This week in New Delhi, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Program (WFP), a United Nations agency, for its work to combat hunger. In both 2016 and 2019 I personally witnessed the WPF providing the essential food provisions for Syrians refugees who had fled from ISIS to […]
Credible projections forecast an upswing in COVID-19 infection throughout the 2020 fall and winter seasons in North American and the northern hemisphere. To prevent disease and death, let’s succinctly review three of the most pressing disease control questions: Do cloth masks really prevent infection? Yes. Research from multiple sources, including Arizona State
Emmanuel Hospital Association, EHA, is a network of 21 hospitals and 27 community health projects in northern and central India committed to caring for poor communities irrespective of caste, creed or race. Even today, a high proportion of India’s population continues to suffer from preventable infections, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, malnutrition, and pregnancy-childbirth related complications.
Healthcare professionals increasingly choose to earn an additional graduate degree. That extra qualification often opens the door for opportunities in leadership, research, and teaching. But a professional graduate degree is no light undertaking. Often, it requires a two- to four-year commitment, and the average master’s degree in the United States costs between $30,000 and
First, a plea for objectivity. One powerful force complicating the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be the temptation to package information to fit preconceived outcomes. Over the last five months, the result of such wishful thinking has often been lax and ineffective disease interventions, and over this same interval United States deaths from COVID-19 have
“We need epi, stat!” This dramatic phrase – so familiar in emergency medicine – today possesses new significance. Epi (epinephrine), that lifesaving drug, also means epidemiology, that lifesaving science of disease investigation. Indeed, today we do need epi stat. Beyond COVID-19, current epi crises encompass Ebola, Zika, cholera, chikungunya MERS-CoV, malaria and influenza.
The COVID-19 Pandemic stretches most every sector of modern society. Healthcare, employment, education, transportation, and social relationships continue in upheaval. Fortunate for us, we live in the Information Age. Abundant knowledge is readily available to improve our response to these crises. But such knowledge is so voluminous, and sometimes so complex, that few
“Massive” “Colossal” and “Immense” – words that inadequately describe the magnitude of the explosion which convulsed Beirut, Lebanon, three days ago. With the force of an early atomic bomb, 2,700 tons of highly combustible ammonium nitrate ignited in the congested port city. Some 140 people were instantly incinerated, 5,000 people packed hospitals suffering from
What is the very best preparation for a healthcare career serving people who are low-income or cross-cultural? I would argue that the premier training is a service-learning experience supervised by an engaged, inspiring mentor. Under the guidance of a genuine role model, a learner can master both the nuances of professional practice and the
“In Mexico we built a COVID-19 field hospital and developed COVID management protocols for Central American migrants – all the while continuing daily health clinics and ongoing monitoring for COVID in the refugee settlements,” reports Kerrie Flynn, family nurse practitioner with the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health. Kerrie is an energetic