April 18, 2011

JHM International inks agreement with health care leader in Bogota

Johns Hopkins Medicine International has signed an agreement with Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, one of Colombia’s leading health care institutions, to collaborate on knowledge transfer projects, training and education, and clinical services.

In a letter sent last week to colleagues, Edward D. Miller, the Frances Watt Baker, M.D., and Lenox D. Baker Jr., M.D., Dean of the Medical Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said, “For more than a century, Hopkins has been recognized as a national and global leader in patient care, research and education, and we’re excited to add this opportunity to our existing portfolio of affiliations and strategic collaborations in Latin America—Hospital Punta Pacifica in Panama City, Panama (2001), Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico (2005), and Clinica Las Condes in Santiago, Chile (2007). We firmly believe that this project will bolster our historic and vital mission of helping to raise the standard of health care around the world.”

Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, founded in 1972, is a private not-for-profit organization. It owns the 205-bed University Hospital, the first Joint Commission International–accredited hospital in Bogota and second in the country, provides undergraduate and graduate medical training, and conducts research projects and public health programs in cooperation with the Universidad de Los Andes.

Under the agreement, Miller said, Johns Hopkins faculty and Johns Hopkins International experts will have the option of advising FSFB on the development of certain clinical programs related to a planned facilities expansion. The Johns Hopkins team also will assess opportunities to advance nursing services and provide assistance in the planning and implementation process.

In addition, JHI will guide FSFB during planning and architectural design phases for a new hospital project in northern Colombia. Other planned activities include customized training, observerships and joint symposia—similar to one held last year in the field of neurosciences—as well as opportunities for case review and patient referrals.

“This initial two-year collaboration agreement is intended to create the basis for a long-term strategic affiliation, and promises to bring a range of opportunities to Johns Hopkins departments, faculty and other experts here in Baltimore,” Miller said.