Current Projects

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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 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 24-month fellowship training course in glaucoma treatment.
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.

Tianjin Training

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:

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).

Yueyang Projects

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.

Chengdu

Local Partner: West China University of Medical Sciences

Initiated in: 1999

Project Goal: Improve the quality of life for children with disabilities by developing the capacity for pediatric rehabilitation services.

Recent Activities:

January 2009: A site visit was made by an HH volunteer in order to facilitate meetings between HH local partners and Direct Relief of Santa Barbara, California, which had earmarked funds for the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake relief and was looking to identify an appropriate project. Thanks to the efforts of the HH visit, Direct Relief has since drafted a final proposal to include the creation of a program to address primary health care, grief counseling, and job training in Chengdu for 100 families in the quake zone who lost nuclear family members, primarily widows and children. Health for Humanity will continue working with the Chengdu hospitals for improvement of sensory integration program, development of ability to diagnose and treat autism, and development of speech therapy and dysphasia therapy.
April 2008: A training visit was made by two volunteers, who were very favorably impressed with the progress of this project. Training activities included; serial casting, management/treatment of older children with cerebral palsy, splinting and orthotics techniques. Both therapists worked with the staff to identify training needs and treatment plans for 64 patients. Additionally, presentations were given on the management of Rett syndrome, Autism, and sensory integration therapy.

Values-Based Leadership

Initiated in: 2001

Project Goal: Increase the effectiveness of medical training through improved interpersonal relationships and self-evaluation.

Recent Activities:

June 2009: A Leadership Trainer returned to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to collect data on the impact of Values Based 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 Values-Based 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.