and philanthropist from Hong Kong, offered to provide money to the local government of East China's Zhejiang province to build a hospital in Hangzhou, the city where he grew up. Shaw made the decision because his mother had received treatment from Miller years earlier.

"When they came to Loma Linda and asked whether we'd be willing to assist, we agreed," Hart recalls.

Since then, Hart's organization has played an important role in the management and training of staff at Hangzhou's Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, which finally opened in 1994. It was quickly expanded into a research-oriented general hospital. It was among the country's earliest hospitals to introduce some advanced practices such as minimally invasive surgeries that help patients to heal faster and reduce costs.

As the chairman of the board of this hospital, Hart visits it at least once a year. He holds regular meetings with his university's department that manages its international cooperation programs. The university has actively participated in the nurturing of talent. About 1,000 doctors, nurses, administrators from Loma Linda have visited the Hangzhou hospital over the years.