Press Release
Ambassador Yalowitz to Open First Session of Satellite Based Medical Distance Learning Program for Georgian Physicians
Tbilisi-On November 27th, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth S. Yalowitz and the Georgian Minister of Health, Avandil Jorbenadze will give opening remarks at the first session of a comprehensive satellite based medical distance learning project. This project was developed for Georgian physicians by International Medical Programs (IMP), a US based group of International Healthcare experts. Funds were designated for this project by the U.S. Congress in an effort lead jointly by former Congressman Gerald Solomon and Congressman Michael McNulty of New York. It was developed in affiliation with the US Department of Defense's Partnership for Peace Program (PIMS).
The IMP programs will cover five specific areas that have been identified by Georgian military and civilian physicians as being their major priorities, and were developed collaboratively in both the U.S. and Georgia. They will utilize the most advanced telecommunications and satellite technology, permitting unlimited access to the physicians and program presentation with immediate and simultaneous interaction between the Georgian participants and the U.S. experts.
The initial IMP program will be centered on Cardiovascular Disease, including an important segment on risk and prevention. It will be presented in three sessions at the National Information and Learning Center (NILC) in a new auditorium recently remodeled and established by IMP for the NILC. Registrants will include more than 100 physicians from all regions of Georgia, who will receive a certificate of attendance for completion of this course. Future sessions presented on a monthly basis, will cover chest trauma, radiation accidents and injuries, and emergency medicine.
The IMP Programs use the new telecommunications technologies that enhance learning capabilities and provide unlimited access to information which represents a new approach to distance learning and long distance education. The U.S. and Georgia cyberspace connection and interaction will be watched carefully by the international community, as experts now realize that this program, unique to Georgia, can have significant applications worldwide. This will be the first of a series of programs that IMP plans to develop in this region, working with PIMS, to help support and rebuild healthcare infrastructure.
The principals directly involved in developing the project in Georgia included Archil Kobaladze M.D. and Zviad Kirtava M.D. in Tbilisi, Dan Weiner MD in New York, James Strickler MD in Hanover, New Hampshire; Anthony Tartaglia MD, in Albany, New York; and Kenneth Walker MD in Atlanta, Georgia. Invaluable assistance was also provided by many members of the Georgian civilian and military medical community.
The Partnership for Health Foundation results from a joint effort first sponsored by USAID in Georgia, in 1992. In 1995, the NILC was established in close cooperation with Emory University. NILC is the site where doctors from all across Georgia can gain access to all types of medical information. It has also been the test bed site for projects involving the World Health Organization, NASA and now the IMP-PIMS project. The IMP project in Tbilisi involves four sites that are linked by high band-width wireless communication with equipment provided by PIMS and IMP.