COMMUNITY-BASED PRIMARY HEALTH CARE INTEREST/ADVISORY GROUP

Advisory Group members:

Dave Thompson is currently a pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. In 1970's-1980's he spearheaded development of a self-sustaining and locally led CBPHC program in southern Chad for population of about 50,000 (still an advisor). He helped develop a health education program for a Chadian national church; it was built around programmed instruction modules, including writing, testing, training and progam implementation in multiple language groups. Current goals and passion: to bring the power and effectiveness of CBPHC to diverse communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to enable/empower communities and health care institutions, including faith-based ones, to develop successful CBPHC programs.

Magdeline Aagard is a nurse educator and consultant, currently teaching at Augsburg School of Nursing in Minneapolis. She has traveled to India numerous times, worked with several hospitals/nursing schools and recently visited Christian Medical College/Vellore to get a sense of their role and resources for assisting hospitals and CBPHC programs.

Tricia Hall, D.O., is faculty in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota-North Memorial, and is doing volunteer clinical work.  She is interested in primary care, and traveled to Nigeria with Dave and Gary last year to Jamkhed, India to learn about the model CBPHC program of the Comprehensive Rural Health project there. She's also done mission medical work in several other countries.

Charles "Chuck" Hayes, who lives in Virginia and is interested in being part of our group and traveling to Jamked, India. Dave and Tom have had a few conference phone calls with him and Tom met him at an ELCA Global Mission Event. As you'll see in attached CV, he's an MD, MPH who's worked for CDC, served as epidemiologist and professor of epidemiology.  Click here to download Chuck's CV.

Karen Plager lives in Flagstaff, AZ. She is a Professor at Northern Arizona University School of Nursing. She is a family nurse practitioner (FNP) who teaches graduate nursing courses and coordinates the FNP track. She served as a member of the GHM Board of Directors from 2004-2010. Her international experience includes: 1) primary health care and consultant work on community-based primary health care and nursing education in Tanzania; 2) development of study abroad opportunities for nursing and health profession students, including collaboration to develop and offer a public and environmental health field study course in Kenya; 3) short-term GHM missionary work in Madagascar to improve nursing education; 4) WHO short-term nursing consultant in Bangalore, India; and 5) summer study abroad in human ecology in Nepal.

Gary Sande is a former missionary teacher in Nigeria, as former health care administration and baker in St. Paul, MN, who has headed up efforts to build the health care partnership of the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod with the Lutheran Church in Nigeria. He and Dave have been to Nigeria about four years in a row and are very interested in seeing how the Jamked model of CBPHC could be applied there.

Susan Vitalis is an MD hailing from Battle Lake, MN. Board certified by American Academy of Family Physicians, Susan has extensive experience overseas serving in China, Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Mongolia, Tibet, India, and elsewhere. She served as the Project Administrator for Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project in Boone, NC, and is a recipient of Concordia College Alumni Achievement Award, based on a lifetime achievement of living the mission of the college. Click here to download Susan's CV.

Interest Group participants:

(Names and contact information will be entered here when a brief bio and contact information is received. Send to Tom Duke, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Rev. Jim Gonia is a pastor currently working with ELCA Global Mission. He spent 10 years in Madagascar as a missionary pastor. His interest areas are health and development in many countries, including Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal. He works primarily with the Diaconia Project (formerly IDDR, International Disaster and Development Response).

Sandy Iverson is a pediatric nurse practitioner with a background in public health. She has been involved through GHM in a CBPHC education program in El Salvador. She works with Pastor Conche who is a pastor and nurse serving as a health coordinator for the church in El Salvador.

Lon Kightlinger (from Pierre, South Dakota) is the State Epidemiologist for SD Public Health Dept. He is interested in infectious disease, infant mortality and child health. He spent 20 years in Madagascar working with the Lutheran church doing primary health care and collaborated with a number of other groups while there.

Steve and Nancy Laible (from New Brighton, MN). Through Nativity Lutheran Church they work with a project known as Lutheran Aid to Medicine in Bangaladesh (LAMB). Steve has a business background, but in retirement his passion is health literacy with a focus on childhood pneumonia and diarrhea in Bangaladesh, including community-based primary health care (CBPHC) in the schools. They have been successful in providing clean water and sanitary latrines in the area where they work in Bangaladesh, an area where there are 5,000-8,000 children. Nancy’s background is in micobiology. She worked primarily in the industry sector with a focus on food and pathogens. Her focus areas are prevention and nutrition.

Anne Langdji joined us by Skype from Yaounde, Cameroon. She works for Global Mission ELCA with a health focus with churches in West Africa. She has extensive PHC experience as a missionary for 6 years in CAR and 9 years in Senegal. She has also worked in CAR on HIV-AIDS and maternal-child health.