Stay Updated
Sign up to receive important emails from us on current issues.
|
Print
|
|
Join John P. Howe, III, M.D., President and CEO of Project HOPE, as he visits our lifesaving programs and offers inspiring examples of how your support is making a difference in the lives of people around the world. Building Healthy Hearts
Posted By:
John P. Howe, III, M.D.
on February 14, 2012
Labels: China, Mexico, South Africa, United States , Chronic Disease
Hearts are the icon of Valentine’s Day. A day when many of us show the ones we love how much we care with presents of candy, packaged in red heart-shaped boxes. 
In South Africa, Mexico and even right here in the United States, our chronic disease programs are training health professionals on prevention methods and educating communities on how to live healthier lifestyles and build stronger hearts. For a visual example of our heart healthy work, check out this great video of school kids at Francisco Madero Public Elementary School in Mexico who participated in Project HOPE's Healthy Habits for a Healthy Weight Program. John | A Life Well-Lived
Posted By:
John P. Howe, III, M.D.
on January 5, 2012
Labels: China
Project HOPE is supported by thousands of dedicated donors that make our lifesaving health education and humanitarian assistance programs around the world possible. And in that group of devoted philanthropists, a young 30-year-old Ian Hanks stands out. A Wesleyan graduate and a Princeton in Asia scholar, Ian found his passion in life early. From Austin, Texas, Ian moved to China six years ago to learn, work and help others. Through his company that he founded with his brother Roger, The Hanks Brothers Chinese Trading Company, Ian dedicated 20 percent of his company’s profits to Project HOPE in order to provide lifesaving heart surgery to children at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. Over the years, The Hanks Brothers funds have provided surgery for seven children that otherwise would not have been able to afford the surgeries. 
Not only did Ian provide the needed funds to pay for the surgeries, he also made a point to connect with every child he helped, visiting with each family before the children left the hospital. Ian passed away on December 23, after a long battle with brain cancer. His passing is an unfathomable loss to those who knew him, yet Ian’s focus on helping others is a reminder of the need to make a difference in whatever time we have in this world. His legacy lives on in the children’s lives he helped save. Thank you for your example Ian. John | Singing for HOPE
Posted By:
John P. Howe, III, M.D.
on November 17, 2011
Labels: China , Women’s and Children’s Health
While visiting the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center in early November, I told you about a 5-year-old girl I met, who was awaiting heart surgery. The young girl warmed our hearts with a favorite children’s song she sang to our delegation. I wanted to share this experience with you. Enjoy the video. John Celebrating Partnerships for Better Health
Posted By:
John P. Howe, III, M.D.
on November 16, 2011
Labels: China , Chronic Disease, Health Care Education, Health Systems Strengthening, Women’s and Children’s Health
We ended our visit to HOPE’s program sites in China with a Partners Reception in Beijing attended by Ministry of Health officials, corporate partner representatives and members of the Chinese media, all very important to making HOPE’s health education programs in China a success. Our newly elected Chairman of the Board, Merck Chairman, Richard T. Clark, spoke at the event, recounting his experience of witnessing the thriving Project HOPE health education programs we visited over the past week. 
We met children at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, now healthier because of care and specialized treatment available at the renowned hospital. We met physicians and nurses working at community hospitals and rural health centers, now better educated because of HOPE’s Rural Training Program. We met victims of the massive 2008 Sichuan earthquake, mobile again, thanks to HOPE’s Rehabilitative Training Program. And we met patients, throughout Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing, now more knowledgeable about the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, thanks to HOPE’s chronic disease programs which place a high priority on patient education. 
HOPE has worked in China for 28 years, providing health education and humanitarian assistance to help improve the health of children, women and men. Mr. Clark pointed out that the success of this long-term relationship would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of HOPE’s partners, including the Chinese government, U.S. corporations and the Chinese media, which helps spread health news to the community. “We’ve accomplished a lot,” he said. “But there is more to do. I hope this is the beginning of another 28 years of working together to better health.” | Expanding Diabetes Education to Community Health Centers
Posted By:
John P. Howe, III, M.D.
on November 15, 2011
Labels: China , Chronic Disease, Health Care Education
On our last day in Beijing, we visited the Daxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, one of the 18 diabetes training centers developed by Project HOPE, with the support of the Ministry of Health, to expand and improve diabetes education and care in China. The community hospital combines traditional Chinese medicine and Western treatments, with an emphasis on patient education, to battle the increasing incidence of diabetes among the Chinese. HOPE’s diabetes program has been in place at the Daxing Hospital since 2009. 
The Hospital’s Director of Endocrinology and Coordinator for HOPE’s Diabetes Education and Care Program, Dr. Ma Li, is an early graduate of HOPE’s Diabetes Education Program, graduating from our third training program in 2001 from Peking University People’s Hospital. He told our delegation that he uses the knowledge he gained during his diabetes education training on a daily basis in his current work, especially when communicating with patients. 
Currently, Daxing Hospital hosts diabetes education for primary care medical professionals every week, and provides patient education courses every month, sharing important information about diabetes care and prevention to more and more people. Using HOPE’s own longtime tagline, Dr. Ma said, “We help them (the patients) help themselves.” While there is still much to accomplish, it is satisfying to know that HOPE’s diabetes education programs in China have trained 44,094 physicians, nurses and health care workers from 3,019 hospitals and community health centers and have reached 223, 728 patients and their family members. John | .
|
