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KurganSchucheAppleton

Kurgan and Schuche, Russia / Appleton, Wisconsin

1999-2004


Focus: Domestic Violence, Community Health, Medical Education, Primary Care, Women's Health, Neonatal Resuscitation, Prenatal Care, Sexually Transmitted Infections



The Partners

US Partners: ThedaCare, a fully integrated primary healthcare system that includes Appleton Medical Center and Theda Clark Hospitals, 27 primary care clinics, and a behavioral health division, was the lead organization for the partnership. Fox Cities-Kurgan Sister Cities, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin Family Practice Residency Program and Family Living Program, local and state governmental agencies, and various private, public, and nongovernmental organizations also participated.

Russian Partners: Kurgan Oblast Administration, Kurgan City Maternity Hospital, Shchuche District Administration, and Central District Hospital of Shchuche served as the main Russian partners. Shchuche, home to a chemical weapons stockpile, is one of the cities targeted under the Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement between the United States and Russia.


Partnership Objectives

The partnership’s overall objective was to improve access to high quality primary care and prevention services by creating successful, replicable model programs and healthcare delivery mechanisms for the Kurgan Oblast.

Specifically, partners:


  • Increased access to quality primary healthcare services in Shchuche District;
  • Increased health promotion and prevention with special focus on reproductive and adolescent health;
  • Increased patient and healthcare provider knowledge about domestic violence;
  • Increased the level of support to the local community provided by Kurgan and Shchuche District Hospitals and local collaborating organizations, such as the Shchuche Red Cross;
  • Strengthened physician and nurse knowledge of management techniques and evidence-based practices; and
  • Improved maternal and child health practices, including neonatal resuscitation techniques.



Key Events and Achievements

Primary Healthcare Services


Partners opened a Primary Healthcare Center in Shchuche in December 2001. The center was the first of its kind in the Shchuche District and in all of Kurgan Oblast and provides services to some 8,300 adults in its catchment area. It also serves as a model for replication and training within Kurgan Oblast.


Two family physicians from the Shchuche Primary Healthcare Center completed training in family medicine at Chelyabinsk Medical Academy in October 2002 with support from the partnership grant.


Partners developed and implemented successful patient education programs on hypertension and asthma.


Through the partnership, two shipments of donated equipment and supplies from Carelift International, as well as a shipment from the Appleton Rotary Club, were sent to the Russian partners in September 2002. Additional shipments of supplies and equipment totaling more than $400,000 were donated by US partners over the life of the partnership.


Primary healthcare and nursing programs implemented by the partners in Shchuche received the support of the chief of Kurgan Oblast Health Administration and were used as replication models for the region.
Partners greatly expanded nurse training in Kurgan and Shchuche resulting in improved professional competency and patient care. Nurses now participate in patient education and create nursing care charts and a new position of nurse coordinator was created at the Central District Hospital.


Health Promotion and Education


Partners conducted focus groups within the community and determined that young people faced significant health risks that would best be addressed through programs that involved a broad range of
community stakeholders. As a result, a multidisciplinary steering committee was established, bringing together representatives of the City Administration, local law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, teachers, and other interested parties. The programs developed by this committee and regularly offered include: “The Problem Adolescent,” “Families with Children,” “The Tip of a Needle” (drug use prevention), and “Life with Friendship and Songs with no Drugs.”


Partners at Kurgan Maternity Hospital No. 1 and Shchuche District Hospital provided ongoing educational programs on reproductive health to secondary school students. Kurgan Maternity Hospital No. 1 was
especially involved in providing more advanced training to students attending a specialized school.


Medical professionals from both Kurgan Maternity Hospital No. 1 and Shchuche District Hospital routinely conducted lectures on STI prevention for adults and secondary school students in their respective
communities.


The Kurgan partners organized 158 health promotion and disease prevention activities in 2003, which were attended by 3,518 people. In 2004, 79 such activities were conducted for 2,110 people. Topics at these events included early detection of breast cancer, substance abuse prevention, reproductive health, STI and HIV prevention, and maternal and child healthcare.


Partners developed an after school program for at-risk youth that operated during the school year, as well as a youth program called “Harmony School” for secondary school children.


Partners worked with the Kurgan Police Department and a local organization “Women Scholars,” as well as various social service agencies and the news media, to develop a domestic violence program in Kurgan. Through this program, seminars on domestic violence were conducted for 1,000 high school students in 2002; Women Scholars organized a symposium on women’s issues; and the 3rd Annual Kurgan Domestic Violence Conference was conducted in April 2002.


Community Mobilization and Support


The two partnership LRCs established in-house resource libraries and the Kurgan LRC broadened its objectives to serve as a community education center.


Twenty-four community stakeholders participated in an AIHA-sponsored community development workshop titled “Resolving Public Health Problems through Community Involvement” in January 2002.
Participants developed plans for new programs and/or changed business practices as part of the workshop. Within the year, a multidisciplinary team to address youth programs and a breastfeeding media campaign were implemented. The Appleton partners were very involved in this type of community development with their Russian counterparts and focused many of their exchanges on follow-up.
One of the workshop participants used skills developed at the workshop to apply for a grant from the regional administration and received funding that allowed up to 100 local children to participate in a three-day activist summer camp.

Members of the Shchuche community implemented several after school programs, such as job counseling, parental education and counseling, and sports activities for at-risk youth. A group of active community members created programs based on strategic planning and problem-solving methods they learned at the community development workshop.


The Shchuche LRCs held open houses in May and October 2002. The events were conducted to provide information regarding LRC objectives and resources to the community and each one was attended by more than 30 people.


Prenatal Care and Neonatal Resuscitation

In November 2002, Shchuche hospital conducted a one-day breastfeeding workshop for all district feldsher stations staff and for a number of neighboring district feldshers. Breastfeeding classes for hundreds of women were conducted during the four-year partnership.

The Kurgan Maternity Hospital was named a WHO baby friendly hospital in 2003. The hospital and birthing house personnel are trained in neonatal resuscitation and allow "rooming in" post delivery.

The Maternity Hospital conducts parenting classes, prenatal care classes, and breastfeeding classes.

The Kurgan partners were awarded a sustainability grant in November 2004 to conduct a best practice training conference on prenatal care, evidence-based delivery, and neonatal care for practitioners throughout the Kurgan Oblast. The conference was held February 25-26, 2004, and was attended by more than 150 practitioners. Click here to review the agenda and event report.



Participating Institutions



Read more about this partnership...

Creating Healthy Families and Encouraging Future Doctors: Kurgan Maternity Hospital’s Programs Educate Teens (PDF)



Updated: March 19, 2009