Clinicians and Hospital Administrators from the Commonwealth of Independent States Visit the United States

September 10, 2007 – Eighteen clinicians and hospital administrators from the Commonwealth of Independent States began a four-week visit to the United States in mid-August under the sponsorship of the Special American Business Internship Training (SABIT) Hospital Administration Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce. On August 22, 2007, they came to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where they met with Jay Merchant, International Relations Advisor in the Office of the Administrator at the HHS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to learn about the Federally funded health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled; and with Deborah Queenan, Senior Advisor for International Health at the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to discuss mechanisms employed to measure the quality of care in the United States.

The SABIT Hospital Administration program is designed to train hospital, medical center and clinic administrators from the Russian Far East, Western Eurasia and the Caucasus. This program offers an opportunity for U.S. organizations to demonstrate their products and equipment, as well as to share expertise and exchange experience and best practices with their Eurasian colleagues.

During their stay in the United States, the group is scheduled to visit the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the American Hospital Association, and the HHS National Institutes of Health, to learn about new trends in medical and scientific research. They will also visit the office of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the American Medical Association, and several hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. The delegation will conclude their trip in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, and visit the University of California, Berkeley, the Stanford University Medical School, the Kaiser Permanente International Office and several hospitals.

Last revised: September 10, 2007