A series of presentations by global health and policy experts for an interdisciplinary global health seminar are now open to students across all campuses, said Martha Goedert, Ph.D., faculty coordinator of the seminar.
All presentations will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the UNMC College of Public Health, Room 2001.
Dates and speakers are:
Wednesday: Colleen Stice, M.D., an Omaha plastic surgeon who performs skin grafts for pediatric burns. Dr. Stice will talk about her experience and motivation to combine surgical team outreach and stove design and implementation. She developed the “Salama Stove” as a preventive burn measure in underdeveloped countries. She works with International Medical Exchange, Inc., to perform skin grafts for severely burned or mutilated children and women.
Sept. 6: Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., director of international studies, interim director of international programs, and director of Schwalb Center for Israel, Jewish Studies and the Middle East at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. McNamara’s work in Sri Lanka as a scholar-in-residence focused on water at the International Water Management Institute. He has a major role in training water experts of the future, focusing on citizen engagement in country and state water policy processes. He has been a consultant and presenter in South Africa, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan Sri Lanka, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Dr. McNamara will be joined by two health care providers from a pediatric Zambia project, who also are working with Student Engineers Without Borders:
- Chuck Erickson, M.D., a 1963 UNMC alum, retired in 2003 from a long medical career practicing in general and behavioral pediatrics in Lincoln then sought new avenues for service. As a result of serving at the Livingstone General Hospital in Livingstone, Zambia for six weeks, he began to provide service to the children and families of Zambia over the next 11 trips. His service has been recognized through numerous honors, including the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service.
- Dorothy Zimmerman has spent the last 52 years in health care serving as an OR staff nurse, post-surgical staff nurse, staff development and various positions in health care administration. A member of the Beatrice Rotary, she has applied her skills in her work as a Rotarian, participating in seven service trips to Zambia to provide nutrition and preventative care, including water sanitation and hygiene.