Join the CHEST Foundation Champions Circle
By: Chloe Daniels
December 13, 2016
Your donations to the CHEST Foundation unlock knowledge and put it into practice to improve patient outcomes.
Making a Difference
Your support is funding a grant for the East African Training Initiative (EATI), for example, which will help decrease mortality in a severely underserved population. Ethiopia bears the burden of high tuberculosis and lung disease prevalence. In a country of more than 94 million people, a single pulmonologist was tasked with providing treatment to critically ill patients in a 12-bed ICU. He was armed with a dilapidated facility that housed no running water, two functioning ventilators, and no means of performing dialysis. There was no continuity of care in the ICU, and rounds were performed only during the week by rotating departments, few of which were trained in critical care.
This all started to change in 2013, when the EATI, a 2-year fellowship training program in pulmonary and critical care medicine, was launched. With the help of funding from a 2016 CHEST Foundation community service grant, the EATI is establishing infrastructure in Ethiopia to train fellows in pulmonary and critical care medicine for years to come. It is not relief work. The fellows graduating from the program go on to set up ICUs in their own hospitals and universities. “As of now, we’ve already graduated five pulmonologists, and we are on track to graduate fifteen by the year 2020,” explained Dr. Joseph Huang, Chairman of Fundraising for the EATI.
The drastic results of decreased mortality rates in the medical ICU have caught the attention of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. By working directly with the EATI, the ministry established a task force in ICU medicine with a goal to ultimately establish standard protocols in the nation’s ICUs, using the EATI program as a model.
“The CHEST Foundation grant allows us to dive deeper into specialized training and also to sustain and expand the program. Because of this grant, we are able to do workshops on airway management, advanced bronchoscopy, chest tube insertion, and central lines,” Dr. Huang explained. “The fellows have not received this hands-on training before, and allowing them to unlock their knowledge and put it into practice is essential to improving patient outcomes.”
The Season of Giving
Programs like the EATI are able to continue their work because of generous support from lung health champions like you.
Can we count on you to continue your support of the CHEST Foundation during this season of giving?
Your tax-deductible gift today will help us reach our goal of raising $2.5 million to support programs that are changing the future for patients with lung disease all over the world.
As we celebrate the CHEST Foundation’s 20th Anniversary this year, we thank you for your steadfast support and dedication. The last 20 years of progress would not have been possible without the tireless commitment of our generous donors and volunteers.
You can make an end-of-year donation to the CHEST Foundation online or call the foundation staff at 224/521-9569 to discuss your giving options. Every gift, no matter the size, champions lung health by supporting patient education, community service, and clinical research
More than 95 cents of every dollar goes directly to programs and services, and your dollars are building healthier communities, ultimately saving lives. Your support today will lead to better patient outcomes tomorrow.