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| Chris Spirito's Global Ties That Heal August 2011
Often, you don't need a special skill to do good works for others. You simply apply what you already know to a community in need. And in these globally networked times, that community might be half a world away. Chris Spirito, a principal information systems engineer at MITRE, was recently named to the board of WiRED International, a nonprofit organization that provides medical and healthcare information, education and communications to developing and war-affected regions such as Iraq, Kenya, and El Salvador. "WiRED can connect doctors to doctors virtually anywhere," Spirito says. "I have had a passion for healthcare my whole life, and I'm able to apply my vast social network in the global health arena." Spirito's interest in medicine and health developed while he was in high school, when he spent his weekends and summers working in the respiratory therapy department at a hospital near his hometown of Springfield, New Jersey. The next 13 years included positions in a cardiac unit interpreting electrocardiograms (EKGs), EMT positions in Massachusetts and his home state, and working for a neonatal transport team, delivering premature babies via ambulance from local hospitals to more fully-equipped neonatal intensive care units for specialized treatment. Spirito, who joined MITRE in 1998, also has expertise in engineering, technology, and healthcare, which has proven valuable to both MITRE's sponsors and WiRED International. "Last year, someone from the U.S. Northern Command was looking for health data about infectious diseases in African countries," he says. "I reached through my social network developed from my involvement with WiRED International, and I was able to provide our sponsor with access to someone in Nigeria who had the data. Generally, the clinicians I work with have connections to global health organizations." Thanks to this overlap between Spirito's professional and volunteer spheres, people around the world are becoming more empowered about their healthcare. Several years ago, Spirito was part of a MITRE team that collaborated with other partners, including WiRED International and the U.S. Air Force, to devise a way to help Iraq's underprivileged population by leveraging video technology. "The Iraqi Telemedicine Network (ITN) is an inexpensive way to alleviate the lack of care in Iraq's underserved remote regions, where hospital services are limited," he says. "The structure of the ITN gives medical professionals inside Iraq access to experts outside the country, as well as medical libraries and instructional videos," he says. The network, in fact, builds on medical information centers already established around the country by WiRED International. "I'm fortunate that at MITRE, I'm able to use my health background and apply it to our sponsor's challenges," says Spirito. "Likewise, I'm happy that my engineering and technology know-how can be applied to WiRED International's global telemedicine outreach programs, which are critical to the organization's mission." —by Cheryl Scaparrotta
Page last updated: August 26, 2011 | Top of page |
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