A role for healthcare in the global commons

1. WiRED International
A Role for Healthcare in
the Global Commons
WiRED works in collaboration with
The Marion Wright Edelman Institute
San Francisco State University

2. WiRED provides medical and
healthcare information,
education and communications
in developing and war-affected
countries

3. In a single day,
WiRED can
convert an empty
room into an
information center
that rivals the
libraries of the
world’s best
medical schools

4. WiRED provides three key services:
 Medical Information Centers serve doctors and
medical professionals.
 Community Health Information Centers serve
grassroots populations.
 Telemedicine Services provide “face-to-face”
interactions

5. Where
WiRED
works:

6. „Illness, disease
and injury afflict us
all.
„Our search for
cures and ways to
mend broken
bodies joins us
together.
„Concern for
human health is a
common
denominator.

7. WiRED seeks to unite
medical communities
through improved
communication

8. Medical
Information
Centers

11. “Information is key to our profession and we
are pleased that WiRED has been able to
assist our medical community with this
innovative, effective and most welcomed
information support.” ‟Iraqi Ministry of Health, 2005

13. Medical
Information Centers
In Kenya

14. Medical Information Center
University of Nairobi
School of Medicine
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya
Johnny Carson, launches Center

15. Medical
Information
Centers
In Nicaragua

18. Medical Information
Center
In Honduras

19. Medical Information
Centers In Kosovo

20. Medical
Information
Centers
In Montenegro
Ribbon Cutting in Podgorica

21. Medical
Information
Centers
In Serbia

22. Community Health
Information
Centers
Providing grassroots
populations with health
care information

23. Helping people
see their capacity and
responsibility to
influence their
own health

24. The centers merge
technology and
a human support staff

26. Solar Power
Miles from the
nearest utility pole

27. Staff training workshops-- Graduation

28. The Centers have become . . .
 Libraries
 Meeting places
 Support centers
 Referral stations
 Regional HIV/AIDS Schools
 Health resource hubs

30. We believe that assistance programs are like
ropes, you cannot push them, the people
must pull them for themselves. Provide
people the tools, the training, some ongoing
help, and they will take the programs to
places you could not have imagined for them.

31. Lessons Learned:
1. Keep it simple. For doctors, IT is the means to an
end, not the end in itself.
2. See the full scope of your efforts. IT is only one
element.
3. Must have audience buy-in. Can’t push a rope.
4. Integrate local customs and values.
5. Know why you’re doing this.

32. “We trust that these healthcare
programs will remind people of our
commonality, of the fact that, at heart,
we are the same, one and all. It is true
that much divides us, but our quest for
good health is the tie that binds.”