Newswise — A team from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will be meeting with leaders in medicine and health insurance and as well as patients during a visit to Guam this week.

The Cedars-Sinai team will be making its fifth visit to Guam in the last three years. The aim of the trip is to continue to strengthen the relationships with healthcare leaders and patients.

“We hope to be able to expand our support for doctors and patients on Guam,” said Spencer Koerner, M.D., medical director of the Center for International Health and Telemedicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “We believe there are opportunities for us to give additional assistance to the medical community, especially in specialties that are not currently represented.”

Koerner will be joined on the trip by Donna Bias, nurse coordinator for Guam patients served by Cedars-Sinai, and by Joe Aguon, a consultant to the program who grew up in Guam and was educated there. The team plans to arrive Monday, Nov. 9 and leave on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Trip highlights include:

* An appearance on the Ray Gibson morning talk show on K57 Talk radio at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday Nov. 11. The trio will discuss current medical programs at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and will take questions and comments from listeners on the show.* Dr. Koerner will address the Guam Medical Association Wednesday, Nov. 11 to discuss telemedicine.* Cocktail reception at the Guam Hilton Hotel on Thursday, Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m., open to the healthcare community, patients and anyone who as an interest in learning more about Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

In view of the recent change in the availability of oncology services on the island, Cedars-Sinai is looking for ways to help physicians treating cancer patients. One option to consider is taking advantage of improvements in telemedicine, which could connect specialists at Cedars-Sinai to any Guam physician from their own desktop.

“It’s as simple as pointing and clicking,” said Dr. Koerner.

The first in Southern California whose nurses have been honored with the prestigious Magnet designation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest non-profit academic medical centers in the Western United States. For more than 20 years, it has been named Los Angeles’ most preferred hospital for all health needs in an independent survey of residents. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities, as well as breakthroughs in biomedical research and superlative medical education. For more information on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, call 1-800-CEDARS1 or visit www.cedars-sinai.edu.