AIHA announces health care partnerships in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine (07/04/99)

AIHA announces health care partnerships in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine

WASHINGTON - The American International Health Alliance Inc. (AIHA), in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced the formation of seven new partnerships between U.S. health care institutions and their counterparts in the countries of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Five of the partnerships are in Ukraine.

Partnership activities will be carried out under a cooperative agreement from USAID to AIHA to foster more effective and efficient delivery of health services in the Western NIS. The program builds upon the model developed by AIHA over the past seven years to address local, national and regional health care issues in the new independent states (NIS) and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

In support of USAID's promotion of sustainable, decentralized approaches to meeting social services needs in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, the new partnerships will emphasize institutional development, capacity building, and community-based approaches for improving basic urgent and primary health care services for the average citizen.

The AIHA and USAID selected the U.S. partners after a rigorous proposal review process. The seven new partnerships announced today are:

Donetsk: Magee-Women's Hospital of Pittsburgh will work with its sister-city, Donetsk, to develop model community-oriented primary care sites that provide services to targeted populations. Donetsk is a medium-sized city with coal mining and power plant industries. A special focus of this partnership will be occupational health and, in particular, the prevention and treatment of mining industry-related problems, such as black lung disease. Implementing a model program for improving the health of women in the rural environment outside the city, training and retraining staff in clinical and management areas, workplace safety, injury prevention, health promotion and disease prevention will also be major priorities of the partnership. A model management information system will be developed to track referrals and client outcomes. Magee-Women's Hospital has enlisted the support of the Allegheny County Department of Public Health, the United Mine Workers of America, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the Department of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology in the partnership.
Kharkiv: The Wisconsin-based La Crosse International Health Partnership will lead a coalition of U.S. organizations in a partnership to integrate community-oriented primary care services in Kharkiv, a major industrial city in eastern Ukraine. The partnership will work with an existing urban polyclinic to develop a model for the provision of primary care in the city. The partnership will then assist in the reorganization of the primary care network and the replication of additional sites within the Kharkiv region. Training and retraining of staff in clinical and management areas will be a major focus of partnership activities. A health promotion and disease prevention unit will be created to target education activities for "healthy child and adult" programs. Development of a referral system to track client outcomes is also anticipated. The following U.S. organizations will participate in the La Crosse consortium: Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, Franciscan Skemp Healthcare, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Western Wisconsin Technical College, Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services, La Crosse County Health Department, Viterbo College, Medical College of Wisconsin, La Crosse Dubna Friendship Association, Optimists Club, La Crosse Police Department, City of La Crosse, National Association of Social Workers, Midwest Securities Insurance Company, St. Clare's Health Mission, American Heart Association and the La Crosse Public Library.
Kyiv: Temple University of Philadelphia will lead a Philadelphia-based partnership that will assist the Kyiv City Health Administration to integrate community-oriented primary care services into an urban polyclinic setting. The polyclinic will serve as a model for the future development of primary care in the city of Kyiv and the Philadelphia partners will assist the city in reorganizing the primary care network and the replication of additional sites in the future. Training and retraining of staff in clinical and management areas will be a major focus of partnership activities. A health promotion and disease prevention unit in the Kyiv City Health Administration will be created to target education activities for "healthy child and adult" programs. Development of a referral system to track client outcomes is also anticipated. In addition, the partnership will develop a set of primary care guidelines, create a residency course in primary care, and develop Ukrainian-language, patient-education materials. Widener University, the Health Federation of Philadelphia, Crozer-Keystone Health System and Elwyn, Inc. will participate with Temple University in the partnership.
Lviv: The Cleveland International Program of Ohio will lead a coalition of northern Ohio-based organizations in a partnership with Lviv Regional Health Administration to establish model community-based primary health care centers in the city and region of Lviv in western Ukraine. The partnership will assist in conducting a thorough review of local health facilities, taking into account such items as patient flow and physical plant, to ensure that the primary health care centers are cost-effective, cost-efficient and offer client-centered care. Training and retraining of staff in clinical and management areas will be a major focus of partnership activities. The partnership will also emphasize disease prevention and health promotion aspects of primary health care and will integrate health education into all its activities. Interest has also been expressed in developing a set of primary care standards for use by staff, and for dissemination to other primary care providers working in Ukraine. The partnership will analyze data and offer recommendations for the improvement of service delivery. Northern Ohio area organizations participating in the partnership include: Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland State University, Federation of Community Planning, The MetroHealth System, Cuyahoga County Mental Health Board, United Way Services of Greater Cleveland, Ohio Department of Health, Cuyahoga County Early Start, Cuyahoga County Department of Senior and Adult Services, Marymount Hospital, the Resource Development Network and the Northern Ohio Pediatric Society.
Odesa: Boulder Community Hospital in Colorado will partner with local health administrations in the City and Region of Odesa and the University of Odessa to create model occupational and primary health care centers responsive to the needs of the community's workforce and families. It is likely that there will be several urban sites for partnership activities and that some of these sites may be located in some of the Ukrainian Black Sea port's related enterprises. The partnership plans to develop and disseminate a set of methodological guidelines for the implementation of occupational health care services, and coordinate with the Odesa State Medical University to establish a primary care residency training program and clinic management training model. The partnership will also address issues typical of large sea port cities such as drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases. Boulder Community Hospital has enlisted the support of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Boulder County Health Department, Beacon Clinic and the Boulder County Healthy Communities Initiative.
Miensk, Belarus: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, located in New Brunswick, N.J., will work with the Miensk City Health Administration and the Ministry of Health of Belarus to develop disease prevention, health promotion, and early detection and treatment programs in existing polyclinics. Initial partnership activities will be directed toward developing local community involvement, conducting a needs assessment, and building consensus around community issues and problems to be addressed. Subsequently, the partnership will focus on the development of quality services at a model site to meet community needs and improve access to services with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion for adults and children. The partners will collaborate closely with other international organizations supporting the development of primary health care (PHC) services in Belarus. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has enlisted the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network, Brown University Center for Primary Care and Prevention, and the Primary Care Fellowship Society in the partnership.
Chisinau, Molodova: Hennepin County Medical Center of Minneapolis, will be paired with the Botanica Medical District in the capital of Moldova to implement a model, family-centered, primary care service delivery site and supportive health professional education programs. Initial activities will be directed toward the development of consensus for local community involvement and local needs assessment - the goal of which will be the establishment of a healthy community's process for change. After the identification of an appropriate site by the MOH, the partnership will focus on the development of quality services to meet community needs and improve access to services with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion for adults and children. The partnership is also expected to develop programs for the retraining of health professionals in Moldova in support of the model primary care site and its replication. The Hennepin County Community Health Department, Family Medical Center and University of Minnesota School of Community Health will also participate in this partnership. The new partnership will continue a six-year partnership between Hennepin County Medical Center and health care institutions in Chisinau.

Since 1992, the AIHA has supported 50 partnerships involving health care providers and educators in 20 countires of Central and Eastern Europe and the NIS. To date, U.S. partners have volunteered more than 140,000 days of their professional time via 8,000 professional exchanges.

U.S. partners and their private sponsors have also brought in-kind contributions of medical and educational equipment and supplies. Since the inception of the program in 1992, the total voluntary contribution by AIHA partners now exceeds $120 million.

For further information, interested parties should consult the AIHA website at http://www.aiha.com. E-mail inquiries may be addressed to Donald Harbick, associate executive director for partnership programs, at donald@aiha.com or call (202) 789-1136.

| Home Page |