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October 07, 2015 - Image 5

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Health, which was supportive
of her efforts.

“Unless you accept that many

men and women will be left to
die, there is no other option,”
Fisseha said. “And transplants
are much more cost-effective
long-term than
dialysis. So the
government
is

committed
to

making
this

work.”

In
2011,

Fisseha reached
out to Surgery
Prof.
Jeffrey

Punch,
a

transplantation
specialist
with

experience
doing
mission

work in Africa, and Internal
Medicine Prof. Akinlolu Ojo,
a Nigerian nephrologist with
research projects in Africa.

The
three,
motivated
to

enact lasting change, agreed
that the program had to focus
on training.

“There are many universities

around the United States and
Europe where faculty or large
groups of people will go and
do these big fancy surgeries
and
leave,”
Fisseha
said.

“That usually does more harm
than good in that country
because they’re not thinking
of complications or teaching
the local faculty. So (Punch)
was really careful from the
beginning to say that that’s not
what he wants to do.”

Though the program focuses

mainly
on
transplantation

services, Punch said all sub-
specialty care should improve
due to associated infrastructure

and training changes.

“The lab has to get better,

the nurses have to get better,
the ICU has to get better. Even
housekeeping has to get better
because
everything
needs

to be cleaner,” Punch said.
“Everything has to get better
for transplant to be a success,
and that’s why it took so long.
They have other needs, too,
like open-heart surgery, and

many of the
things
that

they
needed

to put in place
for
kidney

transplant
to

be
successful

will be there
when
they

get around to
initiating
an

open-heart
program at St.
Paul’s.”

Fisseha

and Punch both said despite
the success of the first three
transplants, many Ethiopians
who
need
dialysis
or
a

transplant will not be able to
receive medical care. From
observing
their
neighbors’

efforts,
Ethiopian
officials

realized
the

training
and

infrastructure
improvements
need
to
be

methodical
and thorough.

“Many

of
the
other

countries
that
have

started kidney
transplants like Ghana, Nigeria
and Kenya, they’re honestly not
doing it in a systematic way and
honestly I think it’s hurting the
development of that process
in
their
countries,”
Punch

explained. “The way it’s going

to work in Ethiopia is there
will be one major center that
will be very well established
and will become hopefully a
high-volume place, so then it
will have the resources to train
additional people that can start
other programs in surrounding
cities.”

The
program
organizers

hope the supply of life-saving
surgeries can match the demand
within 20 years. Despite the
slow training progress, Fisseha
explained, the new program
provides additional cause for
optimism.

“We are seeing a fascinating

trend of a lot of young faculty
who would otherwise leave the
country staying in-country to
train and serve their people.
So
really
it’s
been
quite

rewarding,” she said.

There is no predetermined

end to the partnership. Even
after the formal program ends,
program
organizers
hope

collaboration will continue.

“I suspect it won’t end in

a year, but it will probably
end by three years. I don’t
know
how
that
timeframe

will work exactly. And then
we will hopefully continue to

collaborate
because I think
it’s
mutually

beneficial,”
Punch
said.

“It’s
an

opportunity
for
our

residents
to

train and see
diseases
they

don’t see back

here. I’ve seen more cases of
tuberculosis in Ethiopia than
I have during my 25 previous
years as a doctor. And that will
benefit me if I ever run across a
case of TB around here, which
may happen.”

Blackwood discussed various
programs
within
the
the

University’s Office of Health
Equity
Inclusion,
where
he

serves on the leadership team.

“The
goal
of
our
office

is to eliminate health care
disparities in our lifetime,” he
said. “One of the things that
we can do to affect change is to
create a safe environment and
to increase representation by
underrepresented
minorities

and
by
disadvantaged

populations.”

Though the talk was intended

to focus solely on health care
disparities, Blackwood spent
much of the time counseling

pre-med students and sharing
his own accounts of pursuing
a career in medicine. When
Blackwood asked students to
raise their hands if they were
pre-med,
nearly
all
of
the

roughly 30 attendees put their
hands in the air.

“I found my own path with

the gifts that I was given,”
Blackwood
said.
“You
are

all
unique
individuals.
You

have strengths and you have
weaknesses. Find them.”

He
then
said
students

should work together to get
into medical school instead of
competing with one another.

“When
you
become
a

physician, you will have to work
together; it’s a collaboration,”
he said. “When are you going to
start?”

LSA
junior
Jenna
Yousif

attended the event and said
she found Blackwood’s talk
encouraging.

“I thought it was pretty

inspirational
because
I
am

currently undecided in what I
want to do, and I think his talk
pushed me in a direction to
explore medicine further,” she
said.

a
former
SAM
member,

also received two years of
probation after he also plead
guilty to malicious destruction
of property totaling more than
$200, but less than $1,000.
Two other members, Business
juniors Joshua Kaplan and
Zachary Levin — the former
president and treasurer for
SAM, respectively — turned
themselves in to the Ann
Arbor Police Department in
March on charges of providing
alcohol to minors. They have
yet to be sentenced.

They are the only four to

be charged in connection to
a January incident during
which 270 former SAM and
Sigma
Delta
Tau
sorority

members caused more than
$430,000
in
damages
at

Treetops Resort in Gaylord,
Mich. during a ski trip.

SAM
has
since
lost

recognition by the University
as a student organization and
was disbanded by its national
headquarters in March. The
University’s chapter of the
Sigma Delta Tau sorority,
which
also
attended
the

January trip, is currently
on
disciplinary
suspension

for their failure to intervene
during the incident.

past week. It’s going to be
the ‘Shmacked’ videos. So it’s
really up to you what the value
of your education is going to
be, what the reputation of this
institution’s going to be.”

Schlissel revisited this point

Tuesday,
adding,
“Parties

at frats and sororities send
the wrong message that the
University of Michigan is a
party school and not a serious
research university.”

The University has recently

taken
a
number
of
new

measures to stymie alcohol
abuse
in
particular,
which

administrators note is fairly
prevalent in Greek life and
linked
to
higher
rates
of

sexual assault in the Greek

community. These new policies
include
targeted
education

efforts and invoking parental
involvement following alcohol-
related hospital visits.

E.
Royster
Harper,
vice

president for student life, has
also said the University is
considering delaying the Greek
rush process in the future.

“Does it make sense to have

students come, and in a week,
by the whole pledging process,
we have thrown them into a
whole environment that we’re
worried about?” Harper asked
in
a
September
interview

with
The
Michigan
Daily.

“Should we stay on this path
we have, where we’ve been so
committed to self-governance,
that we allow rush to happen
sometimes less than a week
after students get here? So
we’re certainly going to take a
look at that.”

Schlissel,
Harper
and
a

number of other administrators
have noted that their concern
for Greek life is not meant to
seem punitive. Administrators
have frequently said it’s a
matter
of
students’
health

and wellness. They are also
quick
to
acknowledge
the

“good” Greek life contributes
to the University. Harper and
Schilssel, in particular, have
accounted for the philanthropic
aspects of Greek life — as well
as GPAs that are, on average,
higher than the rest of the
student body.

Schlissel repeated this point

on Tuesday.

“It’s not my ambition to

get rid of fraternities and
sororities,” he said. “There’s a
tremendous amount of positive
they bring to our campus.”

5-Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, Octoberber 7, 2015 — 5A

GREEK LIFE
From Page 1A

SKI TRIP
From Page 1A

HEALTH CARE
From Page 1A

TRANSPLANT
From Page 1A

“I found my own
path with the gifts

I was given.”

“The lab has to
get better, the
nurses have to

get better.”

“There are many

universities
where faculty

will do these big
fancy surgeries

and leave.”

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