Our Return to Uzhhorod, Ukraine

We had our 1st visit to Ukraine in April and were thrilled to return again this past November. Our program is focused on enhancing medical education for clinicians and medical students at the National University of Uzhhorod. The IMR team, comprised of volunteer physicians who were skilled and dedicated teachers, led seminars that incorporated didactic and simulation sessions. Our efforts garnered attention locally and Josh, our co-founder and medical director, was interviewed on a news channel. This recognition not only highlights the importance of our work but also catalyzes broader awareness and support within our community. Together with our partners, we continue to aspire to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the evolving needs of their communities in Uzzhorod.

Lecture sessions

Our 2024 goals are to continue to support primary care education and expand lecture topics guided by our partners at the National University. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University, which reinforced our commitment, and the partnership was also featured on their website. This agreement underscores our shared values and aspirations, serving as a foundation for continued collaboration.

Thrilled to sign our agreement with Uzhhorod University

In 2024, we also hope to hold a women’s health symposium in partnership with local non-profits, including the local Zonta club Uzhhorod, Heart to Heart Ukraine, and the local regional youth leadership office that is now headed by our IMR Ukraine youth representative Mariya Y.

We want to extend our gratitude to everyone who participated and those who volunteered their time to this wonderful collaboration. We look forward to returning to Uzhhorod later this year!

Wonderful to meet the medical students

Mariya Y., our fantastic IMR Ukraine ambassador

Meet our new Eddy Rose Scholar for Black Birthworkers, Isatou Marong

We are once again honored to announce the recipient of the $10,000 scholarship for Black Birthworkers! Our scholar, Isatou Marong, is currently a first year student at SUNY Downstate where she is pursing her passion of becoming a Midwife. Her path to midwifery started in her native country of The Gambia and through her experience of giving birth in the United States. We were inspired by Isatou’s journey and her commitment to providing safe, compassionate care to Black and immigrant women.

We thank our IMR supporters for making this scholarship possible!

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I am a first-year midwifery student at SUNY Downstate Health Science University. My name is Isatou Marong. I am thrilled to have been selected for the Eddy Rose Scholarship for Black Birth workers and am grateful for this opportunity to further my journey to becoming a licensed midwife. Currently, I work as a Registered Nurse at HHC Jacobi Medical Center Emergency Service, where I find joy and peace in helping and caring for people.

My interest in healthcare led me to discover my passion for midwifery, particularly advocating for better maternal outcomes for black women. I am humbled to be a part of the midwifery community and intend to take full advantage of this scholarship to achieve my goals. 

I want to express my gratitude to the International Medical Response management and team, all contributors, supporters, and sponsors who made this opportunity possible. I am humbled and honored to be awarded this distinguished scholarship. 

-Isatou Marong

End of the Year thoughts from Eddy Rose Scholar, Shaunté

With graduation around the corner, I’m humbled at how far I’ve come. Currently, I am embarking on a clinical rotation in labor and delivery. The experience has been eye opening thus far. Having had the opportunity to deliver a baby with minimal assistance has been life changing. Watching my dreams unfold, bringing life into this world has been surreal. Every birthing person has a story and unique experience. I’m grateful to be a part of so many stories providing the best care I know how. Messages from patients like “I could not have done this without you” or “Thank you so much for everything; You’re going to make an amazing midwife one day” is all the validation I need to know that I’m in the right place. Applying didactic material instilled in us from our learning to real life situations makes this whole experience full circle. I look forward to graduation in the spring and taking my boards exam. I thank the team here at International Medical Response for this scholarship that has helped me tremendously to help finance my studies. Midwifery and birth work has a special place in my heart and I look forward to what’s in store for me as a new up and coming midwife!

April in Ukraine

By: Dr. Ambereen Sleemi, Executive Director

Josh and I traveled to Uzhhorrod in western Ukraine this past April, bordering Slovakia and close to Hungary. A collaboration with several local Ukranian organizations and medical teaching institutions led to a most fruitful visit. The trip was a culmination of months of planning and coordinating with partners both in the US and in Ukraine.

We met with Dr Volodymyr Smolenka, rector of the Uzhhorod National University and renowned neurosurgeon, as well as Dr. Oleg Devinyak, the dean of the medical school. We got an in- depth tour of the medical school, including the simulation lab and classrooms, with an overview of curricula and how students education has been affected by the ongoing conflict.

Dr. Smolenka in the OR

Dr. Oleg (medical school dean) Mariya, Josh, and Ambereen

A tour of a local lab that gives much support to victims of the war followed by a visit to the National maternity hospital gave further insight into the challenges of supporting medical needs during these difficult times. We also met the head of the Ob/Gyn department and staff, hearing concerns of the care of the local population and IDP’s who have come to this city to flee the war.

This was followed by a meeting with the local Ukraine non-profit community organization Heart to Heart, which gave important insight into how orgs have pivoted to meet the needs of the community, those wounded by war as well as IDP/s, many who have made their way to Uzhhorrod, swelling the pre war population substantially. A tour of a local warming centers supported by Zonta’s Ukrainian clubs during fuel and electrical outages this past winter, was another illustration of how the conflict affects all in Ukraine.

Thankful to meet with Uzhhorrod’s National law school Dean Yaro and faculty to discuss how local laws and the medical community can support women who are survivors of both intimate partner violence and rape as it is being weaponized in this war. As IMR is committed to caring for the vulnerable and marginalized, this issue is important for us to support in any way we can. We learned much about legal and law enforcement guidelines and will plan to work collaboratively to further how the medical community can collaborate in these efforts.

Dean Yaro and the law school faculty

Press conference with local partners and local journalists

We were invited to speak to members the local Zonta Uzhhorrod and Lviv clubs, med students and community members on IMR’s past and ongoing work and how we fit into partnerships in local projects. We also presented at a local press conf (watch it on youtube in Ukrainian ) along with our local NGO colleagues and answered questions about our plans to work with the local medical and community groups to support medical education and community health, including our goal to work with local Zonta chapters and Heart to Heart to care for women who are survivors of IPV and rape.

We’re returning this November to work with local medical institutions to enhance medical education and provide support to a new pilot program providing women IDP’s gynecologic and psychologic care. We extend a heartfelt thanks to all who welcomed us so warmly and a special thanks to Mariya, our IMR Ukrainian youth ambassador in Uzhhorrod and Pete Bober, Zonta member. We thank you for your ongoing support and have much more to do! Please consider a donation here.

Q&A with Shaunté Truick, Eddy Rose Scholar

Shaunté is our third Eddy Rose Scholar for Black Birthworkers, and we are so thrilled to be supporting this future Midwife. Her passion for Midwifery and her commitment to her community is truly inspiring, and we are eager for you to get to know her a little more!

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1.  How did your journey lead you to decide to become a midwife? 

Ever since I was a kid, I had a liking to helping people. I’m the eldest of four children and cared for all of my younger siblings. What led me to become a midwife was my love for kids and appreciation for women and their bodies. Midwives particularly sparked my interest due to the midwifery model of care. Birthing with a midwife is far more personal, intimate, and rewarding. I love how they connect with the mothers and make each pregnancy journey unique to the patient on a more personal level. I feel as if midwives have a more caring and connected approach to their patients, spend more time understanding them, and become an additional support system.  

I was always intrigued with the birthing process, especially after encountering the difficult birth of my baby sister when I was 14 years old. Watching her come into this world and surviving being born a little over 2lbs was remarkable. I grew a deep admiration midwives who attend births, as it can be life threatening for the mother or baby. Experiencing my mother flat-lining and coming back to life after a complicated cesarean-section due to placenta previa was such a traumatizing experience, yet also made me feel that I have a purpose in helping women of color just like myself. 

2. Who are some of the biggest influences in your life? 

My grandmother is my biggest influence. From attending my school plays, to taking me to health fairs, to handing me brochures on pregnancy, my grandmother is always there to cheer me on and support whatever it is I choose to take on in life. From an adolescent, it was my grandmother who taught me basic skills such as taking blood pressure, reading a thermometer, checking blood sugar levels etc. Little did I know I'd be using these same tools she taught me, to help her after her diagnosis of breast cancer. I was able to attend to her basic needs whenever she felt sick, especially after chemotherapy. Following her reconstructive surgery, I helped change her gauzes, leakage tubes, and dressed her scars with proper antiseptics and made her feel as comfortable as possible. Throughout my years as a young adult to now, I've had first hand experience with women's health because of my grandmother, my breast cancer survivor, my hero.  

My other influence is God. I grew up in church. My grandmother made sure my siblings and I attended every Sunday. My faith is what keeps me going and gives me the drive and ambition to do all things and conquer the unthinkable. I would not be the woman I am today without God and my grandmother. 

3. How do you see your role as a birth worker supporting equity for maternal health? 

Upon graduating as a midwife, I plan on gaining as much experience as I can in the field working in a hospital that has been using midwives for an extensive period of time and building a name for myself. I ultimately see myself opening a home-birth business, catering to all women and especially welcoming women of the BIPOC community.  

I believe that the work doesn’t stop. If you want to see change, you have to make change! Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth in comparison to white women. To more fully understand the maternal mortality issue amongst black women, it is important to address the root of the problem, health inequity and institutional racism, which I plan to highlight in future qualitative research. I’m currently working as a birth/postpartum doula advocating for mothers in the tri-state area. Birth work is my life. I was born to do this, and I will continue to use my education and experience to make a difference. 

Fistula Surgeries in Pakistan

March is Women’s History month and it also holds International Women’s Day on the 8th. It’s a chance to celebrate women’s health achievements and focus on ways we can work to increase equity and justice for women across the globe.

IMR started the month with a fistula surgery campaign in the Sindh region in Pakistan. A fistula is a preventable birth injury caused by obstructed labor or as we are seeing increasingly, from difficult cesarean sections in unskilled hands. Koohi Goth hospital is the country’s largest center dedicated to the training and care of women with obstetric as well as other fistulas. The center’s main fistula surgeon is Dr. Shershah Syed, an internationally known fistula surgeon and renowned advocate for women. He is joined by other skilled surgeons trained in repairs and a very capable team of scrub techs, nurses, anesthetists, and staff. The hospital is home to a 2-year midwifery training program that houses, feeds, and trains students from across the country. It’s truly a remarkable place full of dedicated professionals and supported by generous donations. Oh, and did I mention it is completely free. All surgeries, meds, deliveries, midwifery training, room and board, 100% free. All of it. While there, I worked with surgeons who came from across the country to further their vaginal and fistula surgery skills. 

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I was also invited to meet with staff and trainees at other hospitals across Karachi and performed prolapse surgery cases at the Jinnah Public Hospital. Later in the week, I traveled to the interior of Sind province to operate with the welcoming physicians at Sheik Zayed Women’s Hospital in Larkana, a historic city. The Sind province was devastated by historic flooding last year, and more than 6 months later, water still has not fully receded. Several fistula patients there needed surgery and it was an important opportunity to teach residents and students. 

Along the way, I was asked to share my thoughts with local TV and a national radio program. I used this opportunity to speak about health equity, human rights, and the vital role women, like our friend Dr. Shershah, play to advance these rights, especially for the poor and marginalized. I am thankful that IMR is able to partner with Koohi Goth hospital and other institutions that care for women with fistulas. In addition, I feel honored to help train the next generation of surgeons so that the end of fistulas may soon be in sight.

This Women’s History Month, a tax-deductible donation to IMR could go a very long way in our work to bring the best care to places that need it the most. Donate here.

Ambereen Sleemi

Executive Director, IMR

Meet our new Eddy Rose Scholar for Black Birthworkers, Shaunté Truick!

We are so pleased to introduce Shaunté Truick, a student midwife at SUNY Downstate, as the recipient of our third Black Birthworker scholar. We were impressed by Shaunté’s commitment to her community and feel so honored to support her in her journey to become a Midwife!

Shaunté Truck, student midwife and Eddy Rose scholar

My name is Shaunté Truick and I’m a Midwifery student at SUNY Downstate Health Science University. I sincerely thank the International Medical Response team for this pivotal moment, granting me this opportunity to receive this scholarship, as it will tremendously help me further my education and goals in health care. I am currently a birth/postpartum doula supporting birthing people throughout their pregnancy, labor/delivery, and postpartum journey across the tri-state area. As a future homebirth midwife, this scholarship will allow me to distill my knowledge, bring awareness to my community, and infuse the essence of autonomous birthing experiences to my patients. This moment will always remain a pillar, which will further catapult my quest for knowledge in this field. With much appreciation, humility, and grace, I thank you for aiding my vision.

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Maternal healthcare in the United States has seen a crisis over the last two decades with pregnancy-related mortality rate steadily inclining. While maternal death rates around the world have dropped by more than a third from 2000 to 2015, the rates in the United States has more than doubled since 1987. According to data from CDC, significant racial disparity in pregnancy-related mortality contributes to the increased rate. Between 2011-2016, Black women were 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. The maternal mortality rate for Black women during that same period was 42.4 per 100,000-- worse than 85 other countries around the globe.

 A solution to this epidemic must be multipronged, however we believe that one of the ways to decrease the disparity is by supporting more Black individuals who are committed to caring for birthing people. We have chosen future midwives and doulas as the focus of this scholarship because we believe that these two groups of birthworkers have the potential to majorly impact the outcomes of pregnant people. Studies show that when cared for by a midwife, women are less likely to deliver by Cesarean Section, a surgical procedure that can increase a person’s risk of hemorrhage, infection, blood clots and other surgical complications. It has also been shown that for people whose labors are attended by doulas (a person who provides emotional and physical support during labor, birth, and postpartum period), they were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal birth and less likely to require pain medication including epidurals.

 While we know that midwives and doulas can have a positive impact on birthing people, it is also evident that the community of birthworkers is currently overwhelmingly white. For example, according to the 2019 Demographic Report by the American Midwifery Certification Board, 86.9% of Certified Midwives (CM) and Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) in the United States identified as White or Caucasian and 6.31% as Black or African American. Black birthing people deserve to have access to care-providers from their communities. Our hope is that by offering this scholarship, it will decrease some of the financial barriers put upon Black students who desire to enter the profession.

Shaunté received $10,000 to support her Midwifery education through IMR’s Eddy Rose Scholarship Program. Please consider making a contribution to IMR so we can continue to award future birthworkers like Shaunté!

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Interview with Betina, Haitian Nursing Scholar

IMR has roots in the Destra region of Haiti. Residents of Destra, like many other regions of Haiti, has challenges accessing primary healthcare due to physical and economic constraints. IMR has sought to bridge these gaps by establishing a clinical presence there, as well as sponsoring a local aspiring practitioner to pursue formal training in healthcare.

This year, IMR provided a scholarship through our partner GOALS Haiti for Betina Perpulus to attend nursing school. She hopes to return to Destra to care for her community after graduation. We checked in with Betina to see how things are going.

How is the nursing program running?

Betina: The nursing program is going very well. I always go to school on time, the teachers make it easy to understand the program, and I always complete my homework on time. I'm always studying my lesson every day to make sure that I'm moving forward with my nursing program.

What did you learn which is interesting in the nursing program?

B: What I've learned in the nursing program I find interesting is taking blood pressure, giving IVs to patients, how to do the injection with a syringe, how to take temperature, and control the level of blood sugar in the patient. All of these are very interesting to me. 

What are some challenges or difficulties you faced in the nursing program?

B: One of the difficulties I had in the nursing program is where I live and there's a river that is called La Rouyaume. It was flooded due to heavy rain, and everyone in my community could not cross the river and go into town. I missed a lot of days of school because of the flood and was very behind in my class assignments. I had to stay up late at night to study harder so I would not be left behind in my class. Luckily for me, all that hard studying paid off, and I was able to pass on to the next level of the program. 

What do you enjoy in the nursing program?

B: What I enjoy the most in the nursing program is injecting IVs for patients and taking blood pressure, I like it when I’m taking the level of the blood sugar of the patients.

When you graduate from the nursing program what will that mean to you, and what positive impact will it have on your community?

B: Graduating from the nursing program will have a significant impact on me because my dream was to graduate from high school and continue to go to school so that I could have a degree in nursing. Also, the impact it will have on my community because there isn't any hospital in Bossan where I live. Therefore, I will be helping people in my community when there's someone who is sick. Often late at night, we have people who get sick and don’t have transport to go to the hospital in the town. Soon I will be able to give these people the first aid treatment they need to get well. All thanks to GOALS and their supporters which I will forever be thankful. 

Mountains for Mamas

A note from our board member, Gillian Green, who is climbing Ama Dablam in Nepal to raise awareness and fund for our obstetric fistula repair program

I write to you from Ama Dablam base camp in the Himalayas. Base camp is a temporary home at the foot of a mountain where hopeful mountaineers acclimatize, take rest and refuge, and the point from which they make at attempt at reaching the summit of their dreams.  

Climbing to the summit of Ama Dablam, once a crazy, unattainable idea, is shifting from a dream to my imminent reality. I am humbled by my surroundings and your support. 

For this climb I am raising awareness and funds for International Medical Response, an organization for which I have been honored to serve on the board for the last several years. IMR's mission is to supplement, support and enhance healthcare systems in communities across the world that have been incapacitated by natural disaster, extreme poverty, and/or regional conflict. I encourage you to read more about our mission and programs on our site https://www.internationalmedicalresponse.org/aboutus. 

One such program is our campaign to end obstetric fistula, spearheaded by IMR's Executive Director Dr Ambereen Sleemi. Obstetric fistula is preventable and most often occurs during labor in regions with inadequate access to comprehensive maternal healthcare. Having been a young mother, I cannot fathom having my first few days and months with Penelope being in preventable physical suffering and social isolation as is often the case for these mothers. And so this program is dearest to my heart. Thus was born our campaign in 2019: Mountains for Mama's.

Ama means mother and Dablam means jewel box in Nepalese. Mothers are the jewels of this good earth and deserve the best possible healthcare to ensure they can take refuge in their bodies. The work we do is their proverbial base camp - we provide them with surgical care so they are free from suffering when they climb to meet the demands and gifts of mothering.  

If you believe in the work we do at IMR, may I ask that you spread the word and if you're in a position to do so, give any amount as all is appreciated (a link can be found below).  We are a small organization with extremely low overhead and powered mostly by volunteers so your gift goes directly to the execution of our global programs. 

For each of you, I am humbly filled with gratitude greater than these mountains that surround me. Thank you for being my proverbial base camp. 

Mostly, thank you for your support of IMR throughout the years. 

Gillian

2021 Year in Review

Nothing has been the same since the COVID pandemic started in March 2020 but we have found ways to continue supporting our partners both domestically and internationally. We are thrilled to share with you some of the bright spots we have achieved this year.

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PPE PROJECT

We have continued to supply PPE through the summer to our partner sites in NYC. Large PPE donations were also made to our partners in Liberia, as well as hospitals in the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines after the volcanic eruption. 

VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO

In the fall, we were finally able to return to Vieques, Puerto Rico with guidance from the island's epidemiologist. While IMR continued to support the island’s test and trace team with PPE, it was wonderful to be back in the community. We continued home visits and worked with community leaders on building a resilient hospital on the island. 

LIBERIAN FISTULA PROJECT

In December, we were so excited to finally return to Liberia where we evaluated over 30 women and performed over 20 operations to fix obstetric fistula. Many are women who have waited years for this surgery. We were thrilled not only to provide life changing surgery but our patients were also able to receive COVID vaccinations prior to their procedures. 

HAITI

The ongoing pandemic, political turmoil, and safety concerns in Haiti made it impossible for IMR to return to Haiti this year. However, we continued to support our Haitian colleagues and partners by donating medical and surgical supplies so they are able to continue caring for women with birth trauma and fistula especially after the tragic earthquake this summer. 

We also received an update from our local partner GOALS about a pregnant woman that IMR cared for during our previous visit. At the time, IMR had helped coordinate an emergency transfer to St. Boniface Hospital due to severe preeclampsia, a life threatening complication in pregnancy. The baby, who was born by emergency c-section, is now a toddler who is thriving. We were so happy and relieved to hear that both mom and child are doing well and cases like this remind us of why we do what we do.  

LOCAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT

This year, we established a relationship with our new local community partner Life Of Hope, supporting their community baby showers in central Brooklyn that promote safe motherhood and birth in the Haitian/Caribbean diaspora and the community-at-large. Please consider donating to our wishlist which gets needed supplies to the large number of pregnant Haitian migrants that are newly arriving in Brooklyn.

We also donated at-home electric blood pressure cuffs to pregnant patients at a community health clinic in Los Angeles. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy can be deadly and making at-home monitoring accessible to people in low-income households could help save lives.

EDDY ROSE SCHOLARS

Carlos Horacio Rose finished med school this year with our support! He’s in Nicaragua and is now applying for surgery residency as he finishes his internship in Managua.

We also continued our annual tradition of awarding $10,000 to a Black midwifery student at SUNY Downstate. Arielle Sooknanan is our much deserved awardee this year, and she is working hard in her final year to complete her studies to become a midwife.

“I can hardly believe the year is already ending. Classes this semester were challenging especially with finals occurring on the heels of this omicron variant wave and in the midst of some family health issues. However, my amazing classmates and I pulled through with some study groups and I’m so excited to embark on this last upcoming semester. I’m looking forward to the end and finally being able to work as a midwife.”

-Arielle Sooknanan, Student Midwife and Eddy Rose Scholar

In addition to Carlos and Arielle, IMR began sponsoring a Haitian nursing student, Bettina Pepilus. Bettina came to us through our local partner, GOALS, and hopes to provide care in Destra where she would play an integral role in extending care to the area.

"Receiving this scholarship is very important for my life because I like nursing and I know my family cannot afford to pay for nursing school, and thanks to GOALS and IMR I have their support so I can now go to school. It was a great joy for me and my family when I knew I was awarded this scholarship. My family and I want to say a big thank you and God bless you to the people that sponsored this scholarship.

The impact I can have will help young girls, boys, and elders with how to protect themselves and show people how to be careful with their health in life. I would like to inspire others to be a nurse.”

 – Bettina Pepilus, Eddie Rose Scholar

We look forward to supporting Bettina and strengthening our ties with Destra while the region endures continuing political instability.

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Finally, THANK YOU to all of our supporters who have made this work possible. The last two years have been challenging to say the least, and we truly could not have done this without you. We look forward to sharing more new good news in 2022.

-Ambereen, Josh and Mayano