April 16th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in Global Health News & Inspiration|

“Look for love in all the right places!” This timeless dating advice means hanging out in venues that attract people with your values and ambitions. Introducing Nathaniel Uhl and Lana Borden, both single nurses in Kansas City with parallel vision. Lana went to Mushili Health Center in Zambia for INMED Service-Learning. Meanwhile, Nathaniel was only a few months behind, earning the INMED Diploma in International Medicine & Public Health, and training also in Zambia. But Lana and Nathaniel had never even heard of one another – that is, not until they met in person at the Humanitarian Health Conference.

Bring together and encouraging like-hearted people – that’s what happens at the Humanitarian Health Conference. On June 11-12, join virtually or come in-person to Kansas City for this 16th annual event. Come one day earlier and take advantage of full-day courses in Ultrasound, Helping Babies Breathe (HBB), and Advanced Mother Baby Outcomes (AMBO). Whether you’re looking for global health insights, a service organization, or even more, this special venue is one of the right places!

April 9th, 2021 by INMED
Posted in INMED Action Steps For You|

Jimmy Dodd is a master launch engineer. As Chairman at Cross International, he’s catapulted the organization to serving the world’s most impoverished and at-risk people – guiding Cross’ comprehensive approach to augmenting physical, social, education, medical, and even spiritual wellbeing. In this pursuit, Jimmy Dodd has so far invested in more than 125 journeys to instruct leaders in historically underserved areas with the vision of healing whole communities.

Jimmy Dodd also launched PastorServe – after 20 years of serving as a pastor himself – to coach church leaders through the unique challenges of their vocation. A graduate of Wheaton College and Gordon Conwell Seminary, Jimmy Dodd is also an accomplished communicator and author of Survive or Thrive and Pastors are People Too.

Join INMED in welcoming Jimmy Dodd to launch the Humanitarian Health Conference! On June 11, 9am Central Time – whether online or in-person in Kansas City – you may become inspired to engineer your own launch!

April 2nd, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in INMED Grads In Action|

Dr. Khalid Eddahiri, upper left of this photo and Humanitarian Health Conference participant, describes his job as “Serving the people who serve the world”.  Since 2008, Dr. Eddahiri leads the United Nations as the Medical Desk Officer for UN Agencies, Funds and Programs. He worked primarily in West and East Africa providing support to 43 field clinics, 10 UN Peacekeeping clinics, and over 700 individual healthcare workers – as well as playing an integral role in aiding the UN’s response to the Ebola crisis.  In 2012, Dr. Eddahiri became the Chief Medical Officer for the UN Nations Mission to Libya during the aftermath of the NATO campaign.  Dr. Khalid Eddahiri already had extensive experience serving the medical needs of  impoverished communities but assessed that INMED’s Professional Certificate would add knowledge that would benefit his passion in bringing quality health care to at-risk populations.

During his time at an INMED Training Site in war-torn Yemen, Dr. Eddahiri provided key insight into the operations and management of the clinic and improved the Mass Casualty and Medical Evacuation Plan – all while creating an extensive gap analysis and health support plan. Dr. Eddahiri also treated patients daily and offered second opinions on complex cases presented to the training site. In Yemen it also came to Dr. Eddahiri’s attention that there were no female physicians serving. Dr. Eddahiri was passionate that the clinic must strive to add female staff and stated, “The most important requirement,” he says, “is communication and cultural awareness. We cannot in 2020 deploy a full clinic in a Muslim country composed with males only. That is not acceptable and offending.” After bringing this to the attention of the staff, the clinic became committed to better female representation and the issue was corrected by hiring a woman as the Chief of Medicine.

Dr. Eddahiri will be taking part in the Humanitarian Health Conference on June 11-12. Please join us, virtually or in-person, and sample his passion to bringing justice to persecuted medical professionals who often face death and destruction by choosing to serve impoverished and war-torn communities.

March 26th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in Global Health News & Inspiration|

Who is the most famous person in global health? The question is ironic. By nature,  global health volunteers are largely self-sacrificing and self-effacing. No one enters this field to become wealthy or famous. Nevertheless, inspiring personalities occasionally gain notoriety not through any intention of their own, but through dedicated service. One such man is James Fyffe, RN, MSN – plenary speaker at this year’s Humanitarian Health Conference!

James is a native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He lived several years in El Salvador, Central America, serving as a youth pastor. Then, James completed nursing school at Rockhurst University and also earned a master’s degree in nursing education. In 2014 at the Humanitarian Health Conference James met personnel from Bach Christian Hospital in Pakistan. The following year, he and wife Rosie, along with their three children, moved to Pakistan where James taught nursing school through 2019. James often speaks of his desire to combine healthcare, his faith, and his Spanish and Urdo language abilities to make a spiritual and physical impact among people in need. Says James, “I love the opportunity to serve and help others, and INMED has given me the chance to use my talents, abilities and education to do just that.”

Please join James Fyffe and a slate of inspiring leaders at the Humanitarian Health Conference on June 11-12. Participate online or come in-person to Kansas City, and be inspired!

March 19th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in INMED Grads In Action|

Eduardo Navarro is no stranger to international healthcare nor serving marginalized communities. Born in Cuba and moving to Venezuela and Uruguay before immigrating to the USA, Eduardo observed the inequality that impoverished people so often face. After a stint working with rural, impoverished communities in Venezuela, Eduardo knew he wanted to pursue a career that focused on bringing quality medical care to all people. This passion led him to become an INMED Master’s Degree in International Health (MIH) learner, which includes a robust, service-learning experience.”

Eduardo Navarro selected Clinic Esperanza on Roatan Island, Honduras. Serving at one of the very few medical facilities on the island during a worldwide pandemic and after two major hurricanes, is not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, Eduardo Navarro leaned into serving the community, treating many patients who were suffering from the psychological effects of the Covid-19 pandemic; namely anxiety and depression. Roatan Island is heavily dependent on international tourism and its economy was hit especially hard. “There is a strong relationship between poverty and poor health,” he explains. “Poverty brings poor health, and Poor health, in turn, traps communities in poverty.” Drawing on his prior study at INMED and his past experience with mental health, Eduardo gave several  presentations to educate the staff on how to treat mental health illnesses and how to close the gaps between health and poverty.

During his time at Clinica Esperanza, Eduardo experienced the challenge of adapting medical treatment to whatever limited medications and skilled staff were available. He observes, “I learned how to handle certain endemic health conditions of the island, was able to exchange experiences and knowledge about my specialty, and above all feel the satisfaction of reaching those in need.”

February 26th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in International Public Health|

“If I am vaccinated against Covid-19, can I safely congregate with other people – especially if they too are vaccinated?” Such a compelling question! If “yes,” then reentering in-person life is a very welcome advance. If “no,” then such socializing risks disease or worse among those whom we value most.

Vaccination is accelerating rapidly. The United States is administering 2.5 million vaccines per day, with projections of most residents vaccinated by mid summer. And, numbers of infections and deaths are declining, though threats remain – especially from variants of Covid-19.

Clearly, vaccination prevents physical illness from the virus. What is less certain (though being aggressively studied) is whether vaccination prevents a person from harboring the virus and then transmitting it to another. But wouldn’t two or more vaccinated persons be safe together? Many authorities agree. Dr. Anthony Fauci explains, “If you are vaccinated, and you are with someone who’s vaccinated, the things that you can do are much, much more liberal in the sense of pulling back on stringent public health measures, versus when you’re out in society,” said Fauci, adding that if you’ve been vaccinated and want to give another vaccinated person a hug, that’s reasonable.

So, vaccinated people, please consider congregating together with me at the 2021 Humanitarian Health Conference on June 11-12 in Kansas City, Missouri! Online participation also available. While abiding by the prevailing public health guidelines, we will also enjoy the opportunity to advance our skills, be inspired by intriguing role models, and connect again with like hearted people!

February 19th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in Healthcare Education|

Progress in health requires skilled personnel who will multiply into others their knowledge and experience. This principle is also vital to creating sustainability within low-resource communities. One heartening example of empowering others is the new Family Medicine Residency Program at CEML Hospital in Angola – a nation with very sparse post graduate learning opportunities.

But skill transfer from one healthcare professional to another is frequently inadequate and inefficient. Being a professional expert is no guarantee of also being a good teacher – phenomenon that many of us observed during our own education. This spring, INMED introduces the Professional Certificate in International Health Professions Education – a course to equip healthcare professional with concepts and methods of effective learning and teaching that will improve their ability to help younger healthcare professionals to carry forward these hard earned skills.

Created by James Fyffe, a nurse educator from Bach Christian Hospital in Pakistan and today at Kansas University Medical Center, this comprehensive course is made up of 8 weeks of structured online learning, and also earns two hours of academic credit towards the Professional Master’s Degree in International Health. Moreover, prepared in this way, graduates will better equip their trainees to build resilience within our worlds most marginalized communities.

February 12th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in INMED Action Steps For You|

Many healthcare professionals begin their careers with virtuous visions of serving forgotten people. As they advance, however, this focus often becomes diverted. In Launching Your International Healthcare Career, Nicholas Comninellis illuminates a tested path in this laudable journey. He begins with an appeal to apply principles of wise decision making – prayer, weighing pros and cons, soliciting advice, ample patience – with the promise that the quality of one’s decisions can indeed improve.

Next, Dr. Comninellis analyzes career-oriented choices, including the selection of a professional specialty, a community to serve, a sending organization, and language learning needs. These he approaches in light of the particular career challenges connected serving forgotten people: unusual diseases, minimal resources, and challenging cultures. Personal decisions are then explored, including money management, personal health, and family relationships, and legal guidance. Finally, Launching Your International Healthcare Career ends with an appeal for healthcare professionals follow through with their original virtuous passion.

February 5th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in INMED Grads In Action|

Shajin Thankaraj, INMED Graduate physician, studies thiamine deficiency (beriberi) disorders at Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital in Assam, northeast India. Dr. Thankaraj serves with Emmanuel Hospital Association at this remote, rural health facility.  His research publication, Infantile Cardiac Beriberi in Rural North East India, appears in the journal Indian Pediatrics.

Says Dr. Thankaraj, “Two case studies, one of an infant with cardiac beriberi and the other of a nonalcoholic adult presenting with peripheral neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, and metabolic acidosis and responding to thiamine supplementation, are described in detail. We share our experience with these clinical entities over the past two decades, including recent research and lessons learned, and suggest ways forward to identify at‐risk populations in Northeast India, improve early diagnosis and treatment, and promote preventive public health strategies.”

Just two months ago, Dr. Thankaraj’s follow up thiamine deficiency research – The rediscovery of thiamine deficiency disorders at a secondary level mission hospital in Northeast India – was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. These are glowing tributes to Dr. Thankaraj’s model serve to the humanity of India.

January 29th, 2021 by Nicholas Comninellis
Posted in INMED Action Steps For You|

2020 was a devastating year for both health and healthcare. In the United States, COVID-19 rose to the third leading cause of death and particularly afflicted healthcare professionals. But relief is in range. Vaccination rates are accelerating and COVID-19 illnesses are cautiously declining. More good news: the Humanitarian Health Conference is approaching.

Join us and be refreshed! On June 11-12, engage with your colleagues about developing excellent care and building self-reliance among the world’s most marginalized people. Breakout sessions will focus on community health, patient care, and career development. In-person attendees in Kansas City can also participate in hands-on skill learning sessions in ultrasound, newborn resuscitation, and complicated obstetrics. All participants will also enjoy connecting with organizations with whom they can serve.

Please note: We are continuing to monitor the current public health status to see if a transition to a virtual-only event will become necessary. In the meantime, your Humanitarian Health Conference is valid for both in-person or online participation. So be refreshed. Register now and plan ahead to join us!