The USF College of Medicine Office of International Affairs hosted 18 hospital administrators from Gansu, China, for its inaugural Hospital Administrator Training Program Jan. 19 to Feb. 5. The trainees included vice presidents, department chiefs and division directors from hospitals affiliated with Lanzhou University and the Gansu Provincial Health Department in northwestern China. Lanzhou University is ranked among the top 13 universities in China.

Co-directed by Dr. John Sinnott and Dr. Lynette Menezes and coordinated by Kristy Andre, the three-week training program covered a variety of hospital management topics as well as afternoon tours of several USF centers such as the Morsani Center for Advance Healthcare, the Center for Aging and Brain Repair and USF-affiliated health facilities including Tampa General Hospital, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center and the Hillsborough County Health Department. The Gansu delegates praised the training experience, which was intended to broaden their vision of hospital management and teach new strategies, skills and techniques of better managing employees and hospital systems to deliver high-quality patient care.

“This is the first step to an ongoing medical exchange between the University of South Florida and universities and hospitals throughout China,” said Dr. Sinnott, associate dean of College of Medicine International Affairs and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine.

The delegates were welcomed by USF Provost Ralph Wilcox and Dean of International Affairs Dr. Maria Crummett. The program featured prominent speakers from senior leadership at the College of Medicine and Tampa General Hospital, including Dr. Stephen Klasko, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine; Ron Hytoff, president and CEO of TGH; and Dr. Sally Houston, Steve Short and Deana Nelson, all senior vice presidents of TGH. USF Health speakers included Dr. Robert Brooks, associate vice president for health leadership; Robert Belsole, vice dean for clinical affairs, and Mo Kasti, chief transformation officer

The delegates participated in an interactive training at the Team Education and Multidisciplinary Simulation “TEAMS” Center, led by Dr. Laura Haubner, assistant professor of pediatrics. The innovative simulations allow physicians, nurses and medical students to sharpen their clinical skills and hone interpersonal communication and decision-making capabilities. The delegates also toured the USF Health Simulation Center at TGH. Dr. Paul Sanberg, USF associate vice president for research, introduced the Gansu delegates to innovative regenerative medicine research conducted at the USF Health Center for Aging and Brain Repair.

At the College of Public Health, the administrators met with Dr. Ann Debaldo, associate vice president and associate dean of international affairs, and Dr. Yiliang Zhu, professor and director of the Center for Biostatistics, to discuss future collaborative programs in maternal and child health and cardiovascular disease prevention. At the College of Nursing, some delegates met with Dr. Sandra Cadena, assistant professor of nursing and director of global health, to follow up on potential training programs for nurses in specialty areas such as ICU and trauma.

The Chinese administrators noted they would like to replicate in their own hospitals the patient-centered outpatient care model at USF’s Morsani Center and the level of inpatient care demonstrated at TGH’s Trauma Center, ICU, Women’s Center and NICU. Long-term training programs in subspecialty medicine, trauma and surgery emerged as a critical need in Gansu during discussions with the delegates.

For more information about the Hospital Administrators Training Program, please contact Kristy Andre, COM coordinator of international affairs, kristyandre@gmail.com or (813) 844-8374.

RELATED STORY:
Clinical Observership Program hosts South Korean medical students