History of Telemedicine Outreach Program (TOP)

In November of 2000, MMC's first demonstration of telemedicine took place between St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, NJ, and Hospital Del Niño in Panama City, Panama. The telemedicine equipment for the Hospital del Niño site was acquired by MMC at a cost of $76,592. The mock consultation took place during the Ibero-American Conference, which assembled the heads of state for all Spanish-speaking countries. Frank Brady used the gathering to demonstrate to these leaders how telemedicine could be utilized to address the growing health concerns of their underserved populations. The demonstration went quite well, and President Banzar of Bolivia surprised Frank Brady by arranging for a meeting with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

One week later, St. Joseph's and Hospital del Niño came together again for an actual telemedicine consultation, with the subject being an eight-year old Panamanian boy named Yordano Alvarez. Yordano suffered from a condition where the left side of his face and skull was caved in. He had only one eye and one ear, and could not effectively chew food. Physicians at the two hospitals teamed together to help Yordano. Preliminary operations were performed in Panama; however, more advanced surgeries had to be done at St. Joseph's in Paterson. During each of his four visits to St. Joseph's, Yordano and his mother stayed with the Bradys — totaling more than 15 months.

In 2001, MMC entered a contest run by Polycom Inc., looking for the best application of their videoconferencing equipment. MMC entered the contest, presenting the work that they had done with Yordano. At an industry conference in California, MMC was named the winner of the contest and were awarded a Sony television, a multi-media cart, and a Polycom FX Video Conferencing System. As a result of ongoing conversations in the months that followed, Polycom and MMC formed a strategic partnership. Since then, Polycom has made annual donations of equipment and cash, helping MMC expand the capabilities of their operational programs. This relationship was truly a launching pad for MMC and the Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network. Through the generosity of Polycom, MMC was able to now consign the necessary telemedicine equipment to hospitals all over the world. The TOP program was officially off and running.