OGACHI Hosts International Visitors Cortez and Abado

The Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives (OGACHI) will host two international visitors the week of September 16. Elizabeth Cortez is assistant professor and chair of International Relations and Programs at the University of Santo Tomas in Philippines. Samwel Ng'ambi Abado is DUSON's clinical placement liaison for multiple sites in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, including Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCMC), the Paua and Majengo Health Centers, Kilema Hospital, and Machame Lutheran Hospital.

Cortez earned her BSN from the University of Santo Tomas, has a master of arts in nursing, and worked as a medical surgical nurse before entering academia. She has been teaching for 37 years. Cortez conducts reviews classes across the Philippines for the Nursing Licensure Exams. At UST, she teaches Fundamentals of Nursing Practice and Professional Adjustment, and serves as a clinical instructor. As an administrator, she has served in various roles, including level chairman, subject coordinator, and student welfare and development board coordinator. Cortez is a strong advocate of cross-cultural learning and has served as UST's chair of International Relations and Programs since 2011. She has spearheaded successful initiatives around faculty and student mobility, as well as avenues for research collaboration, for the betterment of nursing education in the Philippines and globally. Cortez, known as "Mam Beth" by DUSON students, has played a critical role in welcoming ABSN students for global clinical immersion experiences in the Philippines since 2017.

Abado is the primary contact for all of DUSON's global clinical immersion experiences for ABSN and MSN students in the Kilimanjaro region. In addition, Abado serves as a project administrator for a women's health collaboration between KCMC and Duke University. Prior to his current role, he served as a program administrator for the Leading Safe Choices program, which was jointly administered by KCMC and Management and Development for Health (an NGO) to strengthen post-partum family planning and comprehensive post-abortion care in Tanzania. Abado previously served as a research coordinator for a joint KCMC and World Health Organization study on HPV care. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus on human resources management from Saint Augustine University of Tanzania in 2008.

Cortez and Abado will engage in a variety of meetings and activities to achieve the following objectives:

• Deepen opportunities for sustainable programming and partnerships in Tanzania (Abado) and with University of Santo Tomas (Cortez)

• Build relationships with OGACHI team and key faculty membes involved in DUSON's global portfolio

• Discuss and plan upcoming global clinical immersion experiences

• Meet with DUSON students and clinical instructors who have particpated in past global clinical immersion experiences in Tanzania and the Philippines

• Meet with DUSON Information Technology to discuss in country technical needs (Abado)

• Attend additional Duke University, DUHS, or DUSON global events of interest

For more information, contact Rebecca Fishman, senior manager for Global Academic Programs and Partnerships at rebecca.fishman@duke.edu or 919-681-9051.