A special meeting in Washington, D.C. – organized in large part by a key University of Nebraska Medical Center official – has resulted in initial plans to help rebuild the medical education system in Haiti.
The meeting, held March 15, brought together more than 60 people representing nearly 50 different organizations.
It was spearheaded by co-chairs Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNMC, and Louis Sullivan, M.D., president emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The meeting was hosted by Garth Graham, M.D., and the HHS Office of Minority Health.
“It was an important first step,” said Dr. Pamies, chairman of the HHS Advisory Committee on Minority Health and a Haiti native. “This was a collaborative, coordinated effort like nothing before. We are striving to come up with manageable, practical solutions that can be delivered in a short period of time.”
The meeting attendees broke into three key subgroups – undergraduate education, post graduate education, and systems/infrastructure building. Since the original meeting, each subgroup has continued to hold meetings to discuss funding and implementation plans.
The overall goals include:
· Development of new models for collaboration between U.S. institutions and Haiti;
· Developing and updating health sciences curricula to meet the needs of Haiti in the 21st century;
· Using distance/Web-based programs as well as simulation;
· Rebuilding educational facilities impacted by the earthquake;
· Exploring the development of centers of excellence in strategic locations in Haiti;
· Emphasizing community-based learning and the infusion of public health into medical and nursing curricula;
· Coordination of health care and supply delivery by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and
· Exploring the possible use of a cruise ship as an educational facility until the medical facilities are rebuilt.
Two other UNMC officials attended the meeting — Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of the College of Public Health and co-chairman of the Post Graduate Education Committee, and Magda Peck, Sc.D., associate dean of community engagement and public health practice in the College of Public Health and a member of the Infrastructure Committee.
“We want a new beginning,” Dr. El-Mohandes said. “This is not about getting Haiti back to where it was before the earthquake. It’s about taking Haiti to a new frontier. We want to build something that is a model for other countries around the world.”
Here is a list of all the organizations participating in the meeting:
U.S. organizations
Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC)
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/HHS Office of Minority Health
Partners in Health
American Nurses Association
Sullivan Alliance to Transform the Health
Pan American Health Organization
Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
National Association of Black Nurses
Association of Schools of Public Health
Archer Ventures, LLC
Administration for Children and Families
American Nurses Association
National Board of Medical Examiners
Office of the Surgeon General
Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Health Volunteers Overseas
Health Resource Services Administration
U.S. Department of State
Office of Global Health Affairs
American Medical Association
Universities/medical schools
George Washington University
Stanford University School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Rush University Medical Center
Meharry Medical College
Dartmouth Medical School
Quincy Medical Center
Hurley Medical Center
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Miami
Weill Cornell Medical College
University of Southern California
New York University
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Yale University
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Boston Medical Center
Morehouse School of Medicine
University of Chicago
Haiti State Medical School
University of Haiti
Haiti organizations
Haiti Ministry of Public Health
Fon Foins (Foundation for the Support of Nurses)
Haitian Medical Association
Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.