Dear Colleagues,
It's been a while since I talked about the possibility of UHN working with the Government of Kuwait. I'm writing from Kuwait to let you know that University Health Network (UHN) has just signed a five-year agreement with the Ministry of Health of the State of Kuwait, which will see UHN providing management and clinical expertise to the Kuwait Cancer Control Centre (KCCC), Kuwait's foremost cancer institution serving the nation's population of 3.5 million. The agreement will require final ratification by our Board of Trustees who have been very supportive of this initiative.
The Kuwait Ministry of Health and UHN have entered this partnership to help with the cancer service delivery at the KCCC, with a focus on such areas as radiation medicine, medical oncology, surgical oncology and laboratory medicine services. The goal of this partnership is to improve patient access to cancer-related services in Kuwait and expand best practices. A major focus will be placed on improving nursing and physician education, administration and information technology. For us, it will mean new opportunities for people working at UHN to gain international experience, share their knowledge with others, and develop systems that we need to benefit both UHN and Kuwait.
As I've said to many of you, Ontario's health care system has the knowledge and expertise which could be of value in a global market. This partnership with Kuwait enables the sharing of this knowledge and provides significant support to UHN so that we continue to invest in innovative approaches to care that will benefit our patients. We will also work with Kuwait to determine whether there are other areas of health care where they would like to partner.
In the coming months we will begin work on implementation. It will be an exciting time for us and for our new partners and I will keep you informed as the partnership develops.
Bob
