Howard B. Bennett, MD, GME ’90 Tsunami Relief Efforts Indian Ocean near Banda Aceh, Indonesia Howard B. Bennett, MD, GME ’90, joined the U.S. Navy, commuted to work via a military helicopter, and saw a part of the world recently demolished by a horrific wall of water. Stationed for three weeks aboard the U.S.N.S. Mercy (a Navy hospital ship) in February, Dr. Bennett served as a Project HOPE volunteer and provided medical care to survivors of the South Asian earthquake and tsunami that struck in late December. Dr. Bennett, instructor in clinical anesthesiology, normally works in the operating rooms of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare’s Glenbrook Hospital. Like others around the globe, he had closely followed news of the disaster and in January heeded a call for anesthesiology specialists to assist with tsunami relief efforts. “I was moved by what I was seeing in the news,” recalls Dr. Bennett. “I had always wanted to volunteer but never did. This time the timing was right.” Dr. Bennett contacted Project HOPE, a Virginia-based humanitarian organization. Partnering with the U.S. Navy, Project HOPE promptly gave Dr. Bennett—who not only became a medical aid volunteer but also a Naval officer during his stint—his “orders.” Sent to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, he provided anesthesia care on a 1,000-bed “floating” hospital with 12 operating rooms and an intensive care unit. He saw tsunami victims requiring surgery for injuries resulting from the natural disaster as well as the usual cases encountered in daily life, from appendectomies to motor vehicle—mainly moped—injuries. The U.S.N.S. Mercy, at sea about 10 miles offshore, never docked for fear of terrorist attacks, according to Dr. Bennett. He did have the opportunity to spend a couple of days at a local land-based facility where the electricity failed on several occasions in the operating room. Without a monitor he resorted to basic medical skills: a finger on the patient’s pulse. His experience in the dark was, to say the least, enlightening. “The time I spent volunteering was worthwhile in many ways,” says Dr. Bennett. “I gained a huge appreciation of how fortunate we are in the United States to have medical supplies, equipment, and qualified health care personnel.”

Raymond C. Zeiss, MD ’67, GME ’72 HIV/AIDS Clinic Kitwe, Zambia The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa affects not only the present but also the future of that continent’s inhabitants. Life expectancy at birth in nine African countries has dropped below age 40, according to the United Nations. Fifty-seven percent of women and girls living in sub-Saharan Africa test positive for HIV. These statistics prompted Raymond C. Zeiss, MD ’67, GME ’72, and wife Joyce to travel from their Evanston, Illinois, home to Kitwe, Zambia, in July. Joining a World Vision Christian missionary group, the Zeisses spent three weeks in Africa where they worked to establish a new HIV/AIDS clinic for women and children. The “mini-hospital”—scheduled to open by early 2006—will take an extended approach to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by focusing on the prevention of HIV transmission between mother and child as well as the continued availability of antiviral drugs for the entire family unit. “One of four pregnant women in this area is HIV positive,” explains Dr. Zeiss, professor emeritus of medicine. “Usually a woman and her baby will receive some treatment at delivery, but after that they are on their own with little follow-up care. Five years later, you have a dead mom due to AIDS, likely a deceased father, and an orphaned child. Stopping the transmission from mother to newborn and continuing antiviral therapy for the mother and father are better ways to fight the HIV epidemic.” On this mission Dr. Zeiss served in a technical capacity, using his allergy-immunology expertise to consult on appropriate medical and drug therapy. No strangers to Africa, the Zeisses have volunteered several times with RISE International, a Winnetka, Illinois-based organization dedicated to helping returning Angolan refugees rebuild their country after years of civil war. When he retired in 2000, Dr. Zeiss had no idea that volunteering in Africa would become a part of his life. “Joyce and I have learned a great deal about relief organizations and the excellent work they are doing in the world,” says Dr. Zeiss, who looks forward to his next missionary trip. “They really help keep a lot of people alive.”

Cythnia J. Mears, DO School-based Health Services Chicago Children and teenagers spend most of their day in school. So what better place to address their health care needs and educate them about healthy lifestyles? In 1999 Cythnia J. Mears, DO, assistant professor of pediatrics, established a health clinic in Arai Middle School (recently renamed Uplift Community School) in the Uptown neighborhood to do just that. “The Uptown area is a diverse immigrant portal for Chicago,” says Dr. Mears. “A majority of the kids in this school receive free or reduced lunches. Many of their families do not have health insurance. For some students, this clinic is their primary site of care.” Located on the first floor near the school’s cafeteria, the Arai-Uplift Health Center features three exam rooms and services ranging from medical and dental to nutrition and social work counseling. Working with nurse practitioners, Dr. Mears sees student patients at the center twice a week where she treats teens for health problems such as asthma, diabetes, and obesity. She also provides vaccinations and sports physicals as well as develops prevention programs to educate teens about smoking, sexuality, violence, and self-esteem. “With school-based care, you have the opportunity to provide consistency of care and mentor kids,” explains Dr. Mears, who is an attending physician at Children’s Memorial Hospital. “You make the clinic the hub, then you hang programs off the spokes.” Dr. Mears started school-based clinics in New Jersey and Delaware before relocating to Illinois almost a decade ago. Her work with the Chicago Public School system has won her the respect of the city of Chicago; she has been active in Mayor Daley’s Renaissance 2010 plan that calls for the creation of 100 new public schools in Chicago by 2010 and was a part of an advisory committee that reviewed proposals for the new Uplift Community School. Her colleagues have also applauded her community service. The Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics named Dr. Mears the 2004 Albert Pisani Pediatrician of the Year for her dedicated service to medicine, the community, and the health and well-being of the children of Illinois.

Jessica T. Casey Community Health Center Chicago One patient complained of headaches and had difficulty walking. Two individuals exhibited mysterious rashes in strange places on their bodies. Two very “interesting” cases to test the diagnostic skills of the more than 150 Northwestern medical students who volunteer at the Community Health Center on Chicago’s West Side. Serving the poor and underinsured, the clinic provides free and affordable health care and, at the same time, gives future physicians such as second-year student Jessica T. Casey of Palatine, Illinois, a chance to contribute and learn in a meaningful way. “Volunteering at the clinic allows students to give back to the community,” says Casey. “In addition to gaining clinical experience, you feel like you are actually doing something during your time in medical school.” Casey serves as one of four student coordinators who schedule some 15 Feinberg School student volunteers at the clinic one Wednesday evening a week. Northwestern joins other medical schools in the Chicago area in enlisting student and faculty volunteers who provide care for Community Health’s patients year round. Following the hierarchy of knowledge and skill, first-year students receive guidance from those farther along in their medical school studies with the attending volunteer physician making the final call on the diagnosis, medications, and referrals. Many times students learn clinical skills that have not yet been introduced in the classroom setting, thanks to other volunteers and the patients themselves. Remarks Casey, “Amazingly, clinic patients have been so willing and excited to help us learn how to take a history or give a physical exam.” Many patients regularly use the clinic as their primary source of health care for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Accustomed to ever-changing student volunteers, the patients develop ongoing relationships with area physician volunteers who become familiar with their health histories, according to Casey. Benefits abound for those who give and those who seek accessible care—from preventive care to specific health concerns. For the patient exhibiting neurological problems, the volunteer health care team suspected a brain tumor and immediately sent the man to the hospital via ambulance for diagnostic testing. The patients with rashes received dermatology referrals. Once again a good night’s work at the Community Health Center for one and all.