Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth Partners with Team of Organizations to Connect Macedonia with Leading U.S. Birthing Center
Waycross, GA (PRWEB) April 14, 2015 -- Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth (GPT), a charitable nonprofit promoting the establishment of telemedicine programs in communities throughout Georgia, announces that Global Partnership for TeleHealth and GPT are supporting TeleHealth International Partnership (TIP) with a new project in Macedonia, located in the central Balkan peninsula of Southeast Europe. TIP, the Macedonian government and LinkAcross will connect Northside Forsyth Hospital’s Dr. Larry Wallin and a team of neonatologists to University Children’s Hospital of Macedonia neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Macedonia.
Organized through LinkAcross’ Executive Director, Clay Buttermere, the project has successfully connected Northside Forsyth Hospital’s team with the Macedonian NICU physicians to provide training on various neonatal care techniques virtually. The telemedicine portion of the project will provides the UCH NICU team with the opportunity to present patients to Northside Forsyth’s neonatology team if necessary and allow further access to care regionally for Macedonia’s premature birth cases.
“Due to Macedonia's increasing infant mortality rates and Northside's success as the number one birthing center in the U.S. with over 18,000 births annually, it's no accident these two have connected to develop strategies to assist UCH's NICU,” states Sherrie Williams, executive director of GPT. “This initiative illustrates the true power and potential of telemedicine.”
Dr. Larry Wallin leads the project from Northside Forsyth Hospital and is passionate about international medical issues, having donated his time and experience in the past to areas in need. Dr. Wallin’s experience includes leading medical missions to Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Liberia, Swaziland, Malawi, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.
“Drawing on 25+ years of experience in academic and clinical neonatology, I am privileged to help the Macedonian government reduce their persistently high infant mortality rates." Stated Dr. Wallin. "Thanks to the technological advancements in telemedicine we have a chance to work with the care team in Macedonia on a virtual level. The care of critically ill premature newborns is a rapidly changing field, but our team is fully equipped to deal with a variety of potential issues. Our goal is to make sure the staff at the Children's Hospital NICU is educated with the latest in neonatal evidence based practices and can consult me as needed. The ultimate goal is to have that education spread to medical facilities throughout Macedonia and improve the infant mortality rates going forward."
About Georgia Partnership for Telehealth
Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth is a charitable nonprofit corporation, which was formed to promote improvements in healthcare and healthcare facilities in communities by assisting in the establishment of telemedicine programs. GPT is known as the leading agency globally focusing on increasing access to healthcare through innovative use of technology. GPT is one of the entities that belong to the Global Partnership for TeleHealth.
The mission of the Global Partnership for TeleHealth is to deliver worldwide access to healthcare. Our unparalleled success in the United States in applying telehealth programs and services has assisted agencies in providing cost effective, efficient, and high quality healthcare. For more information visit the GPT website at http://www.gatelehealth.org.
Shea Ross, Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth, Inc., http://www.gatelehealth.org, 866-754-4325, [email protected]
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