Experiences, Observations, and Recommendations Related to Visits to the Semey Region of Kazakhstan from the Perspective of a Hospital Administrator

Simple item page
dc.citation.journalTitleDialogues Across Health, Science, Humanities, and Archivesen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber1en_US
dc.contributor.authorWright, Randall P.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-12T13:40:59Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-04-12T13:40:59Zen_US
dc.date.issued2024-04en_US
dc.description.abstractThis community case study is based on personal experiences as the Methodist Hospital representative assigned to the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) project in Semey, Kazakhstan during 1995-1996. Although I had over twenty years of hospital management experience, the healthcare structure in Kazakhstan was functioning on a rudimentary level, which made my background of limited help. Specifically, the transition from a Soviet Republic to an independent nation had disrupted the economy and left the healthcare system in shambles. Over three visits to the region—Feb 1995, Aug 1995, and September 1996—I was able to see cultural and economic barriers to changing the healthcare structure to a more efficient, all-encompassing medicine model. In broad terms, the lessons I learned were: (1) how poorly prepared I was to help with the terrible conditions in the Semey hospitals; (2) the difficulty presented by dependence on translation, which limited development of strong personal relationships with the Kazakhs; (3) the need to balance various Kazakh interests and the competition among hospitals and entities over control of the AIHA project; (4) an appreciation for Bishop Woodrow Hearn and Dr. Armin Weinberg, who first saw the needs and opportunities to help this region; and (5) missed opportunities to make my role more productive, such as contacting non-government organization (NGO) representatives on the ground prior to travel. The goal of this case study is to share what I learned and experienced during the visits, working as part of an international program that crossed cultural and governmental lines, and these lessons remain relevant today.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/115482en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subject.keywordSemey, Kazakhstanen_US
dc.subject.keywordnuclear testingen_US
dc.subject.keywordhospital administrationen_US
dc.subject.keywordcultural differencesen_US
dc.subject.keywordcross-cultural partnershipsen_US
dc.titleExperiences, Observations, and Recommendations Related to Visits to the Semey Region of Kazakhstan from the Perspective of a Hospital Administratoren_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Wright Article, Issue 1 (Final).pdf
Size:
285.47 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.7 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Volume 1: Radiation Effects and Events (Winter 2024)