Strengthening OfP HEALTH: Welcoming RN Sumona Akter Sammi

Sumona Akter Sammi RN, BSN

Oasis for Posterity [OfP] Founder, Rabiul Islam writes, “At OfP, we believe that lasting change is built through people , who possess not only professional expertise but also a genuine commitment to service. We are happy to announce that RN Sumona Akter Sammi has joined OfP HEALTH (Holistic Empowerment for Advancing Lives and Transforming Health). Her joining marks an important milestone in our journey to build a sustainable, community-centered healthcare ecosystem for underserved populations in rural Bangladesh.”

RN Sammi earned an outstanding GPA 5.00 out of 5.00 in Secondary School examinations and GPA 4.50 out of 5.00 in Higher Secondary examinations. Her academic journey was shaped by both achievement and resilience, as she continued her studies despite the hardship of losing her mother during this critical period. With a strong science background, she then completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Rajshahi Medical University.

Beyond her academic qualifications, RN Sammi brings valuable practical experience to OfP HEALTH, having cared for patients at Prime Medical College Hospital, Rangpur, in a community clinic and as a nursing instructor. In addition, RN Sammi has qualified as a caregiver trainer, so she will be able to support both direct care and the learning of our caregiver students. Originally from Dinajpur District, she understands the challenges faced by rural communities in northern Bangladesh, so she is well-positioned to lead our community-focused health programs. RN Sammi’s responsibilities include:

·         Leading community health outreach and home-based healthcare visits

·         Coordinating patient treatment, referrals to specialist doctors and follow-up services

·         Supporting health awareness and preventive healthcare programs

·         Leading caregiver and community health worker training initiatives

·         Coordinating school health, hygiene, and health education programs

RN Sammi’s leadership will strengthen our capacity to provide accessible, compassionate and coordinated healthcare services to the general community and to vulnerable populations.

Non-communicable diseases the most common cause of death

OFP Outreach Nurse provides blood sugar screening in clients' workplaces

In a recent article, Canadian health care expert Andre Picard, writes, “For centuries, infectious diseases were the scourge of humanity…. At their peak, in the early 2000s, tuberculosis, malaria and HIV-AIDS killed about 6.5 million between them. Mortality from those diseases has fallen by two-thirds in this century. These shifts have allowed people in the developing world to live longer, and develop conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Seven of the top 10 causes of death in the world are now non-communicable diseases. We essentially have a silent pandemic of NCDs. But, because these conditions develop slowly over time, we don’t treat them with the same urgency as an infectious disease outbreak.”

For the past three years, BHP donors have supported a clinic operated by Oasis for Posterity that tackles these non-communicable or chronic diseases. Chronic illness is a growing problem in Bangladesh, the result of changes in diet, environment and lifestyle factors. OfP’s clinic provides free screening services for people suffering from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. When patients need medical attention, clinic volunteers help arrange medical attention and for the ultra-poor, provide modest bursaries for transportation and treatment. During a site visit prior to the clinic opening, BHP directors John Richards and Alex Berland met with some of these patients to hear directly about their problems accessing care.

We heard about health care access problems directly from Balagram residents

As Picard concludes in his article, “New technologies, new treatments, and renewed emphasis on prevention can all provide new hope. But that hope needs to be more evenly distributed around the world.”

Supporting modern mental health care

Angelo and Sagoon demonstrating non-violent crisis intervention to clinical staff

In June, BHP volunteer Angelo Leo, a Canadian psychiatric nurse with broad international experience, spent three weeks at Sajida Foundation’s The Hub, one of Dhaka's few specialist mental health hospitals. Angelo has vast experience in mental health and dementia care from many years working in hospital and community settings. In his “retirement”, he volunteers with Jaya Mental Health, an NGO based in UK and Nepal, and with Canadian Red Cross International providing psycho-social support to people affected by major disasters around the world. This was not his first visit to Dhaka: in 2012, Angelo spent a semester as Visiting Faculty at IUBAT College of Nursing, also as a BHP volunteer.

BHP has provided technical assistance to The Hub for several years through both on-site and distance support. Two or more times each week volunteers based in Canada have provided training and mentoring sessions via video link. Three other Canadian volunteers also spent time on-site in Dhaka prior to Angelo’s recent visit. Working with Sagoon K.C, a Nepalese colleague from Jaya, Angelo delivered training in de-escalation and violence prevention to the clinical staff through workshops and role plays. In dialogue sessions, managers and clinical teams problem-solved challenges common to both Bangladesh and Nepal related to social stigma about mental illness, shortages of staff and limited therapy options aside from medication. The team also ran skills development sessions for local trainers from Sajida’s other health programs.