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GoriMilwaukee

Gori, Georgia / Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2004-Present


Focus:  Primary Healthcare, Community Health



The Partners

US Partner: The Center for International Health (CIH), formerly the Milwaukee International Health Training Center (MIHTC), was established in 1986 by Milwaukee County with support from USAID. Its mission is to contribute to global health through international training partnerships that strengthen the clinical, technical, and management competencies of healthcare personnel worldwide. In 1999, MIHTC became an independent not-for-profit organization with core sponsors that include the Milwaukee County government, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital. Consortium members participating in this partnership are the Medical College of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Medical School (Milwaukee Clinical Campus), Marquette University College of Nursing and School of Dentistry, the City of Milwaukee Health Department, the Planning Council for Health and Human Services, the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, and the Milwaukee County Division of Health Programs.

NIS Partner: The Shida Kartli Regional Healthcare Administration Department serves a population of approximately 360,000 people.


Partnership Goals and Objectives

The partnership’s overall goal is to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities in Georgia’s Shida Kartli Region by facilitating access to high-quality primary healthcare services available at ambulatory health centers. Specific objectives are to:

  • Improve the clinical competencies of primary care physicians and nurses on staff at selected ambulatories.
  • Establish a family medicine training and demonstration center (FMTDC) in the Gori Central District Polyclinic to build human resource capacity at targeted ambulatories. 
  • Strengthen healthcare delivery by developing core teams of family medicine physicians and primary care nurse trainers.   
  • Improve hypertension care by establishing a hypertension management program that can be rolled out to multiple sites.
  • Improve access to primary healthcare services by establishing village health posts.


Key Events

   2004-2007

  • In May 2004, partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding to celebrate the inception of the partnership.
  • The Learning Resource Center opened in July 2004.
  • In September 2004, the partnership organized a regional workshop for primary care providers on the management of hypertension in Georgia. The event was attended by more than 50 physicians and nurses, including invitees from Tbilisi cardiology and family medicine training programs.
  • In 2005, the partners conducted two workshops focusing on evidence-based medicine and clinical practice guideline development designed for professionals taking the Family Medicine Course.
  • In 2006, AIHA and the Gori partners successfully finalized discussions with the Georgian Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs (MOLHSA) regarding the establishment of a new Primary Healthcare Training and Demonstration Center in Gori. An agreement was reached on the new center, which will provide valuable access to continuing medical education for healthcare practitioners in the region. Construction of the new center will be funded by the World Bank. The center will be staffed with a well-prepared cadre of professionals that will include core teams of family medicine physicians and trainers developed through, and trained by, the partnership.
  • In November 2006, AIHA collaborated with the WHO Regional Office for Europe to conduct a regional conference on “Preventing Chronic Disease - International and National Perspectives.” The even focused on national and regional strategies for overcoming chronic disease-related health challenges. Representatives of ministries of health, medical universities, professional associations, USAID and other donor agencies, international organizations, and AIHA primary healthcare partnerships participated in the conference, as did experts from WHO and US partnership institutions. The First Lady of Georgia attended the final session and made closing remarks.




Key Accomplishments

  • The partnership enlisted the Mtskheta Family Medicine Training Center and the Georgian National Family Medicine Training Center to conduct a 15-month/940-hour family medicine training program for area physicians, beginning in May 2005. The family medicine training program in Gori consists of three groups of physicians, totaling 18 trainees, from the Gori District Polyclinic and village ambulatories. Certified family medicine trainers from the graduated Mtskheta/Milwaukee partnership conduct biweekly onsite trainings in Gori. Upon completion of the training course, the Shida Kartli physicians will be eligible to take state certification exams to become licensed family medicine physicians. To date, 12 physicians have passed the certification exams.
  • The partnership implemented an 830-hour family medicine training course for 18 nurses selected from Gori District Polyclinic and ambulatory units in 2006. The course is designed to develop qualified nurse/physician teams in Gori to provide family medicine services. The goal of the concurrent family medicine training courses for doctors and nurses is to develop certified family medicine doctor/nurse teams to staff the Gori District Polyclinic Ambulatory.
  • In FY06, almost 22,435 individual patients received primary care services at the District Polyclinic and nine ambulatories. During the same time period, the primary healthcare sites registered more than 52,814 patient visits.
  • The High Blood Pressure Control Program (HBPCP) in the Kareli and Gori districts was initiated by the partnership in 2004. In 2006, the HBPCP was extended throughout the Gori district, and has enrolled 150 new patients. The partnership trained the staff of the Gori Polyclinic Ambulatory Unit in measuring blood pressure and treating hypertension. As of December 2006, about 200 patients were enrolled in the community hypertension management demonstration program and are receiving treatment and are monitored on a regular basis.
  • Throughout 2006, the Gori partners leveraged the Learning Resource Center (LRC) for family medicine training activities, particularly to access updated materials dealing with evidence-based medicine and clinical practice guidelines. The partnership LRC was intensively utilized during the workshops and trainings conducted by the partnership.
  • In order to address the threat of Avian Flu, AIHA hosted two meetings on the role of the primary healthcare sector in a potential pandemic in the Caucasus region. The meetings were attended by representatives of the Public Health Department, the National Center for Disease Control, and USAID-Georgia. Following the meetings, the Gori partners developed health education materials on Avian Flu.



Participating Institutions



Contact Information for Gori, Georgia / Milwaukee, Wisconsin

NIS/CEE Partner

Information Coordinator
Baindurashvili, Lia
Gori Central Polyclinic
Gori, Georgia
Email:  lrc_lia@gol.ge

US Partner

US Partnership Coordinator
Mr. Tavill, Frederick  MD, PhD
Director
Center for International Health
Milwaukee, WI, United States
Email:  ihtc@execpc.com



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Updated on July 17, 2007