AMPATH Team Featured at Project ECHO Global Conference

The AMPATH team from Kenya and the U.S. presented during several sessions of the Project ECHO MetaECHO 2023 global conference last month about using the ECHO platform for telementoring and education to improve care in western Kenya.  

Project ECHO is a tele-education and mentoring platform that utilizes Zoom to bring education about healthcare topics directly to healthcare workers in widely distributed geographic locations. The MetaECHO conference brought together more than 1,000 people in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with another 1,000 joining remotely.

Dr. Terry Vik presenting on the main stage

Congratulations to the team from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Moi University, Indiana University School of Medicine and others for leading this transformative work.

Terry Vik, MD, pediatric hematologist oncologist and professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Indiana University was part of a presentation entitled “Revolutionizing Cancer Care Around the World” which was presented on the main stage to the entire conference.

Other presentations by the AMPATH team included:

Kids in Kenya are Kicking Cancer - Here's How

  • Dr. Vik

Evaluating ECHO’s Impact: Tracking Regional Diagnostic Rates of Pediatric Cancer in Kenya

  • Tyler Severance, MD, pediatric hematologist oncologist, assistant professor of Child Health, University of Missouri (formerly Indiana University)

AMPATH panel presentation

Engagement Through Outreach, Leadership, and Advocacy: Building ECHOs in Resource Limited Settings

  • Caitrin Kelly, MD, MPH, AMPATH Project ECHO principal investigator, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine

  • Carole Kilach, MD, MBchB, training and care specialist, AMPATH, Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center (IHTC) Program, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital

  • Betty Lelei, MPH, BSc, AMPATH Project ECHO program manager

  • Samuel Mbunya, BMS, MBA, advocacy relations consultant, IHTC program

  • Festus Njuguna, MBChB, MMed, PhD, pediatric hematologist oncologist, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital

  • Dr. Severance

Poster presentations

  • Mary Ann Etling, IU School of Medicine student: “Acceptability and Feasibility of Capacity Building through the Project ECHO Model at Health Facilities in Western Kenya”

Sam Mbunya received the “People’s Choice” Award for his poster

  • Betty Lelei: “Healthcare Worker Experiences with Participation in Project ECHO Programs in Kenya”

  • Sam Mbunya (People’s Choice award winner): “Kenya Sickle Cell Disease ECHO: Leading with Pediatric Care in Sub-Saharan Africa”

  • Mercy Oduor, project coordinator Multiple Myeloma Program: “Implementation and Evaluation of Multiple Myeloma Project ECHO in Western Kenya”

The team met the new ECHO Africa Director, Dr. Caroline Kisia, for strategic discussions.

Daria Szkwarko, DO, MPH, associate professor of Family Medicine at Brown University, also presented at the conference with Julie Teck, global health faculty development fellow in Family Medicine at Brown, about their use of Project ECHO in latent tuberculosis efforts across 16 states in the Northeast. Dr. Szkwarko leads family medicine efforts on behalf of the AMPATH Consortium and along with Dr. Teck, Dr. Caitrin Kelly, Betty Lelei, and Sam Mbunya designed and led an Advanced ECHO skills workshop in Kenya in July 2023.

Additionally, Rose House, MD, MS, AMPATH Nepal partnership director from Mount Sinai, attended the MetaECHO conference with another Mount Sinai emergency medicine colleague to connect with others doing similar work and consider evaluation strategies for the program and impact on patient outcomes. The AMPATH Nepal team is in the planning and training stage with Nepali colleagues for starting an Emergency Medicine ECHO in Nepal. After an initial needs assessment with their rural partners regarding topics of most importance, they hope to launch the ECHO in the beginning of 2024.

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