Current Projects
Vision Care Development in Ulan Baataar, Mongolia
Vision Care Development in Tianjin, China
Multi-Specialty Medical Training in Yueyang, China
Multi-Specialty Medical Training with Kumudini Welfare Trust, Bangladesh
Sustainable Leadership Training for Doctors Around the World
Vision Care Development in Ulan Baataar, Mongolia
Local Partner: Mongolian Ministry of Health
Initiated in: 2002
Project Goal: Reduce avoidable blindness in Mongolia by developing capacity for modern cataract surgery and vitreo-retinal surgery.
Recent Activities:
- June 2010: A Health for Humanity staff member visited the ophthalmology departments at Hospital #1, Hospital #3, Bolor Melmii Clinic, and the Maternal and Child Health Research Center to assess project achievements with the completion of the 2005-2009 National Blindness Prevention Plan, and to set outcome goals for Health for Humanity’s partnership with Mongolian ophthalmologists through 2012.
- January 2010: Health for Humanity sponsored a Mongolian ophthalmologist for a 6-month fellowship training course in medical retina treatment, completed in July 2010.
- October 2009: A volunteer visited Hospital #1 of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to offer advanced medical training in vitreal-retina surgery.
- June 2009: A volunteer visited Hospital #1 of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to offer advanced medical training in oculoplastic ophthalmology. During his one week visit, the volunteer offered lectures in eye lid surgery and basic surgical principles in addition to surgical and clinical consultation on over twenty patient cases.
- January 2009: Health for Humanity sponsored a Mongolian ophthalmologist for a 12-month fellowship training course in glaucoma treatment, completed in January 2010.
- October 2008: Health for Humanity sponsored a Mongolian nurse for a 3 month training course in India to prepare for establishing an eye bank to support the donation of corneas.
- September 2008: Three volunteers visited Hospitals #1 and #3 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to present lectures, provide medical training, patient services, etc. One physician volunteer offered training in cataract surgery and one physician volunteer offered training in oculoplastic surgery, while a third volunteer gave a lecture on smoking to middle school students. Volunteers observed growing capacity in the ophthalmology departments with an increased number of surgeries and patients treated since the last training visit.
Vision Care Development in Tianjin, China
Local Partner: Tianjin Medical University Eye Center
Initiated in: 2007
Project Goal: Reduce the prevalence of blindness from cataracts in China, especially in remote, rural areas.
Recent Activities:
- May 2010: A Health for Humanity volunteer accompanied ophthalmologists from Tianjin University Medical Center to the countryside cities of HuangGang, WuXue, and LouTian, in Hubei Province, China. Together they performed over 200 cataract surgeries, often in very difficult operating conditions, and also identified one nurse and doctor from the region to receive advanced cataract training in Tianjin through the support of Healthf for Humanity. In addition, Health for Humanity arranged the donation of over $160,000 in medical supplies to support the project activities.
- April 2009: Health for Humanity arranged the donation of a supply of Intra-Ocular Lenses to the hospital for use during the rural outreach program’s activities. The outreach project has been very successful and the influence spread to the entire HuBei province. There are more than 4000 patients in the region who suffer from cataracts but couldn’t afford the expense of surgery.
- October 2007: Building on past efforts by an HH volunteer, the Director of the Tianjin Medical University Eye Center has begun working with HH to establish a new project which would also incorporate support from the All China Federation for Returning Overseas Chinese (ACFROC).
Multi-Specialty Medical Training in Yueyang, China
Local Partners: Yueyang Municipal Government of Hunan Province, Yueyang Municipal Health Bureau, and the Yueyang Public Health School
Initiated in: 1999
Project Goal: Support the Chinese government’s commitment to continuing medical education through lectures and clinical training experiences.
Recent Activities:
- October 2008: Three HH volunteers visited Yueyang Hospital #2: a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, and a pediatric cardiologist. The purpose of the visit was for continuing medical education for health professionals in the pediatric department of Hospital #2 and psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses of the Psychiatric Hospital. In addition, the psychiatrist gave a special lecture upon request on the “psychological aspect of HIV infected individuals and its management and also how to identify depression and anxiety as a public health issue” for the school of public health. Other activities included reviewing of patients with colleagues, trainees and students.
- October 2007: HH’s Executive Director and a Board member made a site visit, met with the hospital administration, and renewed HH’s Memorandum of Understanding clarifying their priorities and needs on an annual basis. During the same October visit, two additional volunteers, a dentist and an environmental specialist also visited Yueyang and offered lectures.
Multi-Specialty Medical Training in Bangladesh
Local Partner: Kumudini Welfare Trust
Initiated in: 2009
Project Goal: Increase capacity of medical professionals in Bangladesh within a wide variety of medical specialties in partnership with a local medical and nursing school.
Recent Activities:
- January 2010: Two Health for Humanity volunteers visited Kumudini to provide lectures and training in endocrinology to hospital staff and over 60 nursing and medical students, as well as daily English classes for nursing school students.
- May 2009: A Health for Humanity Board Member visited Kumudini to discuss partnership opportunities, observe the progress of the medical facilities and nursing and medical education programs, and to draft and sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
Sustainable Leadership Training for Doctors Around the World
Initiated in: 2001
Project Goal: Increase the effectiveness of medical training through improved interpersonal relationships and self-evaluation.
Recent Activities:
- June 2010: A Leadership Trainer visited Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to offer a “refresher” training for ophthalmologists who had previously attended the full training course. In addition he offered an introduction to Sustainable Leadership Principles to over 50 doctors and nurses at the Maternal and Child Health Research Center.
- June 2009: A Leadership Trainer returned to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to collect data on the impact of Sustainable Leadership Training, which he offered a year prior. He successfully gathered information on Virtues Assessment, Self-Assessment and Manager Ratings from our Mongolian partners, each of which show promising outcomes for the hospitals such as increased surgical rates and improved workplace quality.
- August 2008: Health for Humanity offered a course at the Eighth General Assembly of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Health for Humanity was invited to share its learning about the vital importance of universal ethical values and leadership training in the success of health development projects with peer organizations attending the conference.
- June 2008: A Leadership Trainer visited partners of Hospitals #1 and #3 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to facilitate and evaluate the effectiveness of Sustainable Leadership training on the behavior of the doctors there. In terms of leadership values, from self-evaluation to consultation to unity, individuals improved on each of these capabilities within one year following training. Furthermore, since the training conducted in 2007, the number of patient visits in each department, the total number of surgeries performed, and the number of the Small Incision Corneal Surgeries performed all increased dramatically.
