King Norodom Sihamoni, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday presided over the inauguration of Cambodia’s first geriatric center at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh.
The $2.9-million Preah Sihanouk Raja Geriatric Center was paid for by the royal family and other donors, according to Koy Sophal, a secretary of state at the Royal Palace Ministry.
During the ceremony, Health Minister Mam Bunheng thanked the queen mother for her contribution to the four-story center, which took 22 months to complete.
“I wish to state that the center [offers] a new specialty in Cambodia,” the minister said, referring to care for the elderly.
In her speech, Queen Mother Monineath paid tribute to her late husband.
“The construction of the geriatric center is in remembrance of the great virtue of Preah Karuna Preah Norodom Sihanouk because the people had the highest respect for the prince when he was alive, and he had many achievements in the health sector,” she said.
