Guatemalan hospital officials study Med Center to prepare for treatment facility

Guatemalan visitors, from left, Miguel Ordonez, M.D., Renzo Hidalgo, M.D., Ana Beatriz Gonzalez Del Cid and William Campbell, M.D., learn more about the Durham Research Center from Donald Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology/microbiology at UNMC.

Five health-care professionals from a Guatemalan hospital visited UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, last week to learn more about stem-cell transplantation.

The group, from the University Hospital Esperanza in Guatemala City, was led by William Campbell, M.D., chief of hematology/oncology and a member of the senior management team at the hospital.

“This has been a very good start for us,” Dr. Campbell said. “We need more options for the patients in our country.” Dr. Campbell and his team plan to begin an autologous stem cell treatment facility at their hospital.

For about six months, the University Hospital Esperanza has had a collaborative partnership agreement with UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center, in the area of cancer treatment. This partnership agreement allows UNMC physicians and other specialists to train personnel from the Guatemalan hospital, while that hospital refers complicated cases to UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center for treatment.

“Like so many countries, Guatemala has seen a tremendous increase in its number of cancer cases, specifically in areas in which UNMC has special expertise, such as lymphoma and stem cell transplantation,” said Nizar Mamdani, executive director of the Office of International Healthcare Services. “This allows the people of their country to be treated, using the latest and best techniques.”

During their visit to Nebraska, the five Guatemalan health professionals toured several campus facilities and met with many officials, including Julie Vose, M.D., chief of the section of oncology/hematology at UNMC; Greg Bociek, M.D., assistant professor of oncology/hematology; Dennis Weisenberger, M.D., professor pathology/microbiology; James Landmark, M.D, associate professor of pathology/microbiology; Phyllis Warkentin, M.D., professor of pathology/microbiology; Charles A. Enke, M.D., chair and courtesy professor of radiation oncology; and James O. Armitage, M.D., Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine in the oncology/hematology section.

Dr. Campbell returned to Guatemala on Saturday, Jan. 31. The other four members of the team will be on campus until Feb. 10, receiving training in the Oncology Hematology Special Care Unit, the Cowdrey Patient Care Center, the Red Cross, and the apheresis and cell processing laboratories. Those four health-care professionals include: Silvia Miron de Villanueva, Ph.D., chief of the clinical laboratory at the University Hospital Esperanza; internal medicine residents Miguel Ordonez, M.D., and Renzo Hidalgo, M.D.; and nurse manager Ana Beatriz Gonzalez Del Cid.