ACEW Panama 2000

Advanced Clinical Engineering Workshop Panama 2000

The Twelfth Advanced Clinical Engineering Workshop (ACEW) was held in the tropical city of Panama, from 13-17 November 2000. The venue was the Continental Riande Hotel in the tourist and international banking district of Panama City. Mr Aldo Maatoo, Ms Mary Luz Santana and Dr Federico Hernández and his secretary Noraida Martinez co-ordinated the local arrangements and the logistics for the event. The staff of the Infrastructure Direction of the Ministry of Health was very active in providing administrative support. Ira Tackel coordinated the ACEW. Bob Morris, Tom Bauld, Kok-Swang Tan, Jonathan Gaev, Adriana Velásquez, Oscar Misla and Antonio Hernández were the members of the faculty. The core of the activity was the standard five-day workshop program, oriented to build and strengthen the clinical engineering and health care technology management capacity in the participants.

Workshop leader Tackel records the moment

Because of the excellence and high quality of the faculty, ACEWs are in high demand throughout the countries of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). The Ministry of Health of Panama requested of the ACEW organisers presentations running in parallel to permit additional attendees. Parallel sessions each afternoon succeeded in enabling additional attendance and in allowing attendees to interact more effectively with the faculty. The parallel presentation topics were technology management, electromagnetic interference, clinical engineering certification, regulation of medical devices, and equipment accident investigations.

The hard work of the faculty, presenting parallel sessions, enabled more than 230 professionals to participate in the ACEW. Each of five parallel three-hour sessions was attended by 30 participants. The workshop included 50 students in addition to 30 observers in the afternoon session.

ACEW delegates listen intently

As is the case for every ACEW, participants hailed from other Latin American Countries. Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Costa Rica and El Salvador were represented as well as Panama.

Bob Morris provided helpful advice to the Ministry of Health and its forensic investigation of an incident in the Santo Tomas Hospital in Panama. At the request of the Ministry of Health authorities, Bob and Ira presented a module on medical equipment accident investigation to the directors and administrators of the public and social security hospitals in Panama.

Faculty had ample opportunity for relaxing and enjoying the local hospitality. A wonderful visit to Old Panama on a beautifully exotic tropical night with a walk through the city's cobblestone streets and a fine meal of the local tasteful cuisine was just one of many highlights. An engineer's trip to Panama would not be complete without a visit to the Canal Zone. The faculty and students enjoyed this engineering diversion, which also gave them the opportunity to visit local handcraft and souvenir markets.

Tackel, Gaev, Tan and Morris (left to right) inspect the canal

The participants evaluated the ACEW as excellent. There could be no doubt that the ACEW left a significant mark and will have a long-term impact on the clinical and hospital engineering programs in Panama.

Special mention is made of Dr José Terán of the Ministry of Health and Dr Lilian Reneau-Vernon, PAHO's Representative in Panama, who provided total support enabling the realisation of the ACEW.

The excellent reputation of the ACEW program has reached the ears of most of the health authorities of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. As a result, Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, Jamaica, and Costa Rica would all like a workshop in the near future.

Antonio Hernández
1hernana@paho.org

Bauld Reflects on Panama ACEW

A first-time faculty member opens his diary to the reader

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO ), also known in Spanish as the Organization Panamerican Salud (OPS) in conjunction with The World Health Organization sponsored the Advanced Clinical Engineering Workshop. They pay for the travel and lodging expenses of the faculty and the students.

Security was very tight as the Combre Iperioamerica was taking place the weekend following the conference. At the airport when I arrived on Monday, a day late, there were police and what seemed to be military patrolling with automatic weapons and dogs. The presidents from the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and Spain had their Tenth Annual Meeting. President Fujimora from Chile did not attend. Fidel Castro, however, did attend and a group of Panamanians were arrested and charged with a plot to assassinate him. They were operating out of a hotel in downtown Panama City, not far from where we stayed.

My plane from LaGuardia, New York was late leaving because a few problems cropped up: the right engine needed a part, some cockpit gauges required service, exiting the gate was blocked by other aircraft, and we were thirtieth in line for takeoff. I was not surprised that I missed my connecting flight in Miami by two hours. I stayed over until Monday in the local Embassy Suites, which was very close and nice. Being close, I was able to go to the airport at 7:30 am to get on the standby list first. Then I returned to the hotel, got breakfast and did more work to prepare for the workshop. Luckily, as I waited on standby, the airline offered a $400 credit to folks who would take a later flight. Fortunately, although over 20 more people were booked than room allowed, I was the only standby to board. I had got the advice on how best to get on from the gate agents the night before. They had it perfect.

The PAHO-OPS staff was extremely helpful, friendly and competent. Many demands were made on them for last minute document production and large copying orders and they got it all accomplished in great spirits. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

Antonio Hernández and Tom Bauld (l. to r.)

Panama has two independence days, November 3 from Spain and November 28 from Columbia. Now they also have Canal Independence Day to celebrate. On the plane from Panama to Miami, I met a businessman who imports parts to Panama and who lived there 18 years. He said the business has declined since so many Americans left after the base closing.

There is a Smithsonian Aquarium and Research Laboratory near the Three Islands Causeway, a new cruise ship resort being built to accommodate the big ships and allow them a place to really stop instead of cruising right on through Panama.

A varied buffet lunch with a fine assortment of salads and cold foods as well as a line of hot items was served every day in the hotel dining room. Everyone had a meal ticket to turn in. Morning and afternoon coffee breaks included snacks.

Monday night, some of the faculty, Antonio, Bob, Ira, Tom, and Kok-Swang, ate at a very plain local restaurant, Costa Azul. It was simple and tasty and included a hair in one of the beer glasses. A TV interview was occurring outside on the patio as we ate.

On Tuesday night the faculty ate at the Italiannis restaurant based on Ira's enthusiastic and well-researched recommendation. He had run by it earlier in the day on his way to the waterfront fish market. It was very, very nice.

The bar at the hotel had an old Wurlitzer organ, but no one ever played it. The hotel had a casino off the main lobby. Lots of folks played at the 21 tables and the slots. Knowing my tendency to give money to the casino, I refrained.

Wednesday evening, the Organizing Committee took us to the old colonial part of Panama where the presidential residence and the National Theatre are located. It was a great treat. Our group of 15, in three cars, stopped first at the very old, circa 1615, Church of San Jose. It featured a gorgeous, huge gold altar. Then we toured the old areas and saw the Lindblade house named for a very popular singer in Latin America who recently ran for president but lost badly. We couldn't get two close to the President's place because of all the security. As you drive in the area, you must keep your headlights off so as not to blind the police.

The Church of San Jose

Thursday evening, a small group had a great meal at Mi Ranchito. Friday after lunch, we boarded a tourist bus for a special tour. Our guide was one of the Panamanian participants. We passed by the site of the invasion and the apprehension of Noriega. Some damage was still visible but not obvious.

We went to the Mias Flores Locks, but couldn't get close because Fidel Castro was there that day. Apparently, Fidel had been pushing for turnover of the Canal to Panama for a long time. This was his first visit to Panama since the transition. Close to the road a group of Cuban-Panamanians had set up a picnic and a welcoming celebration for Fidel. Where we did stop, we could see a good stretch of the canal with large freighters arriving regularly. We saw two arrive with the assistance of brand-new tugboats. We saw how the large boats were moved through the lock area with tugboats guiding them and 'donkey' engines pulling them through the lock.

As we toured the jungle portion of Los Publitos, a unique national park celebrating the three cultures that form Panama, a giant palm branch fell from a tree, narrowly missing some of our group by a few metres.

Friday night Norris, one of the delegates from Puerto Rico, became ill with asthma. She had run out of medication, so from the dinner at Mi Publitos, colleagues went to a drug store and were able to convince the pharmacist to provide a version of albuteral without a prescription. Unfortunately, it must not have been effective since as we returned around 1:30 from La Marina, Oscar was leaving in a cab taking Norris to a hospital. I called the next morning but got no response. We heard later that she recovered and returned home.

All in all, it was a fine experience and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity.