UNMC hosted a delegation representing the Republic of Togo in May, including the African nation’s ambassador to the United States.
The guests were the Ambassador Frédéric Edem Hegbe; Counselor Kaburou Soumani; Mayor Koamy Gbloekpo Gomado, of Lome, Togo, and his wife, Akouavi Akpedje Kodja; Philipe Bruce; and Fafa Assignon.
The group met with UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, and toured the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. At the Davis Global Center, they received a tour of the facility’s biosecurity features from James Lawler, MD, and saw some of the health simulation capabilities of UNMC’s iEXCEL program.
Moriah McCune, community engagement coordinator, iEXCEL, provided background on UNMC’s simulation and visualization program. Then in the 3-D holographic theater, she showed the group a video highlighting iEXCEL, including an image of a 3-D heart.
“Now,” McCune said as she guided the group onward, “we’re going to go down the hall and step inside of this heart.”
At the iEXCEL program’s five-sided Laser CAVE 5, the guests experienced a virtual look into a 3-D stent placed within that heart.
Ambassador Hegbe said he was impressed by what he saw.
He said Togo is planning another visit in August that will include a large medical delegation from the country. Ambassador Hegbe said he would like to see Togo’s medical facilities developed as they are at UNMC.
“We are very grateful for these visits.”