ECN Sponsors CCHE Staff to Attend CERNER Health Conference and Visit St. Judes

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ECN sponsored two of Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357’s (CCHE) staff, Operations Director Eng. Ayman Ibrahim and Pediatric Oncology Registrar Dr. Claudia Mousa, and to attend the Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City, Missouri from October 7-10, 2012. They then went on to visit St. Judes in Memphis, Tennessee as the second component of their ECN-sponsored trip.

At the Cerner Health Conference Mr. Ibrahim and Ms. Mousa learned about the notion of “power chart oncology” and drafted an implementation scheme for such a power chart, providing insight into possible areas of improvement in the current module being used by CCHE. They also looked into improvements via M-Page, Powertouch and Dragoon 3600 technologies, as well as implementing lights on applications and a better patient summary discharge process, all potential means of updating the CCHE electronic medical record system. It must be noted that CCHE has more highly integrated medical records than 96% of American hospitals. Such medical records produce many benefits, including making patient information more readily available to doctors who need them.

Upon their return, the pair provided CCHE and ECN with a copy of their action plan for CCHE to further build upon their education.

The sponsorship of these two distinguished individuals is a prime example of ECN’s commitment to furthering the educational repertoire of qualified Egyptian doctors. It is our expectation that they will take their lessons learned and put them into practice at home in order to benefit pediatric oncology in Egypt as a whole. Below is a letter sent to us by both doctors detailing their trip and summarizing the impact of their shared experiences on their future work at CCHE:

“It has only been a few days since our insightful trip to the US, which could not have been possible without ECN’s financial support and its firm belief in the worthiness of promoting Hospital 57357’s mission: offering quality healthcare and [the chance for a] cure to a maximum number of children with cancer in Egypt and the surrounding region.

We feel blessed for having been given the opportunity to attend the annual Cerner conference in Kansas, where we were exposed to the latest developments in pediatric oncology informatics, and later to observe St. Jude’s Hospital how other similar centers are implementing and making maximum use of the Cerner pediatric oncology informatics technology.

Grateful for this eye-opening experience, we return home enthusiastic and eager to make the best of what we have been exposed to, having been encouraged by the fact that our own work experience at Hospital 57357 is of value and impact to other centers as well for the ultimate purpose of improving over-all outcomes of children with cancer around the world.

This trip has been beneficial in highlighting how we could optimize the usage of our informatics resources and how we can upgrade our Cerner system. Networking with other Medical/IT teams at the conference and at the St. Jude opened up new opportunities for collaboration and exchange to enhance our ability to effectively offer the best quality services to our patients.

Again, we would like to thank ECN for its continuous support. We, in turn, pledge to put into action all the knowledge we have received. In this respect, we have prepared a detailed plan of action with a timeline for various tasks and procedures which we look forward to implement immediately to enhance and sustain performance and healthcare services’ quality. “

 

At this time five years ago, in October 2005, a 40-day old baby named Sagdah was admitted to the patient care ward at CCHE 57357.

At the tender age of just 25 days, Sagdah and her mother left their native country of Libya on a harrowing journey to Egypt. What they sought was a cure for Sagdah’s ailments from a disease they could not specify, which included an inflated belly, kidney failure and perpetual vomiting. Upon arrival, Sagdah’s mother found that no hospital would accept them, with one hospital attendant going so far as to say, “we will not accept a patient who is just going to die”.

This, said Sagdah’s mother, did not waver her faith. Upon seeking the help of private clinics, she was told about Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (CCHE).

Upon arrival at CCHE, Sagdah was accepted right away despite the fact that she was not Egyptian and despite the low hospital capacity for patients at the time. Sagdah’s mother soon realized that Sagdah was receiving the best possible care in the safe hands of CCHE’s doctors and staff.

While at CCHE Sagdah was supported by Ms. Azzah, the social worker, and was invited to stay in the on-site guest house since their arrival. Sagdah was provided with milk, diapers, medicines and treatment, all free of charge.

Sagdah’s road to recovery was not easy, though. It was determined by CCHE doctors that Sagdah had a large tumor growing between her bladder and her rectum, which was the source of the kidney failure. After several doses of chemotherapy Sagdah was able to function normally, and after over 9 months of continual chemotherapy, Sagdah’s tumor essentially disappeared.

As of her fifth birthday, on September 9th, 2012, young Sagdah was cured of her tumor and was only awaiting surgery to remove the remnants of the disease which almost took away her precious life. Thanks to the efforts of the physicians and staff at CCHE, Sagdah was not only given a second chance at life, but her family was also given the chance to enjoy their daughter. She celebrated her fifth birthday and her new, cancer-free existence in the auditorium with her friends and many supporters.