October 10, 2013 — The Rotary Club of Park Ridge is making available its library, used to build and equip medical radiology facilities in clinics and small hospitals located in developing nations, free of charge on its website. The information provided by the library is practical and pragmatic, based on experiences of designing, equipping and installing X-ray rooms in Africa, Central Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The digital World Health Imaging System for Radiology (WHIS-RAD) Library includes information on funding and program development, technical expertise required, room and electrical requirements, equipment, training and implementation. Reference materials include those used by the Rotary Club of Park Ridge in its own project work, and in working with other Rotary International clubs and districts throughout the world.
Current projects include those in Guatemala, Nepal and Tanzania. District 6440, the parent District of the Rotary Club of Park Ridge, is committed to install 30 digital WHIS-RAD systems in Guatemala of which two sites are installed. Dedication by Gary Huang, president-elect of Rotary International was made Sept. 2, 2013. Information on the Guatemala project can be found at www.healthrays.info. Additional projects include digital retrofits in Nepal and Tanzania.
The reference materials include the guides Diagnostic Imaging in the Community and Radiation Shielding for Clinics and Small Hospitals with a WHIS-RAD. These were authored by the late Philip E.S. Palmer, radiology professor emeritus at the University of California (Davis), and Gerry Hanson Ph.D., a medical physicist who provided guidance and support to the Rotary program since its inception in 1999. Further information can be found at www.dicsh.info.
While the library provides useful information for both host and international Rotary partners, it is available to all to help identify the steps and challenges in the installation and sustainability of primary care diagnostic imaging services in developing countries.
For more information: www.parkridgerotary.com/whis-rad_library
March 13, 2026 
