Published: May 13, 2015
A new medical resident exchange pilot program moved another step forward recently when five visitors from Merida, Mexico traveled to Lansing and toured Sparrow with hospital leaders and officials from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The group from Mexico included government, health care and educational leaders.
The partnership between Sparrow, MSU and Mexico’s Yucatan Department of Health will foster opportunities for medical education, training, research, and outreach between the Mexican state and mid-Michigan.
The Global Health: Medical Resident Exchange Program is expected to begin in the fall of 2015 when the first medical residents travel from the Yucatan capital of Merida to Sparrow in Lansing. Its organizers are already exploring possibilities that may include collaborative research and clinical work.
When in Lansing, the group toured Sparrow’s Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Mary Free Bed at Sparrow, and met with Sparrow President and CEO Dennis Swan, members of Sparrow Leadership and MSU officials.
Leaders from Sparrow, along with representatives from MSU’s Institute of International Health, visited Merida, Mexico in January of 2015, where they met with Yucatan state health department and the University of Marista de Merida officials and O’Horan Hospital administrators to solidify plans for this initiative. The program will be coordinated through the MSU Institute of International Health and the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.