GlobalPerm.NW

On one Saturday morning each month, Rwandans come together to work on projects selected by local communities. As a visitor and volunteer at the University of Global Health Equity, it was a privilege and pleasure join activities in the adjacent village. We used hoes and shovels to widen and repair erosion of a dirt road to make it more passable for ambulances. The work was joyful, and I think it’s true that many hands make light work!

Today's post is from David Schmidt, currently in Butaro, Rwanda: So happy to be back at the University of Global Health Equity in the shadow of the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda! UGHE is deliberately located in a rural area so that health care workers learn to serve the rural poor. The student doctors here are smart, enthusiastic, and super inspiring. They are the future of Africa! We are honored to recruit volunteer physicians from the U.S. to help train them.

David and Deb are back in Rwanda, checking in on the critical care unit in Butaro and forging new connections. Here's Dave: "Visiting the Kibuye Referral Hospital in western Rwanda. They have a really nice, welcoming staff who want to provide excellent care for their critical patients! It would be awesome to collaborate with them."

Dr. David Schmidt and Dr. Ellen Singer had the opportunity to present our accomplishments at the East Bay TPMG Global Health Consortium on the Mills campus of Northeastern University in Oakland, CA yesterday. It was very well received and truly inspiring! We were so honored to be a part of this extraordinary day of sharing and building on one another's work!

We've just received a six month report from the safe surge CME extension project in Tigray, Ethiopia. This is a project for supporting non-physician practitioners to perform safer C-sections in areas of Tigray where they are the main providers of this care. The project was funded by Global Perm, and we are very proud of the impact we have had!

"Key Achievements:
• Six CME modules developed by team of experts and accredited as CME courses
• 24-hour teleconsultation desk operational (WhatsApp Group)
• Regional training workshop conducted in Mekelle
• Research publication accepted in BMC Health Services Research

Beneficiaries:
IESOs, midwives, GPs, hospitals, mothers and newborns across Tigray"

Kudos to our co founder, Dr. Rahel Nardos, who was instrumental in arranging our involvement.

Deborah Louis, RN, just returned from Rwanda, where she was doing more great work to keep the Butaro Critical care unit staffed, running, and sustainable. Thanks so much for your hard work Deb!

From Ellen Singer: Tonight Global Perm NW shared the stories of our capacity building work in Rwanda and Ethiopia. It is a privilege to serve on the board with a team dedicated to making healthcare more equitable, patient centered and safer both near and far. And many thanks to our friends and supporters for their belief in our vision! https://globalnw.org/.

Today's post is from Huy Nguyen:

This past year I have had the privilege of working with some amazing people at Mekelle University/Ayder Hospital, University of Minnesota’s Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, and Kaiser Permanente. As part of the Safer C-Section work, we focused on patient informed consent. This empowers patients and their families with knowledge to make informed decisions on their care. My part of this work was to help the local team use medical simulation as a tool to provide experiential learning.
During my time in Mekelle, Ethiopia this past summer, I partnered with Dr. Tricia Ramos, providing education on simulation methodology, assisting in designing their simulation, and observing the facilitation of their first successful Informed Consent simulation with Obstetrics-gynecology (OBGYN) residents.

As healthcare professionals, we have the responsibility to ensure and advocate for patient safety and evidence-based care. We are bound not only to our local community but to those all around the world who seek to improve the health of their communities. I am proud of our contribution and the work completed by our partners in Ethiopia. This could only be done with opportunity and resources provided by Global Perm Northwest.

Huy Nguyen, MSN, RN CHSE
Kaiser Permanente NW Center for Innovative Medical Simulation

Thanks Huy!

Come join us for our annual happy hour on November 15! You'll get a chance to hear from Rahel Nardos about the exciting work she has been spearheading in Tigray, Ethiopia, and get updates on our other projects. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/global-perm-nw-happy-hour-2025-at-freeland-spirits