
Engineering World Health is pleased to send you this edition of our electronic newsletter. You are receiving this because you signed up on our website, or have participated in or expressed interest in one of our programs. You may use the link at right to subscribe to mailings of print materials. Please don't hesitate to contact us at info@ewh.org! In this issue: EWH BMET Training Program gets underway in Rwanda EWH team provides relief in Haiti Engineering World Health Summer Institute 2010 EWH prepares to assess clinical laboratory equipment in Ethiopia with Northrop Grumman EWH establishes Summer Institute Alumni Council Danish engineering student reports on EWH experience EWH BMET Training Program gets underway in Rwanda What is access without sustainability? This question couldn’t be more appropriate for biomedical equipment technicians in Rwanda. Eleven hospitals throughout Rwanda received substantial medical equipment donations from GE. These donations provided unprecedented access to modern medical care, yet the donations and access alone were not enough to build a sustainable in-country system for equipment maintenance and repair. The EWH Biomedical Equipment Technician training program is actively engaged in a capacity building project encouraging healthcare technology maintenance programmatic sustainability. Continue story . . . EWH team provides relief in Haiti A team of three engineers and technicians from EWH traveled to Haiti from March 14-21 to assess and repair medical equipment in five hospitals in Port-au-Prince. Our team was invited by AmeriCares to participate in the earthquake relief effort, and we performed a critical evaluation of the state of medical equipment and advised on next steps to improve the technological capacity of the over-burdened hospitals in Haiti. During the trip, our team was able to perform quick repairs on 25 pieces of medical equipment, including anesthesia machines, suction machines, and ESU generators. We worked with the technicians to provide some training in equipment repair and maintenance. In the photo, EWH-Duke volunteer Lora Perry works with Haitian technician Beauvil Yvener to repair a microscope. Please check out the fundraising auction for this project to the right. Read more about this project. Engineering World Health Summer Institute 2010 This summer, 52 students will participate in EWH's Summer Institute in Tanzania and Central America. These students will be provided with a unique and meaningful cultural immersion and hands-on learning experience. They will live with a local family, learn a new language, and use newly acquired technical skills to improve the quality of health care within the community. Participants, during their second month in-country, will serve a local hospital by installing and repairing equipment, training hospital staff, taking inventory, problem solving and performing other related engineering duties. More info . . . EWH prepares to assess clinical laboratory equipment in Ethiopia with Northrop Grumman Engineering World Health would like to thank Northrup Grumman for its generous donation. These funds will go to support research currently being done in Ethiopia and will further enable Engineering World Health as we explore the possibilities of an in-country clinical laboratory equipment technician training program. EWH inspires and mobilizes the biomedical engineering community to improve the quality of health care in vulnerable communities of the developing world. We achieve our mission through innovation and effective alliances with great partners like Northrup Grumman! EWH establishes Summer Institute Alumni Council EWH is reaching out to all previous Summer Institute participants in order to learn more about your experiences abroad and the lessons you've learned and carried forward with you as you've moved forward in both school and careers. Over the years, a number of you have sought out ways to stay involved with EWH. We are trying to fulfill those needs and would like to hear your ideas about how you'd like to become reacquainted with the organization. Program alumni have enormous amount of talent to contribute and could easily become involved in active EWH chapters or as mentors to chapter members or current Summer Institute participants. Your involvement in this capacity would be invaluable. You should receive a list of active chapters and contact information along with Summer Institute participant information in the coming weeks. EWH would also welcome involvement from your companies and academic institutions. Another Alumni Council conference call will be scheduled before the Summer Institute and will probably take place in mid-May. I hope by now all of you have received the alumni database that was sent out. Please update your information and return it to me. A new list will be re-distributed before the next call. EWH plans to keep alumni informed of any specific needs we have that you might be able to fulfill. This information will be provided in a separate email that will be sent out quarterly. As always, if any of us at EWH can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Danish engineering student reports on EWH experience by Gynter Schneider If I had to describe my Summer Institute experience with one sentence it would be: My best summer ever! It all started with a presentation about EWH Duke Summer Institute from Dr. Robert Malkin at Aalborg University in 2008. After hearing about the program three fellow students and I were hooked on participating in the program. We all got accepted into the program, and after spending months on fundraising the three of us had got financial aid enough to participate. We were all very excited to start the on program. Anders was going on the Central American program while Merete and I were going with the African program to Tanzania. Full story . . . email: info@ewh.org, phone: 1.919.682.7788, www.ewh.org	Donate: Your donations help EWH improve health care in developing nations. Subscribe: to the EWH mailing list to receive periodic mailings on our upcoming events. We respect your privacy, and never share our lists with anyone. Check out the EWH Facebook page Follow EWH on Twitter 2010 BMES Meeting There will be two new podium sessions at the 2010 BMES Annual Fall Meeting that focus on global health. The conference is October 6-9 in Austin, TX. These sessions are open for all to competitive abstract submission. The submission deadline is May 5, and we encourage all to apply, particularly students involved in EWH programs, such as the Summer Institute, chapters, kits, and EWH Design Competition. Full details . . . EWH charity auction supports Haiti effort EWH received a generous donation from Charleston Place Hotel in South Carolina. This luxurious hotel granted a certificate for a free two-night stay that has been auctioned to support ongoing EWH efforts in Haiti. Thanks, Charleston Place! More info . . .

Engineering World Health is pleased to send you this edition of our electronic newsletter. You are receiving this because you signed up on our website, or have participated in or expressed interest in one of our programs. You may use the link at right to subscribe to mailings of print materials. Please don't hesitate to contact us at info@ewh.org!

In this issue:

EWH BMET Training Program gets underway in Rwanda
EWH team provides relief in Haiti
Engineering World Health Summer Institute 2010
EWH prepares to assess clinical laboratory equipment in Ethiopia with Northrop Grumman
EWH establishes Summer Institute Alumni Council
Danish engineering student reports on EWH experience

EWH BMET Training Program gets underway in Rwanda

What is access without sustainability? This question couldn’t be more appropriate for biomedical equipment technicians in Rwanda. Eleven hospitals throughout Rwanda received substantial medical equipment donations from GE. These donations provided unprecedented access to modern medical care, yet the donations and access alone were not enough to build a sustainable in-country system for equipment maintenance and repair. The EWH Biomedical Equipment Technician training program is actively engaged in a capacity building project encouraging healthcare technology maintenance programmatic sustainability. Continue story . . .

EWH team provides relief in Haiti

A team of three engineers and technicians from EWH traveled to Haiti from March 14-21 to assess and repair medical equipment in five hospitals in Port-au-Prince. Our team was invited by AmeriCares to participate in the earthquake relief effort, and we performed a critical evaluation of the state of medical equipment and advised on next steps to improve the technological capacity of the over-burdened hospitals in Haiti.

During the trip, our team was able to perform quick repairs on 25 pieces of medical equipment, including anesthesia machines, suction machines, and ESU generators. We worked with the technicians to provide some training in equipment repair and maintenance. In the photo, EWH-Duke volunteer Lora Perry works with Haitian technician Beauvil Yvener to repair a microscope. Please check out the fundraising auction for this project to the right. Read more about this project.

Engineering World Health Summer Institute 2010

This summer, 52 students will participate in EWH's Summer Institute in Tanzania and Central America. These students will be provided with a unique and meaningful cultural immersion and hands-on learning experience. They will live with a local family, learn a new language, and use newly acquired technical skills to improve the quality of health care within the community. Participants, during their second month in-country, will serve a local hospital by installing and repairing equipment, training hospital staff, taking inventory, problem solving and performing other related engineering duties. More info . . .

EWH prepares to assess clinical laboratory equipment in Ethiopia with Northrop Grumman

Engineering World Health would like to thank Northrup Grumman for its generous donation. These funds will go to support research currently being done in Ethiopia and will further enable Engineering World Health as we explore the possibilities of an in-country clinical laboratory equipment technician training program. EWH inspires and mobilizes the biomedical engineering community to improve the quality of health care in vulnerable communities of the developing world. We achieve our mission through innovation and effective alliances with great partners like Northrup Grumman!

EWH establishes Summer Institute Alumni Council

EWH is reaching out to all previous Summer Institute participants in order to learn more about your experiences abroad and the lessons you've learned and carried forward with you as you've moved forward in both school and careers. Over the years, a number of you have sought out ways to stay involved with EWH. We are trying to fulfill those needs and would like to hear your ideas about how you'd like to become reacquainted with the organization. Program alumni have enormous amount of talent to contribute and could easily become involved in active EWH chapters or as mentors to chapter members or current Summer Institute participants. Your involvement in this capacity would be invaluable. You should receive a list of active chapters and contact information along with Summer Institute participant information in the coming weeks. EWH would also welcome involvement from your companies and academic institutions.

Another Alumni Council conference call will be scheduled before the Summer Institute and will probably take place in mid-May. I hope by now all of you have received the alumni database that was sent out. Please update your information and return it to me. A new list will be re-distributed before the next call. EWH plans to keep alumni informed of any specific needs we have that you might be able to fulfill. This information will be provided in a separate email that will be sent out quarterly.

As always, if any of us at EWH can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Danish engineering student reports on EWH experience

by Gynter Schneider

If I had to describe my Summer Institute experience with one sentence it would be: My best summer ever! It all started with a presentation about EWH Duke Summer Institute from Dr. Robert Malkin at Aalborg University in 2008. After hearing about the program three fellow students and I were hooked on participating in the program. We all got accepted into the program, and after spending months on fundraising the three of us had got financial aid enough to participate. We were all very excited to start the on program. Anders was going on the Central American program while Merete and I were going with the African program to Tanzania. Full story . . .

email: info@ewh.org, phone: 1.919.682.7788, www.ewh.org

Donate: Your donations help EWH improve health care in developing nations.

Subscribe: to the EWH mailing list to receive periodic mailings on our upcoming events. We respect your privacy, and never share our lists with anyone.

Check out the EWH Facebook page

Follow EWH on Twitter

2010 BMES Meeting There will be two new podium sessions at the 2010 BMES Annual Fall Meeting that focus on global health. The conference is October 6-9 in Austin, TX. These sessions are open for all to competitive abstract submission. The submission deadline is May 5, and we encourage all to apply, particularly students involved in EWH programs, such as the Summer Institute, chapters, kits, and EWH Design Competition. Full details . . .

EWH charity auction supports Haiti effort EWH received a generous donation from Charleston Place Hotel in South Carolina. This luxurious hotel granted a certificate for a free two-night stay that has been auctioned to support ongoing EWH efforts in Haiti. Thanks, Charleston Place! More info . . .