NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, March 4, 2015 – Ian Crozier, MD, a Vanderbilt-trained infectious diseases doctor who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before contracting and defeating the disease himself, is scheduled to speak at a fundraising event for Hope Through Healing Hands and Siloam Family Health Center on March 31 at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.

Deployed by the World Health Organization, Dr. Crozier contracted Ebola while treating patients in Sierra Leone last summer and was the third—and the sickest—Ebola patient to be treated at Emory University.  Soon after evacuation to the United States, he became critically ill. On the verge of death, he received ground-breaking critical care in addition to an experimental Ebola drug and blood plasma from an Ebola survivor.  Dr. Crozier's identity was kept confidential until a New York Times feature story about him and his experience was published in December.

Sen. Bill Frist, Founder of Hope Through Healing Hands, will host a conversation with Dr. Crozier, emphasizing what a globally-connected world we live in, especially when it comes to matters of health – specifically for women and children.

"Through this event we will have an opportunity to raise financial support for a new generation of global health care heroes like Dr. Crozier, both at home and abroad," said Hope Through Healing Hands Executive Director Jenny Dyer, PhD.  To emphasize the local dimensions of global health, funds will also go to provide healthcare for with no other options, many of whom are immigrants or refugees served by Siloam Family Health Center.

"We are deeply grateful that Ian battled and overcame this deadly disease allowing us the opportunity to welcome him back to Nashville," added Siloam President and CEO Morgan Wills, MD, a longtime friend and former classmate of Dr. Crozier's at Vanderbilt School of Medicine.

Following a Patrons' Dinner at 6 p.m., the main event will begin at 7:30 p.m.  A reception for guests will follow at 9 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.talesfromthefrontline.eventbrite.com or by contacting Katie Richards at [email protected]or 615-921-6114.

The event will take place at MBA's Paschall Theater, 4001 Harding Pike in Nashville.

Hope Through Healing Hands is a global health organization whose mission is to promote improved quality of life for citizens and communities around the world using health as a currency for peace.

Siloam Family Health Center is a nonprofit organization committed to helping Nashvillians "think globally and heal locally" as a frontline provider of charitable health care for all Nashvillians, especially immigrants and refugees.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have any questions about the event, or would like to attend, please contact: Melany Ethridge, (972) 267-1111, [email protected].

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