Advancing Health Care Education Globally, Summer 2018 Event Wrap Up

This past summer, the Disque Foundation has furthered its mission of providing advanced health care education in the U.S. and around the world. Read on to learn about the organizations that we partnered with.

Center on Halsted Volunteer Dinner Preparation and Socializing

Center on Halsted is the Midwest’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) people of Chicagoland. More than 1,000 community members visit the Center everyday, located in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview Neighborhood.

Center on Halsted’s deep commitment to supporting the LGBTQ community is reflected in both the mission and vision of the organization. It’s mission is to advance community and secure the health and well-being of the LGBTQ people of Chicagoland. Their vision is a thriving LGBTQ community living powerfully in supportive inclusive environments.

During the week, Center on Halsted’s Youth Program provides a freshly prepared dinner for youth program participants with food donations received from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This opportunity provides volunteers with the chance to not only prepare the meal for 20 individuals, but also to socialize with the youth population, individuals ages 13 to 24, who come to Center on Halsted as a site of refuge, to receive services, and express who they really are. If volunteers wish, they are able to bring food or snack items of their own to contribute to the donations received on a regular basis.

Members from the Disque Foundation leadership team volunteered at Center on Halsted for one of these youth dinners. They spent time serving and socializing with the youth, creating an atmosphere of inclusion.

Rocket Launcher Craft Night at Ronald McDonald House, Chicago

rocket launcher craft night at ronald mcdonald houseIn the beginning of July, several Disque Foundation Leadership Team members volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago. We hosted a craft night that consisted of coloring and launching paper rockets. We were lucky to have the Disque Foundation’s executive director Karl Disque in attendance as well as board member, Catherine Hickey.

The mission of the Ronald McDonald House is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families. The Disque Foundation contributed to the atmosphere of health and well-being for the residents by providing an activity full of creativity and positive spirits.

Children were encouraged to use their imaginations while learning how to launch the farthest rocket. It was a night full of laughter, love, and fun!

Kenya trainings in partnership with FICCScpr acls training in kenya

Global FICCS trained four medical officers, six interns, six nurses and five clinical officers. This is twenty-one healthcare professionals that were trained using education materials from The Disque Foundation and National Health Care Provider Solutions (NHCPS). All but one nurse were able to get BLS certification, and only five were not able to pass the ACLS practicals (three nurses & two clinical officers). These trainings were led by super-users that the Disque Foundation trained during their mission trip in January. We identified three strong participants as potential future superusers.

What is a Super-user?

A super-user is someone we train in one of our certification courses and in person-trainings, who takes the knowledge and skills they learned, and teaches others in their community. This creates a network of individuals empowered to save lives. The mission of our newly trained super-users is to return to their hospitals, and train the doctors and nurse on staff in the scenarios they were just trained in.

A key educational material that was used during the CPR and ACLS trainings was our MediCode app. Students were using the application to review algorithms and work through MegaCodes while at the training. By the end, super-users and students were flipping through the application like pros finding the next step for their scenarios. As a result of the high success rate of these trainings, more will be held in the upcoming months.

Training in Philippines in partnership with Bravo Zulu First Aid and Safety Teamtraining in phils w bravo zulu team

The Bravo Zulu First Aid and Safety Team was founded and created by a group of peer instructors and response volunteers. The group was created on September 25, 2014 and lead by Basilio L. Bautista and Alfie G. Roque during an event in Tanay Rizal where they serve as Medic Marshals. Their mission is to protect and save lives and property, undertake security and safety measures for the general public, initiate measures to alleviate the suffering of calamity victims and perform appropriate rehabilitative activities.

Alfie, from Bravo Zulu group in the Philippines, set up his own training this summer. “Trainings and awareness program in regards to first aid and CPR. We already conducted four trainings from May and June respectively. Also, I already conducted a Train the Trainer for First Aid and Basic Life Support for free under your Save a Life Initiative. We will continue to impart our learnings and knowledge in the field of life saving so that the general public will be safe and prepared when emergency incident arise.”

The Disque Foundation Leadership Team is thankful for these opportunities that give the opportunity to inform, educate, and inspire others. Each day presents the opportunity to save a life and further the mission of the Disque Foundation. We are grateful to share life-saving skills with others around the world through partnerships with Center on Halsted, Ronald McDonald House, Global FICCS and the Bravo Zulu Team. Thank you for your support in our mission to save lives.