RAD-AID Nicaragua launched its program in 2014 under the leadership of Dr. Gillian Battino, Director of RAD-AID Latin America. In the last 3 years, RAD-AID donated 4 PACS systems to 4 hospitals in Managua (with support from IBM/Merge), and deployed over 10 teams to urban and rural areas of Nicaragua for ultrasound and radiography training of local personnel.
RAD-AID is currently working at AMOS Health & Hope, Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca, La Mascota Hospital, and El Hospital Bautista, to impact the health care of nearly 2 million people. RAD-AID’s program in Nicaragua has reinforced collaborations across RAD-AID Chapters, such as Henry Ford Hospital (Michigan), Georgetown Medical Center (Washington DC), SUNY Downstate (New York), University of Iowa, and University of Wisconsin. RAD-AID renewed its support for AMOS via a grant agreement for 2019 that will support local radiology and ultrasound staff.
For example, a recent RAD-AID Nicaragua team performed over 80 ultrasounds over 3.5 days of scanning in the urban center at AMOS in Managua, the government clinic in rural El Ayote, and a rural clinic in Banco de Sikia in the RAAS region of Nicaragua. Additionally, we established relationships with both a public radiology residency at Bertha Calderon Hospital and a private hospital radiology residency at Hospital Bautista in Managua and strengthened local partnerships. Integrating health information technologies, PACS, radiology equipment, and clinical education is enabling RAD-AID to help transform Nicaraguan health care into a leading edge of advanced medical networks and imaging. RAD-AID plans to continue in Nicaragua in close collaboration with the World Health Organization Pan American Health Organization.