05-NOV-A-8
RE-SCHEDULING THE DATES OF RWANDA MISSION
TO ACCOMMODATE STUDENT SPRING VACATIONS AND MMHOF
From: Glenn Geelhoed
To: Susan Palmer
Date: 11/10/2005 10:29:15 AM
Subject: Re: Action Required ‑ Rwanda: Draft
Mission Proposal ‑ please review and provide edits/confirm accuracy
Dear Susan:
Thanks for moving this forward as I have been
attempting to do as well, with a minor modification based in the varied times
of Spring vacations in not only the different schools, but within the same
school differing weeks depending on the advanced level of the students.
I would propose that we schedule the trip for March 3,
Friday, through March 17, Friday, 2006, with a departure from Washington and a
return via Toledo Ohio, for an overnight for possibly two of us at the Medical
University of Ohio Hilton Faculty Auditorium for the Saturday evening of March
18. This will accommodate the MMHOF
(attached) with which I would like to see PFP linked.
Pastor Jupa can make the suggestions as he had when we
met, with a probable arrival and orientation in Kigali on March 5 and a full
week in Gisenyi for the first week at the already established clinic
there. We could then return to Kigali on
Friday‑‑and I would still like to arrange an overnight trek into
the Virunga Valley for a few of the participants on the weekend Fri‑Sat‑‑and
then the clinic in the school as it is being completed now at Kigali from that
Sunday to Friday
This would allow two venues of one week each, with
half of our stock of medicines and consumables to be dropped on transit after
arrival in Kigali to be used and continued after we leave. I am gathering meds and supplies now, and
will also purchase MAP packs which should cost about six hundred dollars for
shipping and handling and UPS delivery to my house where we will have a pre‑departure
briefing and a "packing party" for each person to carry one piece of
personal luggage and one box for the mission supplies to be checked through to
Kigali.
The Nigerian Embassy that handles the Rwandan
diplomatic portfolio is within sight of my office window here in Washington and
a short walk will start any visa process at the glacial pace of consulate
services.
I will be getting together with Virginia Croskery ( a
veteran mission helper in such settings as previously in Malawi) and Kathleen
Kelly soon to synchronize our plans. I
am also authorizing our International Medicine Programs to circulate the
announcement of the RWANDA mission now so that the more senior medical students
will know the dates accommodate the time frame they are required to be present
here at GWUMC for the "Match Day."
I will also let Dr. Larry Conway know that we will try to do these dates
to accommodate the MMHOF in Toledo at which I am to introduce my nominees as
this year's awardees (having been the one inducted into the Hall of Fame this
past year‑‑a DVD recording of which I will try to make available to
you.) This exposure will also open up
the fields of Ethiopia and Sudan from each of the proposed nominees for PFP as
well as some of the medical supplies that might come from affiliation with the
MMHOF.
I had spoken with Ron Sconyers and we will try to
arrange a visit together to attempt to make a "teaching program" part
of any mission I am involved in, as has been my intent to always indigenize the
skills we may carry. Pastor Jupa already
mentioned he is lining up the candidates to be working with us, and perhaps we
could make a formal kind of instruction in the handling of many of the tropical
medical problems in which they are already skilled practitioners, but might
need the incentive of some kind of certification to enhance the
experience. I am already doing a
tutorial each evening with all of the students for the kind of credit‑course
and enrichment of this experience in the understanding of the problems and
processes which they will be encountering and we could make sure the regional
representatives participate in this "continuing education."
There remains in the potential schedule change only
the matter that impacts me, since the doctoral program in which I participate
has its intensive weekend in residence on March 10‑‑11. I will have to seek some kind of special
exemption as I had previously done with the
emergency call to New Orleans; but I will have been twice to this same
well, but will attempt to do so if this works better with all other persons'
schedules, particularly the student calendars.
Before I announce these as new dates, I would want to
be sure from Pastor Jupa that it is all right particularly for the
transportation question since it would be near the beginning of the rains.
I will then confirm these arrangements with the ELDP,
GWUMC, MMHOF, Simpson University and MAP and coordinate these plans with each
of the potential participants for which there is already enough interest to
over‑subscribe.
Cheers!
GWG
Dear Larry:
You must have a wire tap on the phones!
I have been trying to work out a series of dates for a
medical mission to Rwanda which I will be leading in March. The medical students here have two different
Spring vacations depending on whether they are seniors or lower classmen, and
the seniors must be here for the Match Day.
Virginia has also asked if it could be moved sooner rather than later
since this would mean she would need to seek an excused absence for fewer
missed school days following her own spring vacation earlier in March. March 10‑‑11 are dates for my own
ELDP doctoral program, which have been declared unmissable, although I am
working on a possibility of an excused absence, having achieved one previously
for my absence in the medical relief effort of Operatoin Lifeline in New
Orleans immediately after Katrina.
For all of
these and other reasons, it would seem I could not make it for the March 11
date and now the better dates of March 18 might be an ideal time to return from
Rwanda to the US via Toledo!
I will try to schedule the events in Rwanda for the
two weeks preceding the MMHOF proposed March 18 dates and plan to be there with
you.
I had introduced Rick Hodes previously with his
address in both the office in New York and Addis Ababa. He is an internist from Johns Hopkins and has
been in Ethiopia for, I believe, the last fourteen years heading up the JDF at
the Blue Nile Clinic while remaining the consultant at Mother Teresa Clinic and
the Black Lion Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Addis Ababa University
Faculty of Medicine. He has the unique extended family, I had previously
described, of boys with the disabilities that he has adopted to get them under
his health insurance policy all of whom have been operated on and corrected,
and there are a number of video clips of his experiences in this regard that
might be made available for your use.
I had introduced Jill Seaman before as an internist
from Idaho who works part of each year in the Indian Health Service of Alaska
to finance her "Africa habit."
She had pioneered in areas of Southern Sudan, and had found villages
almost completely devoid of human life in the path of Kala Azar (visceral
leishmaniasis) a parasitic tropical disease on which she is now one of the
world's leading clinical authorities.
She has been working in "Old Fangak" along the banks of the
White Nile, an area of contiguous Nuer and Dinka peoples, where she runs non‑stop
clinics around the clock dealing with the usual disorders of malnutrition,
Tuberculosis, leprosy, and until recently, the savagery of war perpetrated
against these poor people by their own government. She was designated by Newsweek as one of the
"heroes of Medicine" three years ago.
I have worked with both of these individuals on site
in Addis Ababa and Gondar Ethiopia and later in Old Fangak Sudan and would be
happy to furnish some illustrations that might be used in their introductions.
I will begin work on re‑arranging the schedule
and participants (see below) of the Rwanda Mission in March in order to
accommodate a return by us to the MMHOF.
I just received the DVD from the February celebration and was quite
impressed with the disc. An edited and
shorter version might be a very good introduction to those who may be attending
in 2006 to explain the purposes and workings of the MMHOF. I will try to make a copy and forward one to
the Physicians for Peace who will be active in helping me plan the March Rwanda
mission that will immediately precede the MMHOF.
Cheers!
GWG
>>> <CLVC8@aol.com> 11/8/2005
2:02 PM >>>
Hi Glenn Please check your work and travel schedule to
determine your
availability and that of your associates to determine
if March 18th fits into your
schedule rather than March 11th. If we can reprogram our operation we can
dovetail our program with the annual seminar
program of the Students for
Medical Group at the Medical University of Ohio
which meets on the MUO campus. This
would afford the recipients of the MMHOFFan opportunity to be on their
program on the same day if they would choose to do so. It would be a great
opportunity to produce some more synergy in our medical mission activities.Please
let me know.
Also please send me biographies
of your associates that you are
recommending. Thanks!
Larry
Physicians for Peace
Medical Mission Proposal
Current Date: October 28, 2005
Location: Kigali and Gisenyi, Rwanda
Dates of trip: March
12‑26, 2006
Number of participants: 1 Existing
5‑15 New
Specialty: Fact Find ‑ Multi Specialty (Joint PFP and GWUMC Mission)
Team Composition: 3‑10 team members
Team Leader:
Glenn W. Geelhoed, M.D., FACS
Professor of Surgery, Professor of International
Medical Education, Professor of Microbiology
nd Tropical Medicine
George Washington University Medical Center
16618 Kipling Road
Derwood, MD 20855
Off 202.994.4428
Res 240.401.0247
Fax 202.994.0926
E‑mail msdgwg@gwumc.edu
Team Members:
Kathleen Kelly, M.D. Pediatrician
katkell400@aol.com
Virginia Crokery ‑ General Helper
Medical Student ‑ Mazer Ally
Ricky@
Medical Student ‑ TBD
Medical Student ‑ TBD
Medical Student ‑ TBD
Medical Student ‑ TBD
Medical Student ‑ TBD
Nurse
General Helper
TBD
TBD
TBD
Name of Program Staff: Susan Carroll Palmer,
Coordinator International Medical Programs
Objectives:
Conduct medical/surgical teaching of physicians,
nurses, and other medical personnel while providing direct patient care at
Kigali (capital city) and Gisenyi as well as potentially additional rural
locations.
Assess the health care needs of Rwanda and identify
rural locations for future medical/educational missions.
Develop working relationship to facilitate further
educational and medical missions to Rwanda.
Provide through gift‑in‑kind necessary
medical equipment and supplies.
Develop relationship between PFP and George Washington
University Medical Center/School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Evaluation Criteria:
Anticipated people benefiting: 2‑3 local
physicians, allied health professionals (for lectures, workshops, rounds,
trainings) estimated number X patients
treated estimated number TBD
Patients treated TBD children (up to 20 years old) ˙
adults ˙ seniors (different for each country)
Conditions treated: ˙ infectious diseases (AIDS, TB,
Malaria, other) ˙ burns ˙ loss of limbs ˙ urology ˙ opthamology X maternal
health X family practice treatments ˙ childhood diseases
Please provide a description of the program with a
brief history, who invited PFP, local problems or conditions which differ from
the US, and long‑term plan for the program. Please include details on lectures or
training sessions provided. (If this is
a continuation of an ongoing program, please update with a reason for this
trip).
Program Description and Background:
This mission is a fact‑find mission lead by Dr.
Geelhoed to assess primary care health needs in Kigali and Gisenyi ,
Rwanda. Rwanda is a landlocked
developing country in central Africa. It
is recovering from a civil war and genocide in which at least 800,000 people
were killed.
United Nations Human Development Index (HDI): Rwanda
is 159 of 177
In‑Country Coordinator:
Pastor Jupa Kaberuka
jupakab@yahoo.fr
In‑Country Medical Contacts:
In‑Country Government Contacts:
Host Country:
Embassy of Nigeria ‑ Washington DC (see above)
U.S.:
American Embassy, Nigeria (see above)
US Embassy Kigali, Rwanda
Ambassador: Henderson M. Patrick, Chargé d’Affaires
#377, Blvd de la Révolution
B.P. 28, Kigali‑RWANDA.
Tel: 250.505601, 505602, 505603 Ext. 3241
Fax: 250.572128
E‑mail: ConsularKigali@state.gov
The Republic
of Rwanda, Washington DC
Ambassador: Dr.
Zac Nsenga
1714 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20009
Tel: 202.232.2882
Fax: 202. 232.4544
E‑mail: rwandemb@rwandemb.org
URL: http://www.rwandemb.org/
In‑Country PFP Contacts: None
Trustees:
None
International
Board of Governors: None
Other: None
Cross‑Cultural Sensitivities: Dr. Geelhoed and the mission team have been
invited to Rwanda and will be working through in‑country contacts
including Pastor Jupa Kaberuka who has extensive experience in Rwanda and a
good working relationship with the Ministry of Health and the Rwandan
government.
PFP Experience in Host Country: This is PFP’s first mission to Rwanda
Issues connected to Long‑Range
Sustainability: (political, economic,
etc.)
U.S. Department of State Precautions:
As of September 29, 2005 there are no current travel
warnings listed on the State Department Web‑site for this location.
Proposed Budget Summary
The State Government of Rwanda has agreed to provide
________________________________ for the team members while in Rwanda.
Budgeted Costs: Total
Airfare ($1,500 X 10 = $15,000) Self pay
Lodging (per‑diem $105 per day per person) Self pay
Meals (per‑diem $72 per day per person) Self pay
Ground Transport Self
pay
Security
Shipping
Visa and Immunization Fees self pay
Unfunded/Self Pay
>>> "Susan Palmer"
<spalmer@physiciansforpeace.org> 11/9/2005 10:29 AM >>>
Hi Dr. Geelhoed,
I hope everything is going well. I'd like to get your Rwanda mission
proposal sent out to the PFP's Medical Operations
Committee for approval
before the holidays start, so that leaves a small
window during the next 2
weeks of November.
If you would please look over the mission proposal I
drafted, and attached to this e‑mail, then let
me know any edits you have, I
can send this out for official MOC sign off and get it
officially on the PFP
mission schedule.
This way Margie can start looking for potential funding
to help cover your expenses. I think the proposal currently needs a little
extrapolation since I'm not sure I know all the subtle
nuances of the
mission yet ‑ just add away! I'll wait to hear back from you. Thanks
again. I look
forward to working with you. Susan
Susan Carroll Palmer, CAE
757.625.7569, ext. 314
_____
From: Susan Palmer [mailto:spalmer@physiciansforpeace.org]
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 3:47 PM
To: Glenn W. Geelhoed
Cc: Susan Palmer
Subject: Draft Mission Proposal for Rwanda in March ‑
please review
Hi Dr Geelhoed,
Attached is a first draft of a mission proposal for
the March mission to
Rwanda. Please
review it and then extrapolate where you can (especially on
the mission objectives) and fill in where it's needed
(e.g., names,
contacts).
Thanks. Susan
Susan Carroll Palmer, CAE
Coordinator, International Medical Programs
Physicians for Peace
229 West Bute Street, Suite 200, Norfolk, VA 23510
Office: +001.757.625.7569, ext. 314
Fax: +001.757.625.7680
Building peace and international friendships through
medicine.
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