Secretary Leavitt and Admiral Garcia traveled from Costa Rica to Panama City, Panama to announce an expanded curriculum for the Regional Health-Care Training Center (RHCTC) there. The RHCTC will begin capacity-building in the regulation of food, drugs and medical devices in 2009, and will also offer training in oral and dental health to professionals from around the region. The center was founded when HHS established a cooperative agreement with the Gorgas Memorial Institute on Health Studies in Panama.

The center provides training to enhance the knowledge and skills of community health workers and clinicians from Central and South America. During Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008, more than 500 students from all six Central American countries received training on influenza preparedness and response. When the students returned to their communities, they trained others, which exponentially expands the reach of the RHCTC. Experts from U.S. academic centers, HHS, the U.S. Department of Defense Southern Command, and Central American countries have served as faculty.


For more information about the U.S. Government's efforts to ensure the safety of products imported into the United States, including the Cabinet-level Working Group on Import Safety chaired by Secretary Leavitt visit: http://www.importsafety.gov.

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