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Health
Mental Health internships & volunteer placements (Rwanda)
Expanding placement opportunities for interns and volunteers This summer, we are greatly expanding our collaboration with the University of Rwanda's Center for Mental Health (CMH). Following the Global Mental Health Conference in Kigali (June 24-July 1), students and professionals in mental health are invited to gain invaluable practical experience during a 4-week or 8-week summer internship or volunteer placement. The host organizations include a dozen Rwandan NGOs or hospitals, ... Read More
Taking Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) to Tanzania
Interview with Patty Kelly, program leader in neonatal care In addition to our ongoing newborn care work in Vietnam and Rwanda, we have added two delegations for HBB Trainings of Trainers in Tanzania to the 2017 calendar. Both delegations (May 6-13 and Oct 14-21) will be led by our lead master trainer, Patty Kelly, who has selected the partner hospital in Mwanza where she has taught before. We have interviewed Patty on this exciting development. Her insights offer more context as well ... Read More
Mental Health Facilitator program update
Interview with Dr. Callie Scott, NBCC delegation co-leader to Rwanda In 2016, our MHF work in Rwanda with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the University of Rwanda reached new levels of sustainability. The first two cohorts of Rwandan and international mental health professionals graduated as trainers. This allowed us to expand our reach beyond Rwanda's capital Kigali and conduct first MHF trainings in smaller towns. The beneficiaries were groups of nurses and ... Read More
Mental Illness Awareness
An interview with Kate Cotton Mental Illness Awareness week ran this year on October 2-8. Throughout that week you may have seen tweets and various social media posts stressing the importance of stable mental health and its support. The awareness raised last week then lead up to World Mental Health Day on October 10. In honor of this important topic and the week dedicated to it, we decided to share a recent write-up that we received from a past participant on our Global Mental ... Read More
World Heart Day
Interview with Emergency Cardiac Care program leader Linda Bell by Ross Fletcher, GEI Director of Study Abroad Programs The World Health Organization (WHO) recently, with additional partners, began a new Global Hearts Initiative to address the number one cause of death in the world, cardiovascular disease (CVD). The initiative strives to increase tobacco control, decrease salt-intake and improve the services currently available for the reduction of key issues such as high ... Read More
The global impact of Trainings of Trainers
Lessons from the field in Vietnam Our Newborn Care and Emergency Cardiac Care programs that took place in Vietnam this Spring were a success on many levels. With participants from three continents, the ToT (Training of Trainers) teaching method has now equipped nurses and professionals from across the globe to teach and spread the lessons learned in these courses. Participants gained valuable skills that are often scarce or nonexistent in many regions with minimal resources. Like with ... Read More
Global Health Practicum in Rwanda
New partnership with the University of California, San Francisco We are proud to announce a new partnership with the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the School of Nursing of the University of California, San Francisco. Its mission is to be the preeminent nursing school advancing healthcare worldwide through research, education and patient care. Under the leadership of Dr. Mary Foley, we have developed a Global Health Practicum that will focus, first and foremost, on concepts and ... Read More
Emergency Cardiac Care in Vietnam
Teaching Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support The first of GEI's spring delegations have arrived in Vietnam. For four weeks, master trainers Patty Kelly (newborn care) and Linda Bell (emergency cardiac care) and their colleagues are teaching at hospitals and universities in Binh Phuoc, Vinh, Anh Son, Tra Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City. Emergency Cardiac Care trainings are the newest addition to our portfolio in Vietnam. The rational is simple: Cardiovascular diseases ... Read More
Global Engagement in Vietnam
The story of the Asian Dragon Today’s Vietnam is undergoing some of the fastest socio-economic changes any country in the world has seen. The Asian Dragon, as it is frequently called, is a major development success story that has experienced remarkable rates of economic growth since the start of massive political and economic reforms called doi moi in 1986. It is now a middle-income country with a poverty rate of less than 10%, massive influx of foreign investment, and booming modern ... Read More
Infection Control in Rwanda
Invitation to join a Training of Trainers Delegation with Dr. Mary Foley (Aug 20-27) Rwanda's health system has seen a lot of progress when it comes to preventing and controlling hospital-acquired infections. Most district hospitals now have IPC committees in place and follow IPC protocols. However, some of these hospitals struggle to maintain and to apply some of these protocols due to lack of resources and especially lack of capacity. That makes capacity development for the medical and ... Read More
Faculty-Led and Custom Programs
Upcoming Programs in Africa and Asia Developing countries in Africa and Asia are becoming increasingly popular for faculty-led and custom experiential learning, service-learning and cultural immersion programs. At the same time, program developers and program leaders continue to face enormous and frequently unexpected challenges. As a result, a partnership with a regionally specialized third-party provider not only offers peace of mind and meets liability requirements but can also add ... Read More
Neonatal Nursing
COINN/GEI Workshop on International Volunteer Opportunities On August 14-17, the Council of International Neonatal Nurses will hold its 9th COINN Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Over 500 neonatal nurses, students, administrators, educators and neonatal nurse practitioners from across the world will come together under the theme ONE – One Passion, One Vision, One World. As part of the Pre-Conference Workshops, COINN President Dr. Karen New and GEI Executive Director Dr. Michael ... Read More
Developing Capacity in Health in Vietnam
GEI spring delegations in Vietnam (March/April 2016) In less than two months, our GEI Training Center in Ho Chi Minh City will host the next delegations to help Vietnamese partner institutions develop crucial workforce capacity in Newborn Care and Emergency Cardiac Care. The training hosts will include, among others, Dong Nai General Hospital, Red Cross Ho Chi Minh City, Tra Vinh Women's and Children's Hospital, Nguyen Tat Thanh University and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy. A ... Read More
Only the Beginning, Vietnam!
Inaugural Helping Babies Breathe trainings a big success by Patty Kelly (Helping Babies Breathe International Master Trainer) It is often said, “teach a man how to fish and he has fish for life”. This can also be true when teaching new yet proven skills to medical personnel. While they have learned one technique or another, there will be new evidence to support changing and updating their bodies of knowledge. This is true of the program, only a little over four years old, ... Read More
Launching GEI’s newest destination: Vietnam
Two inaugural GEI delegations in Vietnam by Waleed Fatth (Global Programs Manager) One day I'll touch your soil One day I'll finally know my soul One day I'll come to you To say hello .. Vietnam I found myself humming with this song which was sung by Vietnamese–Belgian singer Quynh Anh while waiting for my plane to get back to Europe after spending 4 unforgettable weeks of my life in Vietnam. I was thinking of the great experience getting to know Vietnam as a country and as ... Read More
Mary Foley in Rwanda
Interview with former President of the American Nurses Association (ANA) by Dr. Michael Grosspietsch (GEI Executive Director) "I have had the opportunity to visit Rwanda twice over the last three years, and I cannot wait to return!" This is what Mary Foley, the former President of the American Nurses Association (ANA), wrote when sharing her thoughts about Rwanda. Mary Foley is a faculty member of UCSF’s nursing school who became the first nurse to ever make it onto the ... Read More
NICU nurse from Maryland wins EHN Christmas raffle
GEI raffle: Engage for Healthy Newborns Danette Wolford (BSRT, RRT-NPS, ECMO specialist) was the lucky winner of our Engage for Healthy Newborns (EHN) Christmas raffle. She now decided to join our inaugural EHN delegation to Vietnam which will be led by our experienced program leader and master trainer Patty Kelly on April 19-29. Her prize was a free tourism extension, which means that she will enjoy three fascinating days of visiting the famous Angkor Wat temple complex and other nearby ... Read More
Ebola in 2015
Update on Ebola in Africa by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager) Every year has its share of significant world events. 2014 is no exception. From the rise of several crises worldwide to life-threatening incidents here and there, the past year left a number of ordeals that humanity has to address. Ebola is just one of those urgent matters that hopefully 2015 will be the year in which the Ebola virus is completely defeated. So what is happening with this virus and what ... Read More
Life with Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy - a frequent result of birth asphyxia by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager) One of the joys of life is seeing babies taking their first step and hearing their first words. Parents always like to talk and brag about these moments and the majority take them for granted considering these first moments as a part of the normal development process of any newborn. Unfortunately, this is not always the case since the development process can be interrupted due ... Read More
Defeating diseases such as Ebola
Ebola in Africa by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager) “It’s possible to control Ebola. It’s possible to defeat Ebola. We’ve seen it here in Nigeria.” (Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigerian Minister of Health) How to defeat Ebola has become one of the most important questions in global health debates. Since the current outbreak was declared on March 22 in Guinea, the world has lost more than 4,500 lives, and we are still struggling to find a proper response and a strategy to ... Read More
60 Rwandans certified in HBB
Successful trainings in neonatal resuscitation in Rwanda by Waleed Fatth, Global Programs Manager Have you ever wondered how it might feel to visit Rwanda and to make an important contribution to one of the country's key capacity development priorities? Here is an account of the experience of our current Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) delegation in the country. Surrounded by the breathtaking views of the green hillsides around the Rwandan capital, Kigali, the delegates had ... Read More
Developing an IPC system in Rwanda
Join our delegation to develop capacity in Infection Prevention & Control by Dr. Michael Grosspietsch (GEI Executive Director) Mary Foley is a truly exceptional woman. She is a faculty member of UCSF's nursing school, served as President of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and became the first nurse to ever make it onto the list of the 100 most influential in healthcare. And now she is inviting international colleagues - nurses, public health specialists, engineers etc ... Read More
Giving birth in Rwanda
Neonatal resuscitation needs in Rwanda by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager, Berlin) Jeanne Musabende lives in Nyamata, a town in Bugesera district some 40 minutes from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. She recently became famous when a Rwandan online journal used her success story to showcase progress in infant and maternal healthcare in the country. Jeanne was due to have a complicated birth late in the evening, traditionally a worrying event in many developing countries ... Read More
Teaching Emergency Cardiac Care in Rwanda
GEI's inaugural Emergency Cardiac Care trainings in Rwanda by Dr. Michael Grosspietsch (GEI Executive Director) “I’m so excited that they picked us to come.” These are the words of Linda Bell, an experienced international instructor and CEO of an American Heart Association training center based in Jacksonville, Florida. “They are the most motivated students I’ve ever had. They really want to know the material and ask a lot of questions.” Linda recently led our inaugural ... Read More
Infection Control in Rwanda
Launching a new capacity development program in Rwanda by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager, Berlin) Nosocomial infections or healthcare associated infections are infections acquired in healthcare settings, which affect hundreds of millions of patients worldwide every year. As an unintended result of seeking care, these infections lead to more serious health complications, prolong hospital stays, and might induce long-term disability and/or unnecessary patient ... Read More
Global engagement in 2014
GEI Professional Development Programs - An outlook by Waleed Fatth (GEI Global Programs Manager, Berlin) It's that time of year again when most of us realize that we want to make changes in our lives that support our goals for a healthier and happier life – for ourselves and for others. It's not unusual to think of the New Year as the perfect time to begin something new that will make a real difference and promote positive change in the world around us. One possible ... Read More
Healing Mobile Healthcare (South Africa)
Northeastern University medical students in South Africa Every year, during their summer vacation, a group of medical students from Northeastern University in Boston, visit South Africa – making a difference in the lives of many here who can’t afford or don't have access to medical healthcare. One of the highlights in an action-packed and insightful program is the time spent with a non-profit community outreach organization run by the students of the University of Cape Town. SHAWCO ... Read More
