News+Events
Join us at an upcoming event to network with colleagues, learn more about CASIEF, and get inspired about how you can get involved in global health.
NEWS
Announcements
CASIEF is pleased to announce that Dr. Joel Parlow has been appointed as Chair, CASIEF for a three-year period. This appointment concludes Dr. Dylan Bould’s term as Chair, however, he will continue to work with us through his appointment of past-Chair, CASIEF, and will serve for an additional three-year term.
CASIEF and the Board of Trustees wish to thank Dr. Dylan Bould for serving as Chair, and for his dedication and significant contributions to CASIEF, our partner institutions, and the landscape of global health and safe anesthesia.
In case you missed it, the CASIEF year-end newsletter is now available!
Oxygen saturation has become an indispensable tool to ensure safety in operating rooms and to triage patients. In the COVID19 pandemic, pulse oximeters have become especially relevant in helping doctors stratify which patients have dangerously low levels of oxygen. It is the standard to determine if patients need oxygen supplementation and when more serious interventions, like intubation and ventilation, is needed.
Around the world, tens of thousands of operating rooms are missing this life saving device. Limited access in low-resource healthcare systems put millions of lives at risk. Lifebox® is a is working to change this reality by increasing access to pulse oximetry.
You can read more about the invention, adoption, and innovation in pulse oximetry here:
Betty Zhang (medical student, McMaster)
Dr. Sonia Akrimi
Director- Zambia Anaesthesia Development Program
Trustee- Global Anaesthesia Development Project
If a peak in cases like we have seen in North America and Europe occur, the impact of COVID-19 in Africa is likely to be devastating. In addition to worries about a surge in critically unwell patients, deaths and morbidity directly resulting from a reduction in essential services will increase.
In response to this, CASIEF are working with the Global Anaesthesia Development Project to support anaesthesia providers in low and middle-income countries in their response to COVID-19, aiming to reduce the negative impact on progress made in the development of perioperative capacity and safety in past years.
A critical part of this work is keeping anaesthesia providers safe through appropriate PPE. By supporting the work of the Global Anaesthesia Development Project, CASIEF have been able to support a significant increase in PPE provision for anaesthesia providers in Ethiopia, including sourcing 1,000 N95 masks. We are working with GADP to source more masks and to work with local traders to make use of innovative solutions for PPE, for example locally produced face shields and other filtering face masks.
We are aiming to make sure that our anaesthesia provider partners feel confident they can care for patients with the correct protective equipment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with so many anaesthesia providers in need of our support, there remains a long way to go.
You can help by supporting the Global Anaesthesia Development Project’s fundraising campaign in which funds are being raised for anaesthesia providers in both of GADP’s partner countries, Ethiopia and Zambia.
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/personalprotectiveequipment
This money will go directly towards sourcing more N95 masks and increasing local production of masks, face shields and surgical gowns in both countries.
For further information about the GADP response to COVID-19, please see https://gadppartnerships.com/ or email Sonia Akrimi (sakrimi@doctors.org.uk).
CASIEF EVENTS
2019 CASIEF Family Fun Dinner at the Calgary Zoo
- Sunday, June 23rd, 2019
- Reception: 18:00 / Dinner & Speaker: 19:00-22:00
- Transportation: Return trip C-Train Pass (Included, optional)
- Guided Zoo Tour: 17:00-18:00 ($13)
This year we are taking advantage of a really interesting and interactive location – THE CALGARY ZOO. We have planned this to be as accessible as possible for CAS delegates as well as friends and family of CASIEF, yes even the kids! We have teamed up with Calgary Transit to offer a round trip C-Train pass from the convention site to the Zoo to take the stress out of getting there and back. Our event will start any time after 4pm, take some time to explore on your own or register to participate in our custom 1 hour tour of “DESTINATION AFRICA” at 5:00pm for a reduced fee.
Our traditional program will start at 6:00pm with cocktails and some magical surprises followed by a buffet dinner at 7:00pm featuring some classics including a variety of salads, AAA Alberta Beef, farm raised chicken and a vegetarian option, finishing with a selection of desserts. Our Featured Guest Speaker will be Dr. Sandie Black, Head of Veterinary Services, The Calgary Zoo “On the horns of a dilemma: Anesthesia for giraffes, gorillas, geckos and other denizens of the wildlife world.”
Getting There: Round trip passes on the C-Train from the Hyatt Calgary Stop to/from the Calgary Zoo for your convenience. One way trip is 8-10 minutes. Note: For those not opting for the C-Train Pass, no other transportation will be provided.
Purchase ticket today.
AFFILIATED EVENTS
BETHUNE ROUND TABLE 2019
The Bethune Round Table (BRT) is an annual interdisciplinary scientific meeting hosted at a Canadian academic centre to discuss challenges and solutions to improving surgical care to under-serviced and marginalized populations in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of the BRT is to bring together health professionals from a variety of disciplines including surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians, and nurses to share their research and experiences in the delivery of surgery in low-resource settings.
Upcoming Course Details
Dates: June 6-9, 2019
Host: University of Alberta
Website: BethuneRoundTable.com
ANESTHESIA GLOBAL OUTREACH COURSE
Anesthesia is an essential component of every health system. Despite its pivotal role in routine surgical care, it has not been prioritized globally. This is undoubtedly partially due to a global health human resources shortage and disparities in distribution of personnel globally. Beyond this, at the level of many district hospitals in low-income countries, there are simply few resources to institute physician-led anesthetic care models that are commonplace in high resource settings. Given the scope of the surgical burden of disease, attempts to remedy the situation have included equipment donations, trainee exchanges, or even assisting patients to obtain care abroad. Their sustainability and effectiveness remains uncertain.
The Anesthesia for Global Outreach Course is focused on providing anesthesia providers with the skills and knowledge to work both safely and responsibly in the low-resource setting. The target audience for this course is medical professionals planning to deliver anesthesia, peri-operative, and critical care in the low-resource settings. It is designed primarily for anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants, however it may also include nursing, pain management, and respiratory care.
Upcoming Course Details:
Dates: October 26-28, 2019
Host: Boston Children’s Hospital
Website: http://anesthesiaglobaloutreach.com
Contact: info@anesthesiaglobaloutreachcourse.com
WORLD CONGRESS OF ANAESTHESIOLOGISTS
Upcoming Course Details
Dates: September 5-9, 2020
Venue: Prague, Czech Republic
Website: https://www.wcaprague2020.com/
More information, including some details about the competitions, also available here.