Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus School of Nursing Joins
Maternal Health Care Mission to Sierra Leone, May 12-26
Unique initiative to bring treatment, education and supplies to West African country

Brooklyn, N.Y. – From May 12-26, health care professionals including the dean of Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus School of Nursing, will travel to Sierra Leone as part of a special initiative focusing on the health of women and children in the West African country, which has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. The initiative was designed by a Sierra Leonean graduate of the nursing program and will include an education conference for local health care workers while also bringing desperately needed medical treatment and supplies to health clinics in different parts of the country.

“The people of Sierra Leone, like humans everywhere, have a right to a comprehensive and quality health care system,” said Dean Dawn Kilts as she prepared for the two-week trip. “I applaud this program because it will have an exponential impact beyond the provision of immediate care. Our goal is to train health care professionals who will take what they learn back to their institutions and communities to ensure a long-term effect,” she explained.

The program is being organized by Sa Leone Health Pride, Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Florence Dorwie, who is an alumnus of the School of Nursing and Sierra Leone native, and Betty Long, an obstetrics nurse and midwife who teaches at the Brooklyn Campus. Dorwie and Long made a preliminary health care mission to Sierra Leone in May 2005. This year’s effort will be on a larger scale, with a team that includes two physicians, four nurse practitioners and several nurses and public health specialists. Following a health conference attended by 70 participants in each of the three cities of Freetown, Bo and Kenema, the group will bring medical supplies and treatment services and provide additional health education for health clinics.

“As specialists who care for women and children, we know that the rate of infant and maternal mortality due to pregnancy complications can be reduced when we provide information and education,” asserted Dowrie recently. “We launched our organization not only to improve conditions for women and children directly, but also to empower the health care workers who will serve them over the years to come.”  

Sierra Leone and its population of approximately six million people are recovering from a brutal, 11-year civil war that left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced before it concluded in 2002. Nonetheless, the country’s maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world, according to the United Nations. The infant mortality rate is 181 deaths per 1,000 live births and 2,000 pregnant women out of every 100,000 die because of complications of pregnancy or childbirth. Average life expectancy for all Sierra Leoneans is 40.

Addressing the needs of women and children presents a healthy prescription for Sierra Leone on the whole, advises Long. “Society’s well-being is largely dependent on women in developing nations,” she said from her Brooklyn Campus office. She pointed out, “Women in countries such as Sierra Leone exert influence on fundamental matters like living conditions in the home, nutrition, and education for the whole family. Programs that target pregnant women and give them skills will effectively impact society in Sierra Leone overall.”

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…dynamic curricula reflecting the great urban community it serves. Distinctive programs encompass the arts and media, natural sciences, business, social policy, urban education, the health professions and pharmacy, and include the Ph.D. in clinical psychology, the Ph.D. in pharmaceutics, the D.P.T. in physical therapy and the Pharm.D. in pharmacy. A vibrant urban oasis in downtown Brooklyn, this diverse and thriving campus offers academic excellence, personalized attention, small class size and flexible course schedules. In 2005, the Campus completed a new performing arts complex, which includes the 320-seat Kumble Theater, and in 2006 opened a $45 million Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. The new facilities serve the needs of both the Campus and community.