ASH Clinical News ACN_4.3_FULL-ISSUE-DIGITAL | Page 49

CLINICAL NEWS Still, TKI therapy for CML is prohibitively expensive and not available in Cambodia, the authors noted, highlighting the value of international collaborations between low-resource settings and developed countries where these treatments are a routine part of clinical practice. Vireak P, Heng S, Kea S, et al. Successful treatment of pediatric CML in Cambodia– an international collaboration. G-20. Improving Diagnosis and Care of Children With Blood Diseases in the Caribbean Michelle Reece-Mills, MD, from the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, highlighted the work of the SickKids-Caribbean Initia- tive (SCI) – a collaboration between The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (also known as SickKids) and seven Caribbean institutions that launched in 2013. SCI focuses on building sustain- able, local capacity to diagnose, treat, and manage blood diseases in children living in six Caribbean countries: the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lu- cia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. After surveying the needs of SCI part- ners throughout the region, the program identified several objectives to improve patient care: • provide training and education in the areas of hematology/oncology, nursing, and laboratory services • establish best practices and improve health outcomes through the development and maintenance of local hospital-based pediatric oncology databases and treatment protocols adapted for local use • establish an integrated and sustainable communication structure for bidirectional education among local partners Together, these goals would help create “a regional community of practice,” the researchers noted. At the annual meet- ing, Dr. Reece-Mills shared several SCI success stories since the program’s launch, including: • conducting 37,578 newborn SCD screening tests for children in Jamaica and St. Lucia at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research • expanding the workforce to include 26 nurses from SCI partner countries who completed the pediatric hematology/oncology nursing diploma program at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing in Trinidad • registering 457 patients in local, custom-built oncology databases established in SCI partner hospitals • establishing 7 telemedicine facilities throughout partner countries • publishing 9 locally adapted supportive care and clinical care guidance documents Reece-Mills M, Alexis S, Allen U, et al. SickKids-Caribbean Initiative: Col- laborating to improve the diagnosis and care of children with cancer and serious blood disorders in the Caribbean. G-27. Aye Aye Gyi, MBBS, at right, speaks with an attendee at the Global Capacity-Building Showcase. ASH Clinical News 47