In 2012, BHA joined with the doctors and staff at St. Albert’s Mission Hospital and with many others to mourn the passing of Dr. Elizabeth Tarira, an extraordinary woman and the director of St. Albert’s who died 23 July of recurrent breast cancer at St. Albert’s.
BHA began working with Dr. Lowell Schnipper, Theodore and Evelyn Berenson Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and with St. Albert’s doctors and staff to develop practical cervical cancer prevention and outreach program.
2012 cervical cancer prevention efforts
- BHA purchased bottles of nitrous oxide refrigerant for cryotherapy treatment of precancerous lesions at St. Albert’s.
- Working with St. Albert’s to develop a budget for the project
- Identifying and emailing World Health Organization and Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention documents to help guide the hospitals in developing their programs
We are planning travel to Zimbabwe in March 2013 to visit St. Albert’s with Dr. Schnipper. During the visit, we plan to meet with faculty at the University of Zimbabwe and others who have experience with cervical cancer screening in Zimbabwe.
Equipment
BHA purchased a refurbished anesthesia machine through BBF to replace the outmoded machine at St. Albert’s.
Education
BHA receives inquiries from doctors, nurses and medical and nursing students in the U.S. and elsewhere (e.g., Italy, Spain, the U.K.) about visiting St. Albert’s. BHA then follows up with St. Albert’s and helps coordinate visits. In 2012, BHA assisted three nurses who graduated from the Yale nursing program and who are training as nurse practitioners. The nurses have prior experience in developing countries and are planning to visit St. Albert’s for a number of weeks in 2013.