A two-year partnership has been agreed on between General Electric (GE) and the Kenya Cardiac Society (KCS) to provide physicians and technicians in public and private hospitals in the country with echocardiography training.
The major aim of the training is to equip the physicians and technicians with knowledge to better offer primary baseline assessment for patients with identified cardiac illnesses.
To this end, the trainings has been slated to run for six-month, and is set to enhance the attendee with vital technical skills on cardiac imaging with focus to anatomy, physiology and hemodynamics as well as sonographic measurement and probe manipulation skills. The training will include several practical sessions led by professional sonographers and physician cardiologists.
Amongst the cardiac specialists in Kenya which are about 60 persons, the course has been targeted towards 40 personnel who will be trained over the two-year duration of the partnership.
Speaking at the event to announce the collaboration with the Kenya Cardiac Society, Andrew Waititu, CEO, GE Healthcare East Africa said, “The challenge in the efficient delivery of good-quality cardiac care is the absence of skilled and well-trained Healthcare Professionals (HCPs). Our collaboration with the Kenya Cardiac Society to provide echocardiography training is a key step in improving access to quality healthcare across the country.”
Dr. Bernard Gitura, President, Kenya Cardiac Society said, “Many facilities have inadequate echocardiography services as well as low access to training for practitioners in the treatment and management of various heart conditions. We are happy to collaborate with GE Healthcare to provide structured training that will enable participants to better diagnose and treat cardiac cases.”
GE Healthcare has a long history in supporting education and training to drive improved health outcomes. In 2016, GE inaugurated a healthcare training and skills institute in Kenya designed to train health professionals. Over 1900 professionals have benefited from the institute since its launch.
