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International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System
50 Charlton Avenue East, Hamilton ON L8N 4A6
www.internationaloutreach.ca
26 February, 2016
Dear Friend,
The doctors at Mulago Hospital in Uganda had a deadly problem on their
hands.
At least three times a week, they would deliver a baby, admit the
mother to the recovery ward, but the mother would not survive the night.
Something had to be done to save these mothers’ lives. And Dr. Sarah
Nakubulwa was the one who did it.
Sarah had come to Hamilton as a medical resident sponsored by the
International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System and
McMaster University. She had learned new skills, developed a sense of what is possible, and
returned home determined to make a difference.
And make a difference is exactly what she did, thanks to people just like you.
“I knew these deaths were all virtually preventable,” says Sarah. “And I knew from my
training in Canada that we just needed to take a fresh approach, establish some new protocols,
and that we could solve this problem. I didn’t want another mother to die unnecessarily.”
Sarah and her colleagues developed and implemented what’s known as a High Dependency
Unit. They identified the women most at risk, removed them from the general ward, and
monitored them every 30 minutes during the 24 hours after delivery.
In the first three months following implementation of Sarah’s new protocol, not a single
mother died in childbirth at Mulago Hospital. Not one. Since Sarah started this program, at least
650 mothers’ lives have been saved.
That’s the power of training a doctor from a developing country. You train a doctor today,
you save 650 lives tomorrow.
And that’s why I’m writing to you. I want you to provide life-saving medical training in
areas of the world where medical resources are low. Your gift today to the International Outreach
Program of St. Joseph’s Health System will save lives tomorrow. Dr. Nakubulwa is proof of that.
You see, in the poorest countries, there is only one doctor for every 100,000 people.
Imagine the City of Hamilton, population 500,000, with only five doctors. That’s what the
People like you helped
Dr. Sarah Nakubulwa save
over 650 mothers' lives, and
counting . . .

chronic shortage of doctors in developing countries looks like. The shortage of nurses and other
vital health workers is just as chronic.
I’m talking about 400 million people worldwide who lack access to a doctor or a nurse. The
majority of these people live in 57 of the poorest countries. Where there are no doctors or nurses,
there are deadly consequences. Each year in developing nations, six million people die from
malaria and tuberculosis. Half a million women die from complications of pregnancy and
childbirth. Two million people die from diphtheria, measles and tetanus.
With few exceptions, these deaths are preventable. By doctors and nurses. Enough doctors
and nurses.
Want to save lives in developing countries? Train a doctor. Train a nurse. Repeat.
The International Outreach Program of St.
Joseph’s Health System saves lives in developing
countries by training, equipping and mentoring
their doctors and nurses.
We are a non-profit organization that partners
with universities, medical schools and teaching
hospitals in countries that need more doctors,
nurses, hospital pharmacists, biomedical engineers
and other health professionals.
We give medical students and doctors the
academic knowledge and clinical skills they need
to prevent illness, restore health, save lives—and
train other doctors to do the same.
Our trainees also acquire leadership, communication, negotiation and teaching skills that
help them generate lasting change in their communities and countries.
The power of multiplication starts in Hamilton, Ontario. We bring over medical students for
residencies (typically six months) and doctors for clinical fellowships (typically twelve months)
at McMaster University and area teaching hospitals.
We also send physicians, nurses and other health professionals to our partner countries to
Your gift teaches doctors from developing countries how to
restore health, save lives and train others.

deliver training, mentor our graduates and strengthen our relationships (and friendships) with the
faculty and leadership of their medical schools and hospitals.
Your gift delivers unique, life-saving training.
Most non-governmental organizations that deliver medical training to students from
developing countries only offer observerships. Yes, trainees are allowed into patient wards and
operating rooms—but only to observe.
They are not allowed to examine patients, see patients independently, answer patient
questions, prescribe medications or perform procedures. They are given zero responsibility. All
they are allowed do is watch. Our training model is different.
The International Outreach Program arranges full
licensing and medical insurance for medical students
and physicians from developing countries.
Our trainees talk with their patients, prescribe
medications, perform surgeries, deliver babies, set
broken bones, and plenty more, just as Canadian
residents and clinical fellows do.
This unique approach sets us apart, and, from
what our medical graduates tell us, is the foundation
of our success—and theirs.
Your gift saves many lives by training many
types of health professionals.
In countries where medical resources are in short
supply, healthcare can’t be delivered by one person,
not even a well-trained doctor. Every doctor is part of
a team. That’s why we train other members of the
team. First among these vital workers are nurses. We
train nurses to deliver safe, effective, evidence-based
patient care.
We tailor our curriculum, whether it’s in emergency room nursing, infectious diseases, obstetrics,
Thanks to supporters like you, Dr. Peace
Bagasha is learning in Hamilton how to save
the lives of patients with kidney failure back
in Uganda.

surgery or another discipline, to the nursing methods most relevant to local needs.
Two other areas where our training is in
great demand are pharmacy and biomedical
engineering. We teach hospital pharmacists
how to work closely with medical and nursing
staff to ensure that patients receive the right
medicine, at the proper dosage, administered
in the most appropriate way.
We teach biomedical engineers how to
maintain, service and repair the medical
equipment (whether modern or outdated) that
their hospitals use to diagnose, monitor and
treat patients. When possible, and only if
requested, we donate this equipment.
As you can see, your gift to the International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System
provides life-saving medical training in areas of the world where medical resources are low.
By the way, remember Dr. Sarah Nakubulwa, the doctor we brought to Canada for training
in obstetrics, whose training has saved over 650 mother’s lives to date? Well, Sarah is now a
professor at the medical school of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda (as many of our
Ugandan trainees are). Sarah is now a doctor who trains doctors. As you can see, an investment
in Sarah’s training 10 years ago is still paying dividends today. Lives are still being saved,
doctors are still being trained, because a donor like you saw the awesome potential of investing
in a doctor from a developing country.
You can make a powerful difference as well. Today, and tomorrow. Please donate today
using the enclosed reply form. If you prefer, donate at www.internationaloutreach.ca/donate/
Sincerely,
Peter Sweeney, Executive Director
Your gift trains and equips nurses, pharmacists, biomedical
engineers and other health professionals in countries where
trained health workers are desperately needed.

�ݺ�ߣ

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