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TbilisiScranton

Tbilisi, Georgia / Scranton, Pennsylvania

1999-2004


Focus: Health Care Policy and Reform, Health Management, Health Services Administration, Professional Association Development, Case Studies Development, Curriculum Development, Health Care & Hospital Administration, Leadership Development, Health Care Finance, Health Research



The Partners

US Partner: The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania brings together leaders in health management education from the regional, state, and local levels to achieve its partnership goals. The Panuska College of Professional Studies prepares students to enter directly into a variety of professional fields primarily in education, human resources, health administration, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and exercise science.

NIS Partner: The National Health Management Center (NHMC), a department of the Ministry of Health, was established to coordinate different healthcare goals, including research and the support of both short-term and long-term training/education programs. Through the Center of Continuing Education, the NHMC regulates post-graduate education for health care professionals in the Republic of Georgia. Post-graduate training is provided in health care management and administration, public health, nursing leadership and administration, and family medicine (for doctors and nurses).


Partnership Objectives

The partnership's overall goal is to develop health management education curriculum and content, prepare trained faculty, and produce a cadre of trained health managers by designing, developing and implementing a collaborative, sustainable health management education program in Georgia. Specific objectives are to:

  • Develop and implement a short-term and long-term healthcare management and administration curricula, and specialized workshops and courses at the NHMC-CCME.
  • Establish NHMC satellite outreach centers in Kutaisi, Batumi, and Telavi.
  • Identify and develop health management education faculty associated with designated universities, institutes and the NHMC-CCME to teach health care content, theory, knowledge and skills, involving full-time and part-time faculty and practicing professionals in the health care community.
  • Provide faculty and professionals with exposure to health care professional organizations, activities, services and systems that will expand and generate new ideas and thinking in health services education, management, and the health service professions.
  • Develop and implement uniform criteria, national standards, core competencies, knowledge and skill sets needed to be professionally competent in health service administration, education and management.
  • Develop and publish quarterly interdisciplinary, international "Journal of Health Services Management and Public Health" to share theory, knowledge, information, ideas and scientific progress in designated areas of health services administration, education management, scholarship, and research.
  • Provide an annual international health care conference, in cooperation with other HME partners, to share health management education information, scholarship and research among CEE/NIS countries.
  • Design, develop and implement in the NHMC a Center for Consultancy that will develop and train a cadre of health care professionals who can provide expert consultation to healthcare organizations, systems, services, agencies and providers undergoing transformation and reformation to change and/or modify health care delivery.
  • Develop and expand health management education support, collaboration, cooperation and communication among and between existing NGOs, governmental agencies, CEE partnerships, NIS partnerships, international organizations, and other AIHA/USAID initiatives in Georgia.
  • Secure and provide resources necessary to expand and sustain health management education functions, services and technical capabilities; explore establishing Sister Cities International Project.
  • Provide HME training in specific areas of management for trustees, senior executive and middle managers at the newly constructed Gudushauri Hospital (National Medical Center) and the Children's Central Hospital.


Key Events

   1999
  • In April, representatives from the two new health management education (HME) partnerships in Armenia and Georgia participated in a study tour to three countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The trip included visits to AIHA partners in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia. The study tour enabled NIS partners to share ideas and experiences with their CEE colleagues, to gain familiarity with AIHA and the HME partnership model, and to begin to plan the framework for their new partnerships. During the study tour, presentations and discussion covered three main topics: the country's health system and health care reform; health professions education (particularly medical and management education); and the role, activities and outcomes of the HME partnerships.
  • In October, a three-person team from the University of Scranton traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia to meet their Georgian colleagues at the National Health Management Center. During their visit, the partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding, officially establishing the partnership between the two institutions.

   2000

  • The Minister of Health and his delegation visited Scranton as part of their week-long visit to the United States in February. While in Scranton, the City of Scranton presented the Minister and his delegation with a Key to the city, in a special ceremony at City Hall. The delegation also met with the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation in Washington, DC.
  • The first Introductory Health Management workshop was conducted in March for 40 doctors and nurses at the Georgian National Health Management Center with the collaboration of faculty from Scranton.
  • In July, Memorandums of Understanding were signed to establish the satellite centers at Kutaisi and Batumi.
  • NIS partners joined their US colleagues at the annual conferences of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) and the Association for Health Services Research, held in Los Angeles in June. The conferences provided an excellent opportunity to build their knowledge of current trends in health management and to network with their counterparts from around the globe.
  • The partners established a new journal, the "Journal of Health Sciences Management and Public Health," and published the first issue.
  • The partners hosted an international conference at the National Health Management Center from November 2-12, entitled "Management Education Training in Behavioral Healthcare, Social Care and Rehabilitation Services and Systems." Nearly 50 healthcare executives attended the conference, held in collaboration with colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan.

2001

  • In January, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to establish the satellite center at Telavi.
  • The partners distributed the second issue of the "Journal of Health Sciences Management and Public Health" during AIHA's Annual Conference in April. The third issue was published in late May and partners made it available at the May Case Methods Workshop and the June AUPHA/AHSR conferences.
  • In July five NIS and one US partner participated in a study tour hosted by the Bratislava Health Management School, a former AIHA partner. During the tour participants shared experiences and explored opportunities for trilateral cooperation between Georgia, Slovakia and the United States. They also discussed health care policy development and analysis, certification, licensure, and accreditation.
  • The National Health Management Center of Georgia, in collaboration with partners from the University of Scranton issued the first Georgian language textbook, "Introduction to Health Management". The textbook was adopted by the Georgian Ministry of Education as an introductory course book for undergraduate and postgraduate students in health care management.
  • In December, the partners participated in a workshop for HME partners held in Tampa, Florida. The workshop encompassed topics on monitoring and evaluation, case methods, HIV/AIDS and journal preparation. It also provided opportunities for cross-partnership collaboration.

2002

  • In March, the partnership celebrated the opening of a new regional satellite center of the National Health Management Center in Telavi, at the Kakheti Regional Healthcare Department.
  • Seven Georgian partners and one US partner participated in a study tour and workshop in the Slovak Republic in July. The workshop focused on HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases, professional associations, healthcare reform and public health.
  • In October the partners held a celebration to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the partnership at the Georgian embassy in Washington, DC, and at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Senior USAID health officials and AIHA representatives attended the embassy reception. The partners used the opportunity to describe their successes over the past four years. These events provided a unique opportunity to expose a larger number of Americans to the partnership program.

2003

  • In February partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Gudushauri National Medical Center, Moses Taylor Hospital, NHMC, the University of Scranton and AIHA.

2004

  • The NIH conducted a workshop in the Mtskheta District January 20-29 for 25 head physicians from the region on the basics of health care management. The training program was jointly developed by the US and NIS partners and licensed by the Georgian MoLHSA.



Achievements

   Health Management Education

  • The partners secured MOH approval for a new specialty in Health Care Administration for the Georgian Healthcare System. In March 2001 a special order was issued on the certification process for health management professionals, and the NHMC developed and administered the exams. By the end of 2003, over 1,800 exams had been administered, and several residency and administrative training positions have been approved.
  • The partners delivered a number of workshops in conjunction with various Scranton faculty and the former Slovakia HME partners. Workshops included "Marketing and Privatization of Health Care," "Management Education Training in Behavioral Healthcare, Social Care, and Rehabilitation Services and Systems," "Improving Nursing Management Performance in Health Care Settings," and "Advances and New Efforts in Health Care Management." All workshops and short courses have been well attended in Tbilisi, and were later disseminated to the various satellite centers by NHMC faculty. By the end of 2004, 13 such workshops had been offered, with over 250 participants. The partners developed 16 case studies that were used as part of the workshops.
  • The partners provided series of workshops on ''Basics of Healthcare Management for Head Doctors of Hospital Facilities." The training program was developed jointly by the US and Georgian partners and licensed by the Georgian Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs. Courses were conducted November 6-16 and December 10-19, 2003 in Tbilisi, and January 20-29, 2004 in Mtskheta.
  • In conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the Tbilisi State Medical University, NHMC helped develop a 2 ? year Masters program in Health Administration. Twenty courses were developed for the program.
  • The NIS partners visited US health care institutions and were trained on various teaching methods and class activities. As a result of these trainings, they have implemented HME team teaching, co-teaching, case methods, and coaching on classroom methods at their home institutions. Over 35 Georgian faculty participated in training provided by the partnership.
  • In order to incorporate information from the international pool of health management knowledge, partners established a modern health management library at NHMC including a number of teaching materials used in the health management courses. The partners also published a book on health management, and the NIS partner established an official membership with the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).
  • The partners established a Center for Consultancy that provided consultations on economics, licensing and health management. The Center was designed to increase sustainability of the NHMC by generating revenue.
  • The partners founded the Journal of Health Sciences Management and Public Health. The journal is produced on a quarterly basis, and includes articles from current and former partners, AIHA staff, and a number of prominent figures in the field of health care management. By 2004, nine issues had been published.
  • The partners set up satellite centers in Batumi, Kutaisi and Telavi. These sites were used to disseminate the National Health Management Center's workshops and trainings throughout Georgia. By the end of 2004, nine workshops had been held at the satellite centers and over 170 people had been trained.



Participating Institutions



 


Updated on October 28, 2004