New Initiative of IVeH – Partnering with Surgeons of Kosova to establish The Kosova College of Surgeons
The International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation (IVeH) (www.iveh.org) has been working for last 20 years in Kosova, where it created the first telemedicine program in the Balkans. Now, the IVeH is proud to have engaged with local surgical organizations and local health authorities to establish the Kosova College of Surgeons (KCS). IVeH is implementing this project in conjunction with 14 surgical societies of Kosova, representing more than 800 surgeons.
The mission of KCS is to unify all practicing surgeons (including those in academic and public hospitals and institutions as well as private practice and private hospitals) across the country, residents of every surgical discipline, and medical students who will pursue surgery in the future. The purpose of KCS is to increase and improve the quality of surgical care, increase academically-oriented human capacities. and improve access to state-of-the-art surgical care. The IVeH will assist with this project using its strategy Initiate- Build-Operate-Transfer (IBOT) which has been successfully employed in the creation of telemedicine programs in Kosova, Albania, and Cabo Verde. “This is truly a historical moment for surgery of Kosova,” said Dr. Rifat Latifi, the founding President of Kosova College of Surgeons. “Our goal over the next 5 years is to make the Kosova College of Surgeons the main driver of quality improvement programs in all surgical disciplines, establish the mechanisms of creating sustainable leadership infrastructure in surgery that will lead the College to new heights of modern surgery, establish full transparency of quality of surgical care, and make KCS a solid partner of the international surgery community.”
Dr. Latifi added that KCS will be modeled after the famed American College of Surgeons and will focus on improving quality of care and patient safety.
The IVeH is a nonprofit organization (501c3), established in the state of Virginia in the United States of America. The IVeH was created to help rebuild the medical system in developing countries by introducing and implementing telemedicine, e-health, and virtual educational programs through the concept of international collaboration, sustainability, local infrastructure, and local capacities.
IVeH is managed and governed by an international Board of Directors. Since its establishment in 2001, IVeH has worked tirelessly to create a recognized model of rebuilding medical systems using telemedicine and virtual education networks, which can serve as an affordable and comprehensive model for developing countries. The IVeH network combines a unique model of telemedicine and intensive virtual educational programs through international collaboration to build and develop the human capabilities to independently manage telemedicine and e-health in developing countries.
The IVeH has been funded by European Union, USAID, State Department and other private donors. We plan to wage an aggressive campaign to search for funding sources from private individuals and foundations, U.S. government agencies, and other governments involved in Kosova. Funding for this project will be used to create sustainable leadership infrastructure, academic and human capacities, administrative support, and educational programs for patients and family support – all to improve the quality of care, based on American College of Surgeons quality improvement programs and patient’s safety.