It’s easy enough to find a Big Mac or Levi’s jeans in Moscow. Soon, people in the Russian capitol will also have access to American-style medical care, thanks to a first-of-its-kind University of Iowa project. A family medicine clinic will open June 26th to serve Russians, Americans and other foreigners living in the former Soviet capitol.Robin Paetzold is coordinator of international program development in the U-of-I department of family medicine. She says the opening of this clinic is the result of seven years’ work. It will mean a lot of frequent flier miles for some U-of-I personnel.The clinic will operate using English as its primary language and will be based in a modern 11-story medical building. Paetzold says one of the biggest challenges will be to stay open-minded and to ensure the information being passed along properly translates to the Russian lifestyle.Paetzold says the ultimate goal is to deliver high-quality health care to families in Moscow, while establishing an academic base for more collaboration between the U-of-I and the Russian State Medical University.
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