Medical Missions for Children transforms the lives of children in medically underserved countries with Polycom video communications

Of the 11 million children under five years of age who die each year, more than 85 percent are from medically underserved countries. In response to this global health care crisis, Frank Brady founded Medical Mission for Children (MMC) in 1999. Through the use of an expansive telemedicine network based on Polycom video collaboration systems, MMC dramatically improves the level of pediatric care available to children with severe medical conditions living in medically underserved areas.

Global Network

The MMC Global Telemedicine Teaching Network allows participating hospitals in developing countries to contact hospitals and medical specialists in the United States for assistance in diagnosing and treating children with severe medical conditions. The U.S. doctors, using video communications with data-sharing technology, see the patient, the test results and medical records in real-time and are able to consult face-to-face with the attending doctor, even though they may be several thousand miles away. The results of MMC's Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network have been tremendous, providing aid to 23,500 seriously ill children since the program's inception.

Connecting Countries Around the World

The organization relies on Polycom's award-winning VSX^TM 7000. MMC also uses Polycom's MGC^TM-50 multipoint control unit to easily connect multiple locations, both domestic and over seas, in one video call.

Moving forward

MMC plans to continue expanding its network both by increasing the number of countries in which its services are available and by expanding its programming. In addition to the extensive telemedicine work the organization does, it would like to significantly increase the education and training sessions it offers over video. A donation of 32 additional VSX 7000 systems from Polycom in the coming year will help extend MMC's global outreach efforts.