CHEST Foundation Donor Spotlight Spring 2015 | 页面 4

IMPROVING CHEST MEDICINE IN AFRICA
THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANT SUPPORT
“ gandan medical residencies are voluntary.
U
Unfortunately, only those with time and
personal resources or scholarship support
are able to obtain the education needed
for specialty training. Most Ugandan
doctors are general practitioners practicing
in low-resource settings and lack the tools
to diagnose and treat many respiratory
diseases.”

When Peter Moschovis, MD, MPH, visited sub-saharan
Africa in January 2013, he never imagined that 2 years later,
he’d be helping design a pulmonary program for a hospital
serving 8 million people. Although Massachusetts General
Hospital (MGH) has been collaborating with Mbarara
University of Science and Technology (MUST) for 15 years,
Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Mbarara, Uganda,
only had a single antiquated spirometer, no bronchoscopes,
and no physicians with specialized training in respiratory
diseases. Mbarara Hospital had a critical need for training
in pulmonary medicine and basic equipment for diagnosis
and treatment of lung diseases.
In 2013, Dr. Moschovis won the CHEST Foundation
Community Service Grant Honoring D. Robert McCaffree,
MD, Master FCCP. The original premise of the project was
aimed at developing a curriculum and purchasing a used
spirometer and bronchoscope. After receiving the grant,
Dr. Moschovis learned that even used bronchoscopes were
cost prohibitive. However, with determination, Dr. Moschovis
set out to acquire donated equipment from corporate
sponsors in hopes of further developing the Mbarara
Hospital’s program and is now using the grant funds to
help launch the region’s first pulmonary clinic.

S PRING 2015

- Peter Moschovis, MD, MPH

“ he CHEST Foundation grant helped gain the credibility
T
we needed to meet with others who had an interest in
supporting our program. Being a CHEST Foundation
grant winner opened doors for us.”
Thanks to the CHEST Foundation grant, Dr. Moschovis
and his colleagues at MGH were able to help Mbarara
Hospital receive a new bronchoscope, develop a curriculum
in pulmonary medicine for medical residents and staff
at MUST, and enable physicians from the United States
to mentor Ugandan internists who have an interest in
pulmonary medicine. The training and equipment has
allowed Ugandan internists to improve the diagnosis and
treatment of respiratory diseases, ultimately improving
patients’ conditions, treatments, and lives and the care
they receive. “Through Dr. Moschovis’ training program
and the donated equipment, MUST has been better
able to identify difficult diagnoses and deliver better
patient care”, says Dr. Dan Muyanja, the new director of the
pulmonary program at MUST.
The CHEST Foundation provides millions of dollars to
proudly support worldwide community service and research
programs.