@ the Newsroom
Union Institute & University Partners with the Academy of Medicine for Forum on Global Volunteerism
Leaders in the field of medical volunteerism convened at Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati on April 17 to take part in “International Medical Volunteerism: Passport to a Better World,” a daylong forum presented by Union Institute & University (UI&U) and the Academy of Medicine, with support from The Helen Steiner Rice Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
Keynoting the event was world-renowned authority on global medical volunteerism, Dr. Edward O’Neil Jr., M.D., who was joined by local experts in the field of medicine and medical volunteerism. Topics included health preparation for international travel and medical relief work, and the essential planning elements necessary to lead a successful mission abroad.
Dr. Virginia Ruehlmann Wiltse, a graduate of UI&U’s doctoral program in interdisciplinary studies and director and vice president of the locally-based Care Response Madagascar Foundation (www.caringresponse.org), presented “Ordinary People and Everyday Miracles: Global Volunteerism from the Non-Medical Perspective,” accompanied by video footage from her travels to Madagascar.
“I was raised to live a life of service,” said Dr. Wiltse, before an appearance on “Newsmakers,” a weekly news show on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati (see Dr. Wiltse and Carolyn Krause, director of communications, on Newsmakers ). “When you give someone the tools they need, they can create miracles.”
Dr. O’Neil is the author of Awakening Hippocrates: A Primer on Health, Poverty, and Global Service, and A Practical Guide to Global Health Service, and founder the non-profit organization Omni-Med, (www.omnimed.org) which focuses on health volunteerism and ethical leadership. He addressed the need for global volunteerism, how to recognize the right opportunities, and how to get started.