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

Tag Archives: Hospital 57357

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. “

 

Today, we at the Egypt Cancer Network are honored to announce the Association of the Friends of the National Cancer Institute (AFNCI) as a major recipient of our support. The mission of AFNCI is to support NCI in the areas of patient care, equipment and facility upgrade, and education.


AFNCI, established in the 1990’s, is a registered Egyptian NGO with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. AFNCI boasts a long list of achievements including a cytogenetic lab, outpatient pediatric oncology clinic, the first clinical pharmacy in Egypt, and the initial establishment of Hospital 57357.Hospital 57357 marks the largest project AFNCI has undertaken, which included the feasibility, design, construction, equipment, and fundraising. AFNCI continues to support Hospital 57357 on special projects and we commend their efforts to help treat children with cancer in Hospital 57357. Presently, AFNCI working on establishing several outpatient clinics for expert consultations, pharmacies, and blood draws on NCI’s premises.

Two years ago, one of the two towers of Egypt’s National Cancer Institute needed structural reinforcement and renovation. NCI decided as a safety and preventive measure to consolidate services into one tower, which resulted in over-crowding. The reinforcement assessment was estimated to take at least 5 years but an interim solution was presented in the opportunity to leverage the 4,200 sq. meter garden area near one of the towers where a light structure complex could be built to house 43 outpatients, resulting in 1,600 visitors per day.

While this interim solution helped to reduce the overcrowding in the tower there is an urgent need to speed up the construction for the new complex to ensure smooth service and safety of patients and staff. Please see the architectural drawings for the complex below. The new complex estimated cost is $8-$10 million Egyptian pounds. According to engineer  who has previously worked on NCI projects and is currently overseeing the new complex implementation, “Once funding is secured, the complex would be operational in five to six months. The preliminary design is ready and we are proceeding with the detailed design phase, namely the Electro-mechanical works and structure.” We are excited to move forward as we seek to help increase treatment services for children with cancer in Hospital 57357.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hospital 57357 recently hosted “Research Day” with the American Board Certified Doctors for Egypt (ABCDE) and 256 attendees participated, mostly medical students, and recent graduates. Attendees connected with role-models, hospital staff and speakers such as Dr. Mona Mostafa and Dr. El Shinawy.

One of the students, summed up the event best by saying “The most interesting thing regarding the whole day, at least from my point of view,  is that it gave people role-models to measure up against .  Presenters like Dr. Mona Mostafa or Dr. El Shinawy, two of our speakers here in Egypt doing collaborative research with institutions in the US,  came from our very own universities, and were subjected to the very same environment that we want to escape from.  This was the main message I went home with: I don’t have to go to the States or elsewhere and wait to be a big shot before I return back to Egypt and then help building it.  I can, and I should, start today… “

Potential collaboration between 57357 and Alexandria’s Faculty of Medicine to Benefit a Larger Number of Children with Cancer

The initiative was launched with the visit of Dr. Sherif Abou El Naga, VP for research, academic affairs, and outreach, last week followed by a reciprocal visit by a delegation of pediatric oncology physicians, surgeons and clinical pharmacist from the University of Alexandria, one of most reputable Universities in Egypt. The delegation which comprised of specialists in urology, ophthalmology, radiotherapy, pediatric oncology and clinical pharmacy was taken on a tour of the premises and met with the heads of departments for these specialties. At the end of their tour, they met with Dr. Abou El Naga to draw a road map on how to go about for this collaboration to materialize through exchanging expertise and unifying research and treatment methods with the ultimate goal of meeting the demands of increasing number of patients seeking free comprehensive quality care to maximize their chances of cure.

The materialization of this collaboration will be equally beneficial for both parties. On one hand, Alexandria’s pediatric oncologists who are embarking on establishing a new pediatric oncology facility will have the advantage of cooperating with a leading successful model for the delivery of quality care making use of 57357’s past experience and expertise. On the other hand, the CCHE will be easing the load on its Cairo premises, as this facility could be serving Alexandria and some four governorates around it. This collaboration falls within the CCHE’s vision of diffusing and sharing knowledge acquired from practice and research through a satellite system which implements international standards of pediatric oncology healthcare and treatment protocols all across Egypt.

Africa Unites to Cure Children with Cancer

We are honored and pleased to announce the visit of twenty-three Ambassadors of Africa to Hospital 57357 this March. It is inspiring to see all the African Nations unite for a common cause: to provide treatment to children with cancer.

The twenty-three African Ambassadors, headed by Ambassador Mona Omar met with children at Hospital 57357 along with the hospital’s Vice President, Academic Affairs, Research and Outreach and Fundraising teams. The teams presented the mission and vision of Hospital 57357, including and how it operates and provides treatment to children through donations exclusively.

Africa’s Ambassadors to Egypt Visit Hospital 57357

The distinguished guests toured the various hospital departments, sections, services and had opportunities to speak with the staff and children. The visitors were impressed by the quality of health services, the fact that children continue school studies during their hospital stay, and the overall atmosphere of the hospital, to which extent one ambassador stated, ‘… I do not feel I’m in a hospital, this place looks more like a children’s club, the natural light, the waiting areas, and the play rooms provide distraction and entertainment to the children…. It looks rather a cheerful place than a hospital in the conventional sense…”

Today Hospital 57357 is approaching a 5 anniversary landmark of dedication on the part of all to curing children with cancer. The cooperation between Hospital 57357 and the African Nations can improve health care services for young cancer patients, a priority, by leveraging the unique and leading experience and knowledge of Hospital 57357 in Africa.