Sick and impoverished children in Trinidad and Tobago can now receive state-of-the-art medical care through video conferencing consultations with specialists at Sick Kids.
By Kevin Connor"A healthy nation is critical for development. These children will be able to rise to a better standard of living and quality of life," George Richards, president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, said yesterday from his country via the telehealth link.
Pediatric professionals from Mount Hope Hospital in Trinidad will use the University of West Indies telehealth site to access Sick Kids specialists for the purposes of patient consultations, education and research in order to strengthen pediatric health-care services in the poverty-stricken country.
LONG RELATIONSHIP
"Sick Kids has a long-standing relationship with Trinidad and Tobago's health-care sector. Pediatric fellows and residents from the region have trained at Sick Kids and have returned home to become health-care leaders," says Cathy Seguin, vice-president of child health services at Sick Kids.
The Toronto hospital also provides specialized care for children from Trinidad through the support of the Herbie Fund, a charitable organization that assists children from around the world to come to Sick Kids to receive medical treatment unavailable in their country.
To date, the fund has assisted more than 50 children from Trinidad to receive specialized surgical treatment in areas of cardiology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery and urology.
The Sick Kids telelink program was developed in 1996 to give consultations on patients in central and Northern Ontario.
