Its
an ideal place and timewe can do things here that we cannot do anywhere
else in the world. Its natural for the Lillian Carter Center to
be part of that.Dean Marla Salmon
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In many ways, the
Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing (LCCIN) marks the realization
of a dream shared by two deans who led the School of Nursing a generation
apart.
The seed for an international nursing center was first planted by Ada
Fort, who convinced health, business, religion, and community leaders
to form the International Nursing Services Association (INSA) as a separate
organization in 1972. Among INSAs first board members was Lillian
Carter, who lent her insight as a former health volunteer with the Peace
Corps. No longer part of the nursing school, INSA operates today as Global
Health Action, a nonprofit organization that empowers health and community
leaders to improve health care in their own countries.
Nearly 30 years later, that concept has taken root in the nursing school
again. When Marla Salmon became dean two years ago, she already had given
considerable thought to establishing an international center focused on
public health nursing, international nursing, and the global nursing workforce.
Her dream was an ideal fit for Emory, which has a number of flourishing
international programs and partnerships with organizations such as CARE,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and The Carter Center.
All are based in Atlanta, regarded by many health experts as the public
health capital of the world.
Its an ideal place and timewe can do things here that
we cannot do anywhere else in the world, says Salmon. Its
natural for the Lillian Carter Center to be part of that.
As it evolves, the LCCIN will offer basic, advanced, and continuing education
programs for nurses from the United States and other countries; international
exchanges involving faculty, students, and visiting scholars; leadership
and skill development for nurse leaders in government; and forums aimed
at improving the nursing workforce and global health.
The Lillian Carter Center also provides a formal umbrella for international
nursing efforts already under way at Emory. Several nursing faculty members
have participated in projects in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
During the past year, baccalaureate and graduate students have gained
new insight into health care delivery by working in Haiti and Fiji. The
nursing school is developing a new international nursing major in the
dual-degree MSN/MPH program. It is moving forward with agreements to establish
a cultural exchange with Yonsei University in South Korea, scheduled to
begin in fall 2002, and an academic exchange with the University of Alberta
in Canada. Additionally, the LCCIN will open the door for opportunities
like the Taiwan Nursing Education Partnership Program, which brought associate
degreetrained nurses to Emory in the mid-1990s to advance their
studies.
Partnership begins at home
Key
to the LCCINs success are partnerships that build on the nursing
schools relationships with The Carter Center, the Rollins School
of Public Health, the CDC, the World Health Organization, and others.
A new ally is Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), which
offers elective courses there for US medical, nursing, and public health
students. Formed in 1998, MEDICC has an advisory board that includes faculty
from Emorys schools of medicine and public health, and more recently,
the nursing school, where MEDICC now leases office space. MEDICC offers
electives and short courses in cooperation with Cubas National School
of Public Health and the National Center for Postgraduate Medical Training.
It has begun developing a nursing component with the LCCIN, which will
enable Emory nursing students and faculty to study Cubas successful
primary care health system firsthand. The first trip in January 2002 will
be led by family nurse practitioner Diane Appelbaum, MEDICCs director.
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Diane
Appelbaum, director of MEDICC, is developing a program so that nursing
students and faculty can study Cubas primary health care system
firsthand. |
Cuba has made
tremendous improvements in its health care system in the last 40 years,
especially in public health, says Appelbaum. The infant mortality
rate is about the same as in the United States, and the maternal death
rate is only slightly higher. Theres an extensive vaccination program.
The health care system is based on prevention and community health, which
obviates much of the need for curative health. Its a remarkable
system for students to study.
Other partnership opportunities abound. An office next to MEDICC houses
the new Support Center for Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), directed by Eric
Ottesen, professor in the Rollins School of Public Health. Funded by GlaxcoSmithKline
and $4 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the center
is part of the Global Alliance for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis,
a coalition of public and private partners. Working with The Carter Center
and the CDC, the Support Center will coordinate demonstration projects
in the Dominican Republic and Guyana and evaluate projects in seven other
countries to define the most effective ways to eliminate LF, a parasitic
disease. Anne Haddix, an economist who established the Support Center,
hopes the LCCIN will eventually become involved in development of LF treatment
programs led by nurses in endemic countries.
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Anne
Haddix, associate professor in the Rollins School of Public Health,
believes the Lillian Carter Center could play a key role in coordinating
treatment programs in countries where lymphatic filariasis is endemic. |
Nurses definitely
have the skills to treat people who have this disease, says Haddix,
associate professor in public health. They can play a big role in
training community health workers and setting up clinics. They also need
to be involved in the triage process and in teaching good hygiene to prevent
skin infections that often accompany and exacerbate the disease.
Rebecca Penzer, a nurse from the United Kingdom, has also met with LCCIN
staff to set the stage for possible collaboration. Supported by funds
from the UK Department for International Development, Penzer is helping
set up skin care programs in Tanzania and Guyana to treat complications
of lymphedema associated with LF.
The Lillian Carter Center and the School of Nursing have access
to international networks of nurses, who can ensure that messages about
skin care in relation to LF and other diseases get to the people who need
them, says Penzer. They are developing a clear sense of what
international nursing is about and how they can contribute to public health
initiatives to improve health worldwide.
The miracle of Global
Health Action
If
Ada Fort were alive today, she would probably stand up and cheer. The
Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing operates on the same principle
the former nursing dean held close to her heart: better nursing services
mean better health care for people worldwide.
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Robin
Davis, 76MN, a former instructor in the School of Nursing, is the
executive director of Global Health Action. |
Fort
first considered the possibility of an international health effort in
the 1960s. Prompted by concerns about health conditions in other countries,
Fort stood up at a meeting one day and issued a challenge. Virginia Proctor,
50G, 50TH, Forts director of student development at the time, recalls
clearly what the dean said: We are the best cared for nation in
the world. This puts a responsibility on us to raise the level of health
care around the world.
Their diligence paid off in 1972, when the International Nursing Services
Association (INSA) was founded as a private, nonprofit organization to
provide health education and leadership training for nurses from developing
countries. INSA conducted its first training programs with the nursing
school until 1980. That same year, INSA expanded into other countries
and other health professions and later changed its name to Global Health
Action (GHA) to better reflect its purpose and outreach. The philosophy
that gave rise to GHA remains the same today: to create healthier, self-sustaining
communities by teaching nurses and health care workers how to lead more
effectively in their home countries.
Those leaders can effect the greatest change because they are part
of the culture and the community, explains Robin Davis, 76MN, executive
director of GHA. They are able to make a huge difference, even in
times of political and economic turmoil.
Now in its 29th year, GHA has trained more than 5,500 health professionals
in 86 countries. In turn, those graduates and the community health workers
they teach serve 72 million people worldwide.
GHA has numerous collaborative program partners from the United Methodist
Church to the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
(which provides additional training for GHAs Goat Project staff
in Haiti) to the World Health Organization. In addition, GHA has an enthusiastic
army of volunteers. As GHAs founder, Virginia Proctor remains an
avid speaker for the group today.
Says Proctor, Its been a miracle to see GHA have such far-reaching
effects in the world today.
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