PHMI Blog - Blog from Partners Harvard Medical International

Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reports that construction has begun on the LAU Medical School. From the article:

Once completed, the 12,500-square-meter 21st-century structure will house both the new medical school and the Alice Ramez Chaghoury School of Nursing. The $18-million state-of-the-art complex will be the nation’s most technologically advanced medical school - a world-class facility with video streaming, videoconferencing, digitized collections of microscope slides, multi-disciplinary laboratories, an electronic library, and 24/7 cyber cafe.

The new medical school will contain a simulation and skill assessment center for patient encounters, including a mock-up laboratory, full-scale-simulation surgical-procedure room, multi-purpose bays and control room.

“The underlying concept behind the design is to build the medical and nursing school around people rather than just technology. Fundamental human needs like comfort, and social ambiance will take prominence. The blueprint allows for ample natural light and large windows to maximize daytime illumination for a motivating atmosphere and inspirational view,” said LAU’s public relations director Christian Oussi.

. . .

Since becoming LAU’s president in 2004, professor Joseph G. Jabbra has been the driving force behind LAU’s aggressive and unprecedented $100 million expansion campaign.

“The establishment of the Medical School is an integral part of our exceptional achievements; building upon past successes,” said Jabbra. “The Medical School was also established to fill the void created by not having proper indigenous disease research in the region,” he added.

See additional coverage from this blog and revisit the beginnings of the LAU-PHMI collaboration.

www.phmiworld.org

In this issue: The Wockhardt Hospital network looks to capitalize on the progress it has made in building a culture of quality, while nursing leaders from the U.S. and Dubai work to institute a professional practice model for the University Hospital in Dubai based on Magnet principles. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Alfaisal University and Lebanese American University prepare to open new medical schools. Also: PHMI’s Bruce Dowton chairs a panel of internationally renowned scientists who are looking at the future of research in Australia, John Helfrick talks about hospital quality improvement and accreditation, and faculty from Harvard Medical School and other institutions converge to discuss what lessons a unique student exchange program can provide for understanding health care systems.

Back in the September/October 2007 issue of PHMI WORLD, we reported that then-Harvard Medical International was advising the Springfield Land Corporation on the development of a new health care and education project in Springfield, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia:

The Springfield Land Corporation (SLC) has tapped HMI to assist with the strategic planning of an integrated health, wellness, and education campus that will be part of a community expansion in the state of Queensland . . .  

. . . HMI’s role thus far has been to facilitate collaboration between the key stakeholders, including not only SLC and provider groups in the health care community, but also the Queensland government and its Department of Health. HMI is also helping SLC explore how education programs will be integrated into the campus. Dowton and other HMI team members have conducted a series of site visits aimed at synthesizing the perspectives of the groups involved and advising SLC on its long-term strategic plan.

Now the Springfield group has unveiled the blueprint for the Springfield Health City, which “will be a revolution in the approach to health care and wellness in Australia, and provide all the necessary services for the rapidly growing population of Greater Springfield and its surrounds,” according to City chairman Professor John Hay. Hay said the plan for the Health City was based on research conducted by HMI, which recommended a Health City concept with a private/public partnership incorporating all forms of health care including primary care, acute care, alternative care, integrated residential including aged care, retirement living and hotels, education, research and E-health, underpinned by a strong focus on training future health workers.”

Complete release from Greater Springfield

The opening date of the new medical school at the Lebanese American University (LAU) is still more than a year away. Yet LAU, now in the second year of its collaboration with Partners Harvard Medical International (PHMI), is already establishing itself in the Lebanese academic medical community. In April, the school gathered leaders from the country’s other medical schools for a lively dialogue on the future of education in the Middle East.

The panel discussion was part of a three-day event that included a workshop for new LAU medical faculty led by Dr. N. Lynn Eckhert, PHMI Director of Academic Programs, PHMI Senior Consultant Dr. Constance Bowe, and Dr. Zeinat Hijazi, Assistant Dean for Medical Education at LAU. A highlight of the workshop was a small-group, problem-based learning exercise conducted with eight pre-medical students at LAU.

The event culminated in a day-long symposium on medical education, featuring a keynote address by Dr. Eckhert and an introduction to the LAU curriculum by Dr. Hijazi. The panel discussion gave voice to the rich diversity of medical education traditions in Lebanon. In addition to Dr. Kamal Badr, the founding Dean of LAU’s medical school, the speakers included representatives from the country’s six other medical schools, including five school deans.

The LAU School of Medicine, which will be based in Beirut and Byblos, will feature an American-style curriculum. Its first class of medical students will commence in September 2009.

Read more and view photos from the event on the LAU website: http://www.lau.edu.lb/news-events/news/medical_workshop/

UPDATE: Event featured in PHMI WORLD

The Cay Compass  reports that PHMI Director N. Lynn Eckhert recently gave the commencement address at graduation ceremonies for the St. Matthews University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman. This graduating class began their studies just days before Hurricane Ivan hit Grand Cayman in September 2004. The hurricane caused widespread damage in the islands and left much of Grand Cayman unhabitable for several months. St. Matthews medical students wound up taking classes on the school’s campus in Maine campus.

From the article:

Dr. Eckhert reminded the students that being a physician meant that their learning was not over because medical knowledge, technology and procedures were progressing constantly.

“It means that you will still be studying far into the future and as long as you have a career in medicine,” she said.

“Your graduating from medical school is just one more step in your education, for you will need to keep up with the current state of medicine in your area of expertise.”

St. Matthew’s Dean of Clinical Sciences Dr. John Randall said he was proud of the graduating class, many members of which had to go to study in Maine after Hurricane Ivan, until repairs to the dormitories and campus here could be made.

“You probably could be called Ivanites,” he said.

Last week, Harvard University and Partners HealthCare formally executed an agreement that brings about the transition of HMI to Partners Harvard Medical International (PHMI). The full story, including perspectives from PHMI executives Andrew Jeon and Bruce Dowton, as well as Partners VP Jay Pieper, is in the new issue of HMI WORLD. Here Drs. Jeon and Dowton provide the key takeaways:

“HMI’s work since its inception has been possible in large part due to the unwavering support from the leadership of Harvard Medical School, as well as the tremendous intellectual resources of its faculty,” said Andrew A. Jeon, MD, MBA, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer. “We anticipate that in our new affiliation with Partners, we will be able to expand our mission to increase access to quality health care in countries across the world, while maintaining a vital academic partnership with the Medical School and its affiliated institutions.”

This transition comes as the result of discussions between Partners and Harvard about the best positioning of HMI for the future. Over the course of HMI’s 14-year history, its HMI portfolio has expanded beyond the organization’s original charter to extend the Medical School’s tradition of academic excellence to include a wide array of service capabilities.

“Today, in addition to working with clients to develop greenfield schools to train health care professionals, and helping existing academic institutions to innovate and improve, we are also deeply committed to pursuing collaborations focused on building sustainable models for clinical and operational excellence and designing strategies for workforce development in the health care settings,” said S. Bruce Dowton, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Dowton added that going forward, PHMI would be able to provide to clients a more comprehensive range of academic and clinical services, including facilities management, consulting services, and training of allied health care professionals.

But the transition that makes us part of the Partners family isn’t the only recent big move. We’ve also moved our Boston headquarters — a wholly separate development that happened to coincide with the move to Partners. Our new address is 131 Dartmouth Street in Boston’s Back Bay District. The PHMI Boston team is settling in and looking forward to welcoming colleagues and clients to the wonderful new office.

We will again join with the University of Lausanne to gather health care leaders in Switzerland for “Mastering the New Challenges of Health Care.” This five-day executive education course is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to understand and confront complex health policy issues.  

The program will again be led by Miles Shore, MD, Harvard University professor and HMI Senior Consultant and Director; and Alberto Holly, PhD, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute of Health Economics and Management at the University of Lausanne. They will head a multidisciplinary faculty drawn from Harvard University, the University of Lausanne, the London School of Economics, and other top institutions. For further information and to learn how to register for the program, please click here.

American Public Media’s program “Marketplace” has developed a whole series exploring the rapidly transforming Middle East – everything from the obligatory look at “indoor skiing” to stories focused on infrastructure development, new construction, and other developments that are reshaping the Middle East and creating new connections between the region and the rest of the world.

In a recent segment of the program, Marketplace focused on Harvard’s involvement in Dubai, including Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), the University Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research. HMSDC chief academic officer Robert Thurer and DHCC CEO Muhadditha Al Hashimi talked with Marketplace about how Dubai could soon be a top health care “destination.”

Click the link to read — or listen to — the whole piece.

Today the February 2008 issue of leading academic journal Academic Medicine is online and in mailboxes. The theme of this issue is global health, and the lead article is authored by Robert K. Crone, MD, the founding president and chief executive officer of HMI.

Entitled “Flat Medicine? Exploring Trends in the Globalization of Health Care,” the article presents the context in which we at HMI collaborate with our partners around the world. Drawing on examples from our work in Dubai, Turkey, and India, the article describes a global health care landscape that is undergoing a major transformation, with ramifications for patients, providers, and governments not only outside the United States, but in our own  local communities.

From the article abstract:

Trailing nearly every other industry, health care is finally globalizing. Highly trained and experienced expatriate health care professionals are returning to their home countries from training in the West or are staying home to work in newly developed corporate health care delivery systems that can compete quite favorably with less-than-perfect providers in Europe and North America. In turn, these health care systems are attracting patients from around the world who are interested in exploring high-quality, lower-cost health care alternatives. Much of this activity is occurring in the emerging economies of the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and beyond. Three Harvard Medical International collaborations-in Dubai, Turkey, and India-highlight these trends and demonstrate the potential for new models of global health care, as well as potential ramifications for patients and providers in the established economies of the West, including the United States. Although globalization is not a cure-all solution to achieving universal access to health care, it is not only a significant first step for patients in these emerging economies, but may also present alternative solutions for those patients in wealthier nations who nonetheless lack adequate health care coverage. The increase in health care quality and competitiveness around the globe is important, but these improvements will need to be matched by the development of comprehensive payer solutions, to benefit as many people as possible.

Last year HMI partnered with Lebanese American University, which is developing a new academic medical institution to be based in Beirut and Byblos. Today the medical school’s top leadership, including founding dean Dr. Kamal Badr, are in Boston to meet with the HMI project team and discuss present and future activities. The school’s first class of students is expected to commence in September 2009. The LAU website now includes a collection of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the new medical school. Those interested in applying or learning more are encouraged to have a look.