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CALIFORNIA
- MONGOLIA MEDICAL PROGRAM
Dr.
MacKenzie and Bob Morris with their first patient Ariunna.
The
Ulan Bator Foundation was founded in 1990 by Arnold Springer
Ph.D of Venice, California, with
the mission to promote cultural and medical exchange
between professionals of Mongolia and Southern
California. In 1995 and 1997, assessments of the Mongolian
pediatric healthcare system were carried out by a team of physicians
led by Dr. Richard MacKenzie of the University of Southern California
Keck School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The
focus of their investigations was Mongolia's central pediatric
facility, the Maternal and Child Health Research Center (MCHRC)
in the capital
city of Ulan Bator. There they discovered a healthcare system in
crisis, one not only desperate for tools of technology, but the
resources of modern medical training. In the transition to a market
economy and struggling democracy, the standard of medical care
for
Mongolia's children and adolescents has been left behind. Poorly
compensated pediatricians work in substandard hospital environments,
with knowledge and skills based on outdated theory and supported
by inadequate technology. Yet the great majority of the nation's
population is less than 24 years of age- the population that will
lead Mongolia into a future of democratic principles and progress.
In response to the deficiencies identified by Dr. MacKenzie's team,
the Ulan Bator Foundation launched the California-Mongolia Medical
Program (CaMMP) in 2002, designed to empower the healthcare community
of Mongolia.
CaMMP
proposes to facilitate and lead three innovative projects that will
enable the healthcare professionals of Mongolia to leap over many
of the trials and challenges of the medical profession of the last
100 years, allowing them to land squarely in the 21st century.
- Telemedicine
and Teleconsultation Project
- Medical
Education and Exchange Project
- Child
to Child Art Project
The
implementation of these 3 separate but inter-related projects will
place Mongolia on the cutting edge of healthcare delivery to women
and children, surpassing the medical practices of many advanced
countries. This is a vital component to its much needed economic
development, as a country without quality medical services will
fail to attract the investment of international business. The development
of these projects will enhance the image of Mongolia in the world
community of nations, singularly advancing the goals of sustainable,
affordable and professional healthcare to her young citizens wherever
they reside.
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