Chairman Bill Frist, M.D. gives a roundup of Global Health Activities so far in September.
Good morning,
Today I’m writing the first of what will be a bimonthly update of the global health activities your generous support helps drive. It’s been a busy month already and we still have a long way to go. Feel free to forward this email or encourage others to sign up at the top of our homepage, www.hopethroughhealinghands.org. Here’s a brief run down on what I and HTHH have been up to:
HTHH Frist Global Health Leaders: They are still out in the field, saving lives and changing local healthcare for the better! The latest update I have is from Courtney Stanley and Sarakay Johnson, both from East Tennessee State, who this month have traveled to work in Munsieveille, South Africa. They are at the very beginning of their time in South Africa but are already working to improve basic sanitation and safety at their adopted facility. One of the highlights (check HTHH’s blog for a full reporting) was putting on a Health Fair in Mshenguville, one of the more disadvantaged and underserved settlements in the area. Teaching basic health education like sanitation, hygiene, and even when and where to get help can and will save lives.
Save The Children: As Chairman of the Newborn and Child Survival Campaign, I’m proud to announce that our new “Every Beat Matters” campaign was launched this week with the Ad Council. This will mean a broad range of new educational and awareness raising efforts, all aimed at saving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable citizens: its children. Special thanks to the band OneRepublic for its song, “Feel Again” which has already played an integral part in raising awareness for this wonderful and worthwhile work. You can download it now on iTunes.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: As many of you know, I represent HTHH on the Board of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which has sought to “build back better” in Haiti, particularly in terms of economic development, which is a little different approach than many of the other charities and NGOs working there today. It is also a great approach, and one that does not necessarily leave off the medical aspects that HTHH focuses on. One particularly noteworthy recent development is that CBHF has decided to move forward on a nearly half million dollar grant to Hospital Bernard Mevs in Port-au-Prince shortly after I visited and evaluated the site a few weeks ago. Bernard Mevs is one of the only trauma, critical care, and rehabilitation centers in Haiti. In 2011, the hospital treated over 60,000 patients and performed 150 surgeries each month, many of them pro-bono. As I recommended, helping this facility will help hundreds of thousands of Haitians over the next few years alone.
United States Global Leadership Coalition: I am scheduled to keynote the USGLC Impact 2012 Event in Columbus, Ohio on September 21 st. The Impact Initiative seeks to educate the Presidential and select Congressional candidates on the importance of America’s global leadership, which is something I have always believed in and honored to support both in and out of office. At the event I will speak to a collection of high level policy makers, educators, military, business and faith-based leaders on the importance of American leadership and how soft power, like our many global health initiatives, secure America at home and win it friends and allies abroad that no amount of trade or force could achieve. As the very mission of HTHH states, helping anyone, regardless of his nationality, find health and hope makes the entire world, especially America, more prosperous and secure.
Bill Frist
Chairman, Hope Through Healing Hands
