Global Healing COVID-19 Statement March 11, 2020 On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 as a pandemic. Additionally, they have advised countries to institute public health measures, including advisories on travel, to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. As a response, Global Healing will follow state and federal government and WHO’s policies and warnings. We will continue to monitor the worldwide outbreak and follow all precautionary measures to contain this virus and reflect the realities of living in a global community. Effective immediately, travel to our pediatric care sites is temporarily suspended until further notice. Our travel… read more →
Partnerships for Sustainability Global Healing recently attended the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) 2020 Partners Meeting in Washington, DC. Our partnership with USAID/ASHA stems from the collective work we are doing with them, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Jo Ann Medical Center in Tbilisi, Georgia, to build the first Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Care Center in the country. Through these partnerships, we are making childhood cancer a treatable disease in Georgia. The theme of this year’s conference was “Financing Self-Reliance.” During the event, there were presentations from various agencies within USAID, such… read more →
Life is always challenging for a child living with a chronic illness. Still, it’s particularly hard in places where healthcare resources are scarce. Because of people like you, children and mothers around the world gain access to quality health care from skilled volunteer medical professionals who do additional training with local clinicians on current best practices. Without Global Healing’s Roatan Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC), children with threatening health conditions may not receive the life-saving care they need. Joel, who lives on the island of Roatan in Honduras, was diagnosed with a medical condition that affects his red blood cells. This condition… read more →
Gretchen Schulz Operations Manager Gretchen brings a passion for nonprofit work and looks forward to expanding her involvement with nonprofits both locally and globally. Most recently, she has interned with Jericho Road Pasadena, which focuses on nonprofit board development and organizational growth in the Pasadena area. In 2018, she graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Science from Azusa Pacific University. During college, Gretchen worked as a physical therapy aide as well as a research assistant within the university’s kinesiology department. Gretchen has also over 20 stamps in her passport, which she attributes… read more →
Update from February: Joel continues to have improving health with increased tolerance of activity and greatly improved breathing. He had been receiving nightly infusions of chelation therapy to remove excess iron from his body. His improvement is related to decreased iron deposition in his vital organs such as his heart and liver. Joel did have lymph node infections in his groin secondary to frequent needle placement in his thighs for the nightly infusion. Although Joel and his family were doing a vigilant job of placing the needle under clean conditions it is not surprising that infection was a risk without running… read more →
Find out what inspired Global Healing’s founder Jo Ann McGowan, and how one person can change the world through compassion and determination. Who was Jo Ann McGowan? Jo Ann McGowan was the founder and executive director of two nonprofit organizations located in Northern California, Heart to Heart International Children’s Medical Alliance and Global Healing. She dedicated the later part of her life to ensuring that no child would die from a treatable congenital heart defect, and her legacy lives on in the work of the organizations she founded. What inspired Jo Ann to take action? Jo Ann was inspired by… read more →
We started the year with great news. The latest generous donation by Helmer Scientific was delivered this past week to Tbilisi, Georgia. Helmer Scientific has donated multiple items of life-saving cold chain equipment as part of their corporate philanthropy program, “Chill the World.” This equipment is now helping make safe blood accessible and is increasing the number of blood products the Jo Ann Medical Center (JAMC) Blood Bank in Georgia can store. JAMC now has the capability to perform more cardiac surgeries and provide additional lifesaving treatments for children in need. “Helmer Scientific is pleased to partner with Global Healing… read more →
As we gear down from our trip to Honduras this past week, we want to introduce you to an incredible man working to provide pediatric surgeries in Roatán, Honduras, an island where much of the population has scarce resources and limited skilled medical attention. It’s a tragedy when children don’t have access to timely surgical care when there is a need. Fortunately, there are people who are working hard to change this. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Enrique Tomé is one of those people. He supports the amazing work done by other Global Healing volunteers by performing surgeries on an average of… read more →
Global Healing: looking to 2018. It’s Halloween, so we’ll come out and say it: change can be scary. Here at Global Healing and at our program sites around the world, lots of changes are underway. Rather than spooked, we’re excited for what’s to come. You will be, too, when you read about the new people, practices and projects we’re involved with into next year to improve care for children and mothers worldwide. NEW PEOPLE From the tiniest of patients to new mothers, our team of committed volunteers prepare local medical staff to provide healing care to children and mothers in… read more →