RAD-AID Chapter at Albany Medical Center
Department Chairman: Dr. Gary Siskin
Program Director Radiology Residency: Dr. Christine Cooley
Chapter President: Dr. Kishendra (Kris) Gopaul
Chapter Vice President: Dr. Poojitha Reddy
Chapter Secretary: Dr. Bilal Arif
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tariq Gill
ABOUT
Albany Medical Center Chapter for RAD-AID was formed by the Division of Radiology at Albany Medical Center in October of 2015. The program allows Residents, Technologists, and Faculty to participate in global health initiatives.
Mission: Collaborate with other charitable organizations to assist and provide medically underserved regions of the world with technology, training, and educational material in medical imaging.
PROJECTS
UKRAINE (2015 – Present)
The Ukraine outreach program was founded in 2015 as a collaboration between then resident Dr. George Bolotin, Chapter President in collaboration with RAD-AID International and Radiologists without Borders, led by founder Dr. Tariq Gill, and in conjunction with the Ukrainian based philanthropic organization Hope in Action. Hope in Action is a not for profit Organization providing mobile health services in rural Ukraine. The goal was to initiate an ongoing educational program for Radiologists and Medical Technologists serving in Ukraine. In addition the team would partner with Ukrainian physicians to deliver state of the art healthcare directly to the under-served in rural Ukraine. The first in person trip to Ukraine took place in October 2015. To date Radiologists without Borders have completed four separate trips to Ukraine from 2015 to 2019.
In 2016, through a grant made possible by Hologic, a digital mammography machine was shipped to Ukraine and put into service in a recently constructed mobile trailer. On the second trip, which was the first for then 1st year radiology resident, Sunil Narayan, a digital screening mammography program was established. In addition to performing mammograms, training in basic interpretation of common radiographic examination and setting up a Breast Cancer screening program for general public was initiated.
During our last trip to Ukraine in 2019, over 200 mammograms were performed with 5 cancers detected and referred for additional evaluation and treatment. These results demonstrate the impact of a commitment to deliver state of the art healthcare to the underserved.
Cooperation with Academia
Over the past several years a cooperative relationship has developed with the academic community centered in Ternopil. A formal partnership was agreed to with the Vice Minister of Health Affairs in Ternopil in 2018, which has featured multiple academic lectures and culminated with the donation of a digital breast mammography machine, facilitated by Hologic, resulting in a state of the art screening mammography program for Ukraine.
However, our efforts faced a setback when our storage unit in Ternopil was directly bombed during the unprecedented Russian invasion earlier this year. Despite this adversity, we remain dedicated to delivering care to those in dire need. Radiology Without Borders has dispatched numerous medical supplies to a pre-established distribution center in Poland, including tourniquets for controlling bleeding, surgical instruments like Endografts, and anesthetic medications, all of which are essential for treating traumatic injuries.
Beyond medical care, our volunteers are actively engaged in managing the humanitarian crisis by establishing a logistics center at the Polish-Ukrainian border. Here, we assess the need for monetary assistance, food and shelter supplies, and assist in the evacuation of refugees.
Looking ahead, we plan to evaluate the impact of our Mobile Clinic and aspire to establish similar medical mobile programs in other rural areas. Once the war subsides, we aim to schedule additional trips to regional hospitals, offering on-site interpretation of radiological studies, and providing training for new technologists and physicians in quality mammography and sonography.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all at Albany Medical Center.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Kishendra Gopaul: gopaulk@amc.edu
Dr. Tariq Gill: roentgengill@yahoo.com