The launch of the world's first online ultrasound training course for Community Health Workers (CHWs) by 19Labs, in partnership with Northwell Health, represents a pioneering step in enhancing healthcare access for remote and rural communities. This initiative addresses a critical need and sets a precedent for future healthcare education and service delivery innovations.
Redwood City, CA – June 20, 2024
Addressing Healthcare Disparities in Remote Areas
Access to medical services in remote areas remains a significant global challenge due to geographic isolation and limited healthcare infrastructure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions worldwide do not have access to essential health services, and rural communities are disproportionately affected by this gap. Ultrasound technology, a critical tool in medical diagnostics, is often unavailable in these regions due to a lack of trained personnel and resources, leading to delayed or missed diagnoses.
In response to these challenges, 19Labs, in partnership with Northwell Health, has developed an innovative solution to bridge this gap. Northwell Health, known for its expertise and dedication to healthcare innovation, provides the training expertise essential for this program’s success.
“This goes beyond training for ultrasounds. It's bridging those gaps culturally, too. It brings something into the Hinterland communities and brings something from the communities out. It's a cultural exchange, if you will.” – Radha Persaud, Northwell Health Sonographer with 30 years of experience.
Our Response
Our new online ultrasound training course is designed specifically for CHWs. This course is the first of its kind globally and was launched as part of the National Guyana program. By targeting CHWs, often the primary healthcare providers in remote areas, this training program ensures that vital diagnostic services reach underserved populations and enhances their capacity to deliver quality healthcare in underserved regions.
One key motivation for this program is to empower CHWs with skills that traditionally require extensive formal education and hands-on experience. By leveraging advanced telehealth technologies, the program enables CHWs to perform basic ultrasounds to provide better imaging for specialists to assess, which can be critical for maternal and child health, emergency care, and managing chronic diseases.
Training Course Features
The course is designed to be highly interactive and practical, utilizing the latest teaching methods and technologies. Key features include:
Practical Training: Remote, virtual, one-on-one, hands-on training sessions with a Northwell sonographer to ensure CHWs gain practical experience. The hands-on training component ensures that participants are not only theoretically proficient but also practically capable of using ultrasound devices in real-world scenarios.
Innovative Technology: Utilization of the GALE telehealth platform to enhance learning. This platform supports real-time feedback and interactive sessions, making learning more dynamic and engaging.
Tailored Curriculum: The curriculum focuses on typical conditions and scenarios encountered in remote settings to prepare CHWs to meet the needs of their communities. It includes learning common diagnostic scenarios and terminology commonly used in ultrasounds for better controller understanding and troubleshooting equipment issues.
As Radha said, when seeing the aptitude and enthusiasm the CHWs displayed when receiving the program:
“It's so good to empower these community health workers. It gives them a voice, and I can see how they can excel and teach the other community health workers how to operate ultrasounds over telemedicine. They can be teachers in the future.”
Rexon, a Community Health Worker who participated in the pilot sessions of the training course, expressed his appreciation for it, saying,
“I really appreciate the people who organized this training because this was my aim to study ultrasound. The training was not difficult. It was good to manage.”
Northwell’s Support
Northwell Health plays a pivotal role in this collaborative initiative, providing an expert trainer with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Their involvement ensures the highest training standards, leveraging their ultrasound technology and medical education expertise. This partnership underscores the value of public-private collaborations in driving healthcare innovation and improving service delivery.
Northwell’s trainer during the program's inception, Radha Persaud, has highlighted the program's transformative impact on CHWs' confidence and competence in using ultrasound technology:
"Working with 19Labs on this initiative has been incredibly rewarding. Seeing the CHWs gain confidence and skills is a testament to the program's success."
Impact and Benefits
The impact of this training program is profound. Trained CHWs will enhance healthcare delivery in their communities by:
Enhanced Diagnostic Capabilities: Enabling early detection and management of health conditions through ultrasound. This early detection is crucial for preventing complications and managing diseases more effectively.
Improved Patient Outcomes: Local access to ultrasounds reduces the need for patients to travel long distances for diagnostic services. This allows patients to receive timely care, which is particularly important for emergency and maternal health cases.
“My community will benefit from ultrasounds done with a Radiologist in many ways, such as on antenatal mothers to see internal organs and identify the problems they're having.” – Rexon, a CHW in Guyana’s Hinterland area.
Future Outlook
There is immense potential to scale this program beyond Guyana to other regions and countries facing similar healthcare challenges. The long-term benefits of such an initiative are vast, including sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery and the creation of a model that can be replicated globally, offering hope for enhanced healthcare access worldwide.
The launch of this online ultrasound training course marks a significant milestone in our mission to improve healthcare access in underserved communities. By equipping CHWs with essential technical skills, we are taking a crucial step towards bridging the healthcare gap in rural and remote areas.
About 19Labs
19Labs is the creator of GALE, a Next Generation Point-of-Care platform for pharmacies, schools, workplaces, and rural communities. GALE brings together cutting-edge diagnostic technologies from industry leaders like Zoom, Elo, Amwell, Samsung Mobile, MIR, Omron, Viasat, EchoNous, PAP Link, and many others in one smart, efficient, and cost-effective platform. It was designed from the ground up to be operated by non-healthcare professionals in locations with limited infrastructure and optimized for low bandwidth and intermittent connectivity. To learn more about GALE, please visit www.19labs.com.
Comments