CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH Our mission is to improve the lives of children living in resource-limited settings by collaborating with our partners in the development of sustainable capacitybuilding activities. Through the volunteer efforts of trainees, staff and faculty, the Center for Global Health (CGH) has created a culture at Connecticut Children’s that values and promotes the understanding that we are world citizens and that our knowledge and skills can change the lives of children around the world. We engage in influential activities that increase global health participation and appreciation. And our activities increase cultural humility, resilience and engagement within our community resulting in healthier children locally and internationally. The CGH continues to be led by Adam Silverman, MD, as director, and its work is significantly enhanced by the efforts of team members including pediatric hospital physician Hareem Park, MD, neonatologist Naveed Hussain, MD, and pediatric plastic surgeon Christopher Hughes, MD, MPH, and by the support of the Executive Management Team and Physician-in-Chief Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH. The CGH benefits Connecticut Children’s by continuing to provide opportunities for learners, staff and faculty to participate in global health activities while increasing access to high-quality care for children throughout the world. The CGH identifies methods for lowering barriers to participation in global health-care activities as well as training the next generation of global health-care providers and leaders. We recognize that 2020 was a year full of challenges but we celebrate our accomplishments. Despite limitations on international travel, we continued to accomplish our objectives through both internal and external activities. Three university-wide Global Health Symposia were organized in collaboration with the student-led Global Health Spaces on Campus organization in Storrs, CT, and the leaders in global health at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. The Storrs symposium was a great success, with Connecticut Children’s team members Drs. Hughes and Silverman participating in panel discussion and breakout 138
ANNUAL ACADEMIC REPORT 2020
sessions. Unfortunately, the symposia that were to be held at the UConn Health Center and at Connecticut Children’s were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the overall experience has paved the way for ongoing UConn global health activities in the future. Despite changes necessitated by quarantine, this year’s Global Health Film Festival was a resounding success. Given that in-person screening was not possible on the hospital campus, three of the four films were screened remotely via Zoom and the final film was screened in-person with space for appropriate social distancing at Real Art Ways in Hartford. All of the screenings were hosted by either local global health leaders or, in the case of “In the Name of Your Daughter,” by the film’s director Giselle Portenier. In a year in which social events such as film festivals were cancelled or postponed, we were able to hold our best-attended event since the inception of this activity. Support for pediatric resident education has been significantly increased and improved by the addition of Dr. Park to the CGH Team. Dr. Park’s experience during her pediatric training, and as a volunteer with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in South Sudan, has resulted in a significant refinement and expansion of the global health curriculum available for trainees. In addition, Drs. Park and Silverman facilitated a first Global Health Boot Camp for pediatric residents in order to better prepare them for the emotional challenges experienced when volunteering in resourcelimited settings and to provide them with the knowledge and skills needed to collaboratively build health care capacity with our global health partners. This year, members of the Department of Pediatric Surgery organized the Global Surgery subcommittee of the Center for Global Health to develop strategies for increased research, education, and clinical care by Connecticut Children’s surgeons in international settings. Led by Dr. Hughes, along with cardiac surgeon Raina Sinha, MD, MPH, and Surgeon-in-Chief and Pediatric Surgery division chief Christine Finck, MD, the Global Surgery subcommittee will collaborate with international surgical organizations and expand
opportunities for operating room staff, faculty and learners to increase capacity in locations in which children do not have adequate access to high-quality surgical care. It is hard to believe that any international travel was undertaken in 2020, but prior to the pandemic quarantine, the Center for Global Health sponsored multiple trips to St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Portau-Prince, Haiti, in support of the expanded Pediatric ICU there and to provide educational opportunities for our pediatric learners. CGH volunteers were able to leverage the experience developed through the use of remote Internet-based activities during years of volunteering with Konbit Santé to support ongoing capacity-building. Efforts continued this year to increase pediatric health-care capacity at Justinien University Hospital in Cap-Haitian, Haiti, and the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) in Kigali, Rwanda, through quality improvement activities such as monthly mortality reviews, educational video conferences, and Haitian and Rwandan pediatric resident curriculum development. The foundation of these capacity-building activities includes collaborations, partnerships, and sustainable volunteering opportunities with several organizations including: • Justinien University Hospital as volunteers with Konbit Santé in Cap-Haitian, Haiti • St. Damien Pediatric Hospital as members of the St. Damien Collaborative in Port-au-Prince, Haiti • Hospital Sacré Coeur Pediatric Diabetes Program as volunteers with CRUDEM in Milot, Haiti • NICE Foundation “Cool the Kids” program in Hyderabad, India • The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) in Kigali, Rwanda • The Faith Mulira Health Care Centre as volunteers with the Masooli Project, in Masooli, Uganda • Mengo Hospital in collaboration with the Friends of Mengo Hospital, USA, and in Kampala, Uganda
