The doctors of the Jelgava city hospital have gone to Carmel in the USA for an exchange of experience

In March, Jelgava City Hospital received an invitation from Indiana University Health United States, which offered the opportunity for two doctors of the institution to participate in the experience exchange program.

Kārlis Smilga, a member of the board of the Jelgava city hospital, explains: Indiana University Health is the largest health care system in the state of Indiana – it combines 16 hospitals with 2,700 beds, including the Indianapolis Clinical University Hospital. A total of 36 thousand employees work in the system. “U.S. universities and hospitals work in close cooperation, providing treatment for children and adults, as well as education and scientific work. By accepting the invitation of this high-profile clinical university hospital, our physicians will have the opportunity to gain experience in a hospital system located throughout the state of Indiana. Even before the trip, cooperation partners in the USA found out what our wishes and interests are, and the course of the exchange program has been prepared accordingly. Basically, the doctors of the hospital will gain medical experience and supplement their knowledge in their specialty. Namely, doctors as interns will be involved in the work of departments, participate in operations, get acquainted with hospital infrastructure and the latest generation equipment. I also called on our employees to pay attention to other important aspects – work organization, patient safety and digitization solutions in medical institutions,” says K. Smilga. Jelgava medics are also scheduled to meet with the mayor of Karmela, deputies and Indiana University Health management.

It should be noted that upon receiving the invitation to participate in the exchange program, the application of interested parties was announced at the Jelgava city hospital. “We received a total of 18 applications from doctors, residents and nurses. This time, doctors in different specialties were chosen – surgeon Kaspars Vaivods and neonatologist Ilze Punka,” said K. Smilga, explaining: English language skills, time worked in the hospital, as well as future work plans were the main criteria for choosing exchange program participants. acquired knowledge and experience will be applied in Jelgava city hospital. The nominated candidates were also approved by the US cooperation partners.

Neonatologist or newborn doctor I. Punka has been working at the Jelgava city hospital since 2011 – initially she was an on-call pediatrician, while currently, along with on-call, her main work is in the Maternity Department. “I am pleased with this opportunity and ready for a new experience. Until now, I have attended conferences in the Baltic countries, visited an Uzbekistan hospital, but this is the first time I will experience an exchange of experience on this scale. Since the population density in the state of Indiana is much higher than here, it will be valuable both to experience the work organization of large departments, to get to know the work methods of various narrow-profile specialists, and also to see the technologies used,” says I.Punka. On the other hand, surgeon K. Vaivods, who has been working at the city hospital for 10 years, adds: “Until now, the idea of ​​US medicine has been only theoretical, so getting to know the medical system in one of the most developed countries in the world is a valuable opportunity to get inspiration for improvements here in Jelgava.”

After the visit of Jelgava city doctors to the state of Indiana, the Jelgava city hospital will prepare a return visit invitation for Carmel doctors. “In the field of medicine, continuing education is the foundation of the profession, so cooperation with such high-level hospitals is a truly unique opportunity with high added value. We will work so that this initiative results in long-term cooperation,” sums up K. Smilga.

It should be noted that the exchange program is one of the initiatives of the cooperation program concluded between Jelgava and Carmel, which was developed by the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Indiana and the president of Jelgava’s twinning city Carmel twinning committee Andris Bērziņš.

The decision to conclude a twinning agreement between Jelgava and Carmel in the USA was made in May 2022, but the agreement was already signed in December. The cooperation between Jelgava and Carmel has already yielded results. For example, Jelgava city hospital received a valuable gift from Indiana University Health – clothing of medical personnel. 14,335 units of medical clothing worth 286,000 euros left for Jelgava. The received gift was distributed both to the employees working in the hospital and other medical institutions in the city.

Also, last August, two Jelgava municipal police officers went to the state of Indiana to exchange experience. Working alongside Carmel police officers, they participated in patrols and got an idea of ​​police work in the United States. On the other hand, in September 2023, Carmel police officers came to Jelgava on a return visit.

It should be noted that Carmel is a city in Indiana with a population of over 100,000. It has become Jelgava’s thirteenth twinning city and the first twinning city in the USA.