In 2017 Dr. Grace Xu was invited to visit the Department of Anesthesiology of Hunan Children's Hospital in China to share her experience in pediatric anesthesia and provide a seminar in airway management.

Furnished with 1,800 beds and staffed with 1,800 employees, the hospital has established 36 clinical departments and 9 medical labs. So far, the hospital has set up Hunan Provincial Pediatric Emergency Center, Hunan Provincial Treatment and Rehabilitation Center of Pediatric Cerebral Palsy, Hunan Provincial Center of Adolescent Medicine, Hunan Provincial Prevention and Control Center of Pediatric Optometry, Amblyopia and Strabismus.

In 2005 the hospital successfully treated two of China's youngest patients with human avian influenza. In 2006, China's first extremely low birth weight infant of 500 g (a little over a pound) was discharged from the hospital. The hospital successfully performed surgery of conjoined twins respectively in 2009 and in 2012.

The Kovac International Education Support Fund was established to provide support for qualified individuals participating in international cross-cultural education exchanges. The areas supported include anesthesiology residents, KU Medical Center students and residents or doctors from non-English speaking countries. Preference is given to Ghana, Peru and other Spanish speaking countries.

The Kovac International Observership Award is awarded annually to two individuals per year, one each from our partnering institutions in Ghana and Peru. It supports housing and travel to KU Medical Center, in which individuals will observe medical care provided within our hospital system.

Participants will also gain exposure to multiple anesthesia subspecialties depending on the awardee’s interests. Participants are encouraged to participate in lectures, challenging case discussions and research project development. At the end of the observership period, participants are expected to give a short presentation on life, education and healthcare in their home country. The observership does not involve any direct patient care.

Sociedad Peruana de Anestesia, Analgesia y Reanimacion (SPAAR)(Peruvian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Reanimation) also sponsors two additional residents to participate in an observership program at KU Medical Center, who are selected through a national resident competition.

Dr. Jennifer Hansen, KU medical student Canaan Coker, and KU nurse anesthetist student Kayla McClanahan, accompanied Dr. Anthony Kovac to Lima, Peru in February 2019 to participate in the "Kovac International Observership" program. While there, Dr. Hansen gave two Grand Rounds at the country's main children's hospitals: the Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño San Borja, and the Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño Breña. Kayla McClanahan gave a presentation to the Anesthesiology department at INSN San Borja as part of her senior project.

In addition to visiting the children's hospitals, the group spent time at the National Cancer Hospital in Lima, the "Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas", and learned about pediatric and adult oncology care in Peru.