UNMC alums to be honored for international efforts

Drs. Gretchen and Warren Berggren, shown here receiving an award from the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta, will be honored today by the Nebraska chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society for their global health care efforts. The Berggrens, who are College of Medicine alums, also will present a seminar on campus regarding their medical work in Haiti.

Drs. Gretchen and Warren Berggren have worked together for more than four decades to improve the health of Third World children.

Their careers as medical missionaries to countries such as the Congo, Haiti and Bangladesh have brought forth numerous, successful community health programs.

In recognition of their work the Berggrens have been chosen for induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha national honor medical society by the Nebraska chapter.

The motto of the AOA is “Be worthy to serve the suffering,” and the Berggrens have exceeded this expectation.

Hear from the Berggrens At today’s AOA/College of Medicine Faculty Honors Convocation, which starts at noon in the Eppley Science Hall Amphitheater, the Berggrens will present “In and out of Haiti since 1967: Lessons Learned and Hope.” Later this evening they will be honored during a banquet open only to AOA members and their guests.

The Berggrens met at the UNMC College of Medicine in the 1950s and upon graduation chose to be medical missionaries to Africa where they were strong proponents of preventive medicine.

In the 1960s, the Berggrens studied and worked at the Harvard School of Public Health before taking positions with Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti from 1967-1974. They then worked in the Projet Integree de Sante et de Population, under the Haitian Ministry of Health’s “Bureau d’Hygene Familiale” in Petit Goave from 1974-1978.

During their first five-year tenure in Haiti, the Berggrens initiated the “Nutritional Foyer” program to train mothers in the use of local foods to correct dietary deficiencies. Since then they have served as consultants for a number of programs in Haiti.

After the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January, Dr. Gretchen Berggren was asked to return to the country by Save the Children to teach and develop curriculum for retraining rural community health workers. In particular Dr. Berggren is working with nursing mothers.