Haiti Cholera Outbreak
Nov 19 2010
by Senator Bill Frist, M.D.
As the cholera outbreak continues to ravage through Haiti, killing hundreds and inciting terror and riots throughout the country, I'm afraid I may have more bad news. It has come to my attention today that the cholera outbreak is being vastly underreported and underestimated. My sources on the ground in Haiti have estimated that the current epidemic is up to 400% worse than the official numbers reflect. Considering that the official numbers already state a toll of 1,110 dead and another 18,000 sick, the scope of this savage outbreak is shocking.
While it feels as if I just arrived, I can't believe I will be heading back home tomorrow. What a phenomenal experience this has been. This month has not only had a high impact on my education, but has been a unique, once in a lifetime experience. I say once in a lifetime, but I certainly hope this is not the case. I would love and certainly hope that I will be back to visit Kijabe in the future.
Water for the World Video with Frist
Nov 17 2010
by Jenny Eaton Dyer, Ph.D.
Senator Frist, M.D. sat down with Jim Thebaut of Running Dry.org, an organization working for access to safe, affordable, and sustainable drinking water for all, to in the video below.
This video will be circulated throughout the House of Representatives to promote awareness and support for the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act 2010.
We invite you to watch!
by Living Waters for the World
Imagine getting up early in the morning, standing in front of the kitchen sink, you turn on the faucet and nothing happens. Has the pump failed again? You slip on your jacket, grab a container and start walking down the hill. It hasn't rained lately you're thinking to yourself and you stop in your tracks – the stream-bed is dry. This is not an excerpt from some prairie novel written about life at the turn of the century; it's reality for many families across Appalachia.
In a country so plagued by poverty, one would hope that the contrast between wealth and destitution would rile up people's desire for justice. But following conversations with my Guatemalan peers in the clinic, it has become apparent that the silent apathy has also become just as prevalent as the poverty that screams for our attention. Despite the undeniable contrasts, many people seem to view poverty as benign and even acceptable. Those who choose to acknowledge poverty here do not always know how to or take action against it.
There will always be patients that leave an indelible mark upon your career, future treatments and personal emotional strength. Yet medical providers do their best to find coping mechanisms to prevent the emotional burnout of seeing tragedy after tragedy, but these barriers can be overcome. I've had a few very influential patients in my short time working with medicine, but there is one at the Primeros Pasos clinic who continues to interrupt my thoughts because of his illnesses and how he his plight affects my deepest personal values. I've seen this patient three times now and he has become a frequent forethought during my time here in Guatemala.
The Unknown Killer
Nov 09 2010
by Bill Frist, M.D.
Even some physicians I know are amazed when they hear that the leading killer of children under age 5 in the developing world is pneumonia. Not malaria. Not AIDS. A highly preventable and treatable illness is claiming 1.5 million young lives every year.
Vaccines exist which can prevent the leading causes of pneumonia and cost-effective antibiotics can treat most cases. If developing countries had these vaccines and medicines, more than a million children could be saved each year.
That's why Save the Children and more than 100 health and humanitarian organizations have joined forces to promote World Pneumonia Day this November 12th. We know if Americans understand that children are dying needlessly, they will take action to help.
This is a problem with a proven solution. And few causes can offer a better return on investment. A course of antibiotics can treat most cases for less than $1. Other low-cost prevention measures include exclusive breastfeeding for six months, ensuring good nutrition, reducing air pollution, washing hands and preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. No other interventions currently available have the potential to save children's lives at this scale.
So why are we still losing this battle? Many children who contract pneumonia simply do not get the care they need. Though it is common, it is rarely diagnosed, as few caregivers can recognize the symptoms and begin treatment in time.
The current critical shortage of 4.3 million health care workers is another reason more children do not receive prompt diagnosis and care. Community health care workers can fill this gap, learning in just a few months of training how to use a simple timer to measure breaths and providing lifesaving care to children in the hardest-to-reach places, where most deaths occur.
We need more pneumonia fighters on the front lines. Join the World Pneumonia Day movement and see how breathtakingly easy it can be to save a child's life.
Former Republican Senate majority leader Bill Frist, a physician, is chairman of Save the Children's Newborn and Child Survival campaign.
If first impressions mean anything, then this trip to Kenya will be one I will always remember. Not that I expected anything less. We arrived at Kijabe about one week ago, and there already are a number of things that have awe-struck me. But perhaps what has stood out more than anything to me is the people here. While many of them have little in the way of possessions, you couldn't find a more happy, gracious, or appreciative people, making this journey all the more special.
by Jenny Eaton Dyer, Ph.D.
Senator Frist talks about the history of Hope Through Healing Hands in the video below. He recounts its origins, its emergency relief efforts through the years -- with the tsunami, Katrina, and Haiti, and he describes our Frist Global Health Leaders program showcasing our student health professionals who have served in clinics and hospitals around the world.
We invite you to watch this short video to get a glimpse of the work we do at Hope Through Healing Hands. We hope it is a helpful tool to highlight the health care done for the world's poorest.