In December 2007, the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia (GHRCCA) hosted a week-long training program for four medical professionals from the City of Astana Health Department in Kazakhstan. The training, titled “Program on Integrated Systems of Care,” assists in building infrastructure and scientific capacity to advance knowledge on global health issues in Central Asia. More specifically, the participants had an opportunity to learn about innovative models of medical treatment, systems of care, and integration of social services as part of continuum of care.
The four participants, Ms. Gulmira Sultanova, Ms. Nursuluu Idrissova, Ms. Gaukhar Shapatyeva, and Dr. Aisha Bestayeva, represented social service and medical organizations in Kazakhstan which were: “Demeu” – a family-oriented medical practice clinic, Almaty City Orphanage, Almaty City Hospital, and Almaty City Department of Epidemiology. Their areas of interest include primary care and psycho-social services for families with children, surgical nursing, foster care and adoption in the U.S., intimate partner violence and domestic violence, HIV and STIs, and the role of nurses and social workers in the delivery of care.
As part of their training, the four participants visited several community-based agencies, hospitals, and health service organization, including the Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan. This visit was hosted by Dr. Paul Testa in the Department of Emergency Medicine and included a presentation about their Level 1 trauma center and their infectious disease control and reporting policies. The participants also met with Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr and Jennifer Knight of the Harlem Hospital and learned about federal and New York City reporting procedures for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The participants also visited and discussed primary care and integrative medicine with Dr. Gadhi and Kathy Boudin hosted a visit to the St. Luke’s Hospital Morningside Clinic which is an integrative care system for people living with HIV/AIDS. The role of surgical nurses at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at the New York-Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Cetner was presented by Hilary Nirenberg.
Other site visits and training sessions included the Urban Health Plan, a family-oriented urban clinic; Farrell Family Center, a family health clinic; and Washington Heights Family Health Center, a pediatric clinic. Participants met with Beth Silverman-Yam, the Executive Director of Sanctuary for Families to learn about services for victims of domestic violence and their families and with Dr. Kathleen Conroy, Adjunct Professor at CUSSW, to learn about Dr. Conroy’s experience in establishing a foster care agency in Mongolia. One of their most memorable site visits was at the Ametz Program of the Jewish Child Care Association where the Program Director, Kathy Brodsky, handed out colorful knit hats to be brought back to orphanages in Kazakhstan.
In addition, round-table discussions were held with the participants to facilitate the integration of newly gained knowledge into their practice in Kazakhstan. At the end of the week-long training, Dr. Nabila El-Bassel, Executive Director of the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, presented the participants with a participation certificate.
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