Ultrasound Machine Headed to Cambodian Sister Hospital

In Cambodia, healthcare technology that might seem standard in the United States is often a luxury that many hospitals, particularly those treating the poor, can’t afford.

Later this month, Dr. Rothsovann Yong, Lowell General Hospital Emergency Department physician, who was born in Cambodia, will join a small team of clinicians to deliver an ultrasound machine purchased by the hospital and train staff there how to use it. The ultrasound will be delivered to the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital, which treats the country’s poorest residents free of charge.

The center has become a “sister hospital” of Lowell General in recent years due in large part to the philanthropic and volunteer work of Lowell’s Dr. Milton Drake and his wife Debbie, along with their son, Dr. Jonathan Drake, Lowell General Hospital Emergency Department physician. Milton Drake is a director with Hope Worldwide, which manages the center. The center will be able to use the machine for an array of screens, from pregnancy to gallbladder disease.

One of the physicians joining her will be Dr. Christopher Clingan, Lowell General Hospital Emergency Department physician who specializes in ultrasound. Dr. Yong’s hope is to develop a team of clinicians that rotate visits several times per year to train Cambodian physicians and staff on how to use the machine.