Aga Khan University Hospital Partnership
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Queens Business Magazine
Summer 2008 Article (PDF)

In 2004, inspired by Stephen Lewis, I initiated a project to twin TOH with a hospital in the third world. TOH is an academic hospital and our knowledge to share is maximized with another teaching hospital. Identifying which hospital to work with was the challenge. At this time Dr. Karim Damji, a ophthalmologist at TOH, was in the Queen’s University EMBA program. He and two classmates, as part of their program, undertook a project to identify the ideal characteristics for a successful twinning project. As part of the project we identified several potential hospitals to collaborate with. In 2005, myself and the project team, traveled to Lesotho and Kenya to visit potential hospitals to twin with.

At the end of the trip we chose to work with the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. This relationship was seen to have the greatest potential for mutual benefit. Since 2005 both myself and Dr. Damji have visited the Aga Khan University Hospital We have also hosted two surgeons from Kenya at TOH as fellows , Dr. Wafula Khamala an orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Dan Kiage an ophthalmologist. This Sandwich fellowship is unique. Unlike the more standard clinical fellowship that lasts a year, this fellowship is structured with more frequent shorter visits by both the mentoring TOH surgeon and the fellows.

The program continues today and our hope is to expand the number of fellowships and to include teaching physicians in Africa management skills so they can help improve their health care system.

Photos

History

  • 2004: Dr. Carruthers proposed the idea of The Ottawa Hospital twinning with a third world hospital. Presentations by Stephen Lewis on the challenges in Africa were a stimulating part behind this proposal idea.
  • 2004: Dr. Karim Damji (ophthalmologist at The Ottawa Hospital) was doing his executive masters of business administration at Queens University.
  • 2004: As part of this business program Dr. Damji and two classmates undertook a project to determine what factors needed to be in place to create a high probability of success of a twinning program.
  • 2005: Dr. Damji his two classmates and Dr. Carruthers went to Africa to review two hospitals as possible twinning hospitals. These hospitals had been previously selected from many. They visited the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Maseru, Lesotho.
  • The needs in Lesotho were huge and very basic. As The Ottawa Hospital is a large academic hospital and the hospital in Nairobi was trying to become academic it was thought the best potential benefit of twinning was with the Aga Khan University Hospital.
  • 2007 - 2008: Dr. Damji made a couple of visits to the Aga Khan University Hospital where he met Dr. Dan Kiage an ophthalmologist on staff. Subsequently Dr. Kiage trained in Ottawa for two periods of 4-6 months learning ophthalmology techniques and skills to apply in his practice in Nairobi.
  • 2007 - June: Dr. Carruthers went to Nairobi where he saw patients and performed a few total joint surgical procedures. Kenya is a country of 35 million people and less than 100 artificial joints are done in the country annually. Many are done poorly. The Ottawa Hospital performs 1400 total joint procedures a year!
  • 2008: Dr. Wafula Khamala, an orthopedic surgeon, came to Ottawa for 6 months to learn how to perform total joint surgery.
  • Dr. Khamala has returned and will start this type of surgery shortly.
  • To facilitate the process of exchange we have established and non governmental organization (Ottawa International Health Partnerships).
  • Our plan is to further expand training here for Kenyan surgeons (next is neurosurgery).
  • Also we hope to teach physicians in Kenya and East Africa management skills so that they can develop the system of delivering health care in African countries.
  • Dr. Carruthers returned to the Aga Khan University Hospital in January 2009 accompanied by Diane Robertson, an operating room nurse, and Dr. David Simon fourth year orthopedic Resident. Five total knee surgical procedures were performed. Additional teaching included rounds to the residents and medical students. Also a half day program on physician management issues was held. Pictures of this trip can be seen at http://gallery.me.com/ccmd#100153
  • In 2010 Dr. Carruthers with Doctors Mamta Gautam, David Butcher and Sasha Carsen hosted a physician leadership skills workshop in Nairobi for physician leaders of the Aga Khan Hospital Network.