“The Goal is a Portable Ultrasound in Every District Hospital in the Lao PDR.” HLI in Partnership with US DOS Has Will Have Provided 97 Ultrasounds in Seven Years!”

HLI has provided leadership and mentoring to the ultrasound faculty and disseminated updated translated medical and ultrasound curriculum and training materials each year to Lao ultrasound co-trainers from 2016-2018. The lead Lao ultrasound faculty, Molina Choummanivong, MD, Radiologist from the University of Health Sciences and four other Lao physician ultrasound faculty have helped build the District Hospital ultrasound training program from 2016 to 2018. Molina Choummanivong MD and Cam McIntyre MD have led both the basic and advanced ultrasound program for over four years developing a sustainable cadre of skilled Lao radiologists that assist in the District Trainings each year.

The training materials given include:

• “Ultrasound: A Practical Approach” book in English. Some chapters translated into Lao
• “Basic Health Care Training for Ultrasound” PowerPoint presentations developed by UW and I-TECH and have been translated in the Lao language.
• Interactive CD-ROM to teach ultrasound skills
• Manual of Ultrasound from Partners in Health
• USBs each year with topics that include thyroid gland, emergency ultrasound, fetal anomalies, Focused Assessment using Sonography for Trauma (FAST SCAN), emergency obstetric ultrasound, ectopic pregnancy, and first trimester bleeding.

The Ministry of Health has asked Health Leadership International to provide medical mentoring and leadership training to physicians, nurses, and healthcare leaders. There is a strong interest in improving the leadership skills of physicians at both the Provincial and District to strengthen the overall health system which can utilize the diagnostic ultrasound capability.