Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is proud to announce a new collaboration with the Health Service Medical Center (HSMC) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic aimed at enhancing pediatric healthcare services through expert second opinions. The agreement was signed in June 2025 by Ruth Frey, Vice President of Global Medicine at CHOP, and Dr. Mario Lama, CEO of HSMC, marking a significant step toward improving pediatric healthcare capabilities in the Dominican Republic by directly tapping into CHOP’s world-renowned expertise.
Through this partnership, HSMC will access CHOP’s advanced telemedicine platform to obtain remote expert second opinions from CHOP physicians across all service lines. Initial efforts will leverage the expertise of CHOP’s Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment (CFDT) and Fetal Heart Program. By providing clinicians in the Dominican Republic with timely access to CHOP specialists, this initiative will help support prenatal intervention, ensure more accurate diagnoses and improve neonatal outcomes and care for patients with complex medical conditions.
“This partnership reflects a deep commitment to improving prenatal care and pediatric outcomes by creating direct access to CHOP’s expertise,” said Ruth Frey. “We’re honored to support our colleagues in the Dominican Republic and work together toward the shared goal of advancing care for children and their families.”
Founded in 1855, CHOP is the first pediatric hospital in the United States and a global leader in pediatric care, research, and education. The CFDT at CHOP has become the world’s largest and most comprehensive fetal program, specializing in advanced procedures to treat a variety of birth defects. The Fetal Heart Program at CHOP is also one of the largest of its kind, providing families access to the most advanced treatments available, with outcomes among the best in the world.
HSMC is a premier acute care hospital dedicated to quality healthcare in the Dominican Republic.
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is proud to announce a new collaboration with the Health Service Medical Center (HSMC) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic aimed at enhancing pediatric healthcare services through expert second opinions. The agreement was signed in June 2025 by Ruth Frey, Vice President of Global Medicine at CHOP, and Dr. Mario Lama, CEO of HSMC, marking a significant step toward improving pediatric healthcare capabilities in the Dominican Republic by directly tapping into CHOP’s world-renowned expertise.
Through this partnership, HSMC will access CHOP’s advanced telemedicine platform to obtain remote expert second opinions from CHOP physicians across all service lines. Initial efforts will leverage the expertise of CHOP’s Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment (CFDT) and Fetal Heart Program. By providing clinicians in the Dominican Republic with timely access to CHOP specialists, this initiative will help support prenatal intervention, ensure more accurate diagnoses and improve neonatal outcomes and care for patients with complex medical conditions.
“This partnership reflects a deep commitment to improving prenatal care and pediatric outcomes by creating direct access to CHOP’s expertise,” said Ruth Frey. “We’re honored to support our colleagues in the Dominican Republic and work together toward the shared goal of advancing care for children and their families.”
Founded in 1855, CHOP is the first pediatric hospital in the United States and a global leader in pediatric care, research, and education. The CFDT at CHOP has become the world’s largest and most comprehensive fetal program, specializing in advanced procedures to treat a variety of birth defects. The Fetal Heart Program at CHOP is also one of the largest of its kind, providing families access to the most advanced treatments available, with outcomes among the best in the world.
HSMC is a premier acute care hospital dedicated to quality healthcare in the Dominican Republic.
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Jennifer Lee
Department of Global Medicine