Danny Glover & James Early visit ELAM and Cuba's Cochlear Implant Program, MEDICC Hosts

September 17, 2009--Stage and screen star Danny Glover and Director of Cultural Heritage Policy for the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folk Life James Early, are in Cuba visiting flagship health institutions and programs at the invitation of MEDICC. Despite having traveled to the island many times, this was their first visit to Havana's Latin American Medical School (ELAM) and La Pradera, rehabilitation center for Cuba's cochlear implant program. Jose Juan Ortiz, UNICEF Representative in Cuba also accompanied the delegation.

In a meeting at the school's campus on the outskirts of Havana, Rector Juan Carrizo explained ELAM's mission to train doctors from and for underserved areas by providing full scholarships; there are currently over 24,000 young people from 30 countries studying at the six-year medical school. Dr. Carrizo went on to note that ELAM is one of several socially accountable medical schools around the world striving to forge solutions to the global shortage of health workers.

"Cuba has a generosity of spirit and is a standard bearer for compassion - both of which can help shift the paradigm of medical training and service," said Mr. Glover. This was reinforced in a meeting with dozens of the 110 US students enrolled at ELAM who spoke passionately about their commitment to providing equitable, accessible health care back home. Some, including those that participated in the Salud Southwest Exchange and other volunteer projects this past summer, are already on their way. Clearly moved, Early and Glover initiated a lively discussion about how to support those already at ELAM while attracting more US students to the school.    

At La Pradera, Glover and Early met children and parents benefiting from Cuba's cochlear implant program. Of national scope, the program provides a continuum of care - from implants and rehabilitation to lifetime follow-up by a multi-disciplinary team - for deaf and deaf and blind children. To date, 160 Cuban children from all over the island have received the surgically implanted electronic devices, after which they undergo a comprehensive rehabilitation plan tailored to their needs at La Pradera. The center also treats pediatric patients with brain tumors using Nimotuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody developed in Cuba and recently approved for clinical trials in the United States.