Helping the global community

As an undergraduate, 奎因·辛普森(Quinn Simpson)前往哥伦比亚执行医疗任务，离开了改变人生的经历，感到有必要做更多的事情.

这位365英国上市官网威廉博蒙特医学院的三年级学生在得知这个地区已经有15年没有医生来过之后，想要做更多的事情.

他想做更多的事情，因为他看到了很多人认为相对简单的事情——手臂骨折, for example — that had gone untreated and led to more chronic conditions.

He saw a lot more, too. So much, in fact, that he felt the trip had to be more than a one-time endeavor.

“Being there, seeing the needs and feeling the amount of appreciation for what we were doing, made me want to do it more,” says Simpson.

In 2021, he started a nonprofit called iHelp that continues to grow as Simpson furthers his studies at OUWB.

According to its website, iHelp “employs a collective, community-driven approach to educating, enriching, and fostering self-sufficiency in communities we serve. 我们与全球伙伴合作，在服务不足的社区中确定和解决健康的社会决定因素，并针对这些社区的独特挑战制定创新方案.”

It has served communities in Colombia, Ghana, El Salvador, and through a local outreach program in south Florida.

Simpson serves as co-founder, co-president, and chief executive officer. He is one of 12 on the leadership team that also includes M3 Corey Shafer, who serves as assistant director.

There are multiple upsides to the experiences gained through iHelp, he says, including some that go beyond the ability to help underserved populations.

“能够在整个医学院做这样的事情，真的让我明白了我为什么要从医,” he says. “回馈我们帮助过的人，让他们变得更好，这是很有意义的.”

‘It’s a great feeling’

Simpson grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. 高中三年级时，他搬到南佛罗里达，跟随胡安·莫雷诺(Juan Moreno)训练跆拳道, a three-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist. For his undergraduate degree, 辛普森获得佛罗里达国际大学生物学学士学位.

辛普森表示，他之所以被OUWB吸引，是因为该学院非常重视服务.

“During my undergraduate years, I became significantly involved in global health operations, 组织医疗宣教旅行，为非营利组织工作，为全球健康倡议分发医疗用品,” he says. “我渴望进入一所优先考虑服务并为服务不足和边缘化人群提供医疗服务的学校.”

Those experiences would lead him to start iHelp in 2021.

Other nonprofits have similar missions, 但辛普森说，他想成立一个非营利组织，这样他就可以根据特定的愿景完美地调整它.

这是一个组织的愿景，它将在需要的地方提供医疗用品- - -就像OUWB的社区伙伴世界医疗救济会. The vision also included providing medical care to underserved populations, and education related to social determinants of health — both in the U.S. and abroad.

 “It’s about all of the things that affect someone’s health care,” says Quinn.

One example is the work iHelp has done with the Wayúu people of Columbia.

The Wayúu live in the Guajira Peninsula, 沙漠在南美洲最北端与加勒比海交汇的地方.

One in 10 Wayuu children die from malnutrition before the age of five.

According to the iHelp website, “daily life for the Wayúu involves some of the most extreme poverty, thirst, drought, environmental degradation, and malnutrition in Latin American history, as well as a severe migration flow.”

IHelp started by first identifying what would be most beneficial to the Wayúu.

“With international global health work, people can come in thinking they know what’s right and if they impose that, everything’s going to be better…that’s not how it works,” says Simpson. “你必须了解他们想要什么，需要什么，对他们的文化和价值观非常敏感.”

In the case of the Wayúu, 由于地下水位正在下降，目前最需要的是将水井挖得更深, and ensuring regular access to electricity, says Simpson. The need for more health care also was identified.

IHelp, along with other nonprofits, are collaborating to assist the Wayúu with all the identified needs.

“It’s a great feeling to help others like this,” says Simpson. “只要人们脸上的表情……你就知道他们很感激，这很有力量。.”

IHelp’s big 2023

Last year was a big year for iHelp.

In south Florida, where iHelp has a street medicine outreach program, the nonprofit successfully collaborated with another local organization, Aiding-Aids Inc., to acquire about $41,000 worth of toiletries and hygiene supplies.

“这些物资被分发给各种当地组织，并用于为我们提供医疗保健的无家可归者制作供应袋,” says Simpson. “We've also initiated street outreach clinics in Miami, 我们在哪里向街头无家可归的人提供卫生包，并评估他们的卫生保健需求. 这一扩张反映了我们致力于改善南佛罗里达无家可归者的健康和福祉.”

IHelp志愿者还开发了一个符合hipaa的电子医疗记录(EMR)系统. 电子病历正在iHelp在南佛罗里达的免费诊所及其国际任务中实施. 辛普森说，这一系统的引入“是我们努力提高护理质量的一个重要里程碑.”

iHelp还筹集了大约1.4万美元的捐款，用于支持哥伦比亚正在进行的项目.

Simpson went to Colombia for 10 days in December. Partnering with Fundación Madrid Campestre, iHelp worked on construction of two hydroponic water towers in Medellín. 辛普森说，这个项目旨在帮助解决粮食不安全和营养不良的问题.  

Further, he says the plan is to construct similar water systems in La Guajira, 该地区营养不良率较高，传统耕作方法环境恶劣.

While in Medellín, iHelp worked with a nonprofit called GoodsforGood to acquire toys, clothing, and other donations that were distributed for Christmas to 475 children.

Last, Simpson and Will Trevino, co-president and COO, iHelp, traveled to the Wayúu Kalouyachon Community. 他们参与了社区两所学校的建设，并花时间尽可能多地了解社区和文化. Simpson calls it a “wonderful experience.”

“By investing in education, we hope to enable community members to pursue further educational opportunities, contributing to the upliftment of their community and the region,” he says. “We envision these students becoming professionals like doctors, engineers, teachers, and more, returning to their communities to make a lasting impact.”

Even more plans are in the works.

“我们的短期目标包括……创建一个专门的空间来储存医疗用品, facilitating health care outreach, and medical and dental care services for the community,” he says. “We're collaborating with our local Colombian nonprofit partners, Atix Foundation, to achieve these goals and support our joint health care outreach programs.”

‘Actually running it’

辛普森和谢弗说，他们在iHelp的经历有一天会帮助他们成为更好的医生.

“In global health, you’re often practicing in very under-resourced settings, and you have to learn completely different techniques,” says Simpson. “有这些技能作为备用选择是很好的，因为你可能并不总是能够依赖小工具和机器. Say the power goes out, or there’s some sort of natural disaster.”

Simpson says it also serves as a good reminder of why he’s going into medicine.

谢弗说，通过iHelp提供的经验也有助于理解在不同文化中工作是什么感觉.

“We learn how to deal with patients who are not like us,” he says. “学习如何在医疗环境内外适当地治疗病人是一项重要的技能.”

Yet another benefit, says Shafer, is learning how to work with an organization’s budget and how to handle funding. 这是非营利组织的一个方面，它允许辛普森和谢弗继续他们在密歇根的学业，同时帮助数千英里之外的其他人.

“这真的很值得，因为你知道你正在改变人们的生活，”谢弗说. “我们不只是机器的一部分……我们实际上是在运行它，这是一种非常强大的感觉。.”