Dayne Logan, Editor  |  Kimber Whanger, Designer  |  Comments or suggestions about our newsletter?  Contact Us.
Message from the President
Greetings from Kybele!
Dr. Medge Owen posing with Dr. Quentin Fisher (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD) following the award presentation at the ASA Annual meeting in San Diego. Dr. Fisher nominated Dr. Owen for this award. Photo taken October 26, 2015.

 
I was recently honored to receive the Nicholas M. Greene Award for Outstanding Humanitarian Contribution by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. This award exemplifies the passion, determination and commitment of the entire Kybele family. It attests to the fact that individual efforts and contributions do make a difference. Armenia is one place such individual efforts have been making a tremendous difference of late.
 
The Kybele team in Armenia has just completed a five-year collaboration with the Armenian Society of Anaesthesiologists and Intensivists to improve the standards of obstetric care across the country. The effort has resulted in several important milestones and improvements.
 
National guidelines in obstetric anesthesia have been approved by Armenia's Ministry of Health, a first in the field of anesthesiology in that country. In addition, the rates of regional anesthesia have significantly increased across the country, most pronouncedly in the capital city Yerevan, where 40 percent of the country's annual deliveries occur. 
Kybele Armenia Team (September 2015)   
Seated L to R:  Ashot Amroyan, Emil Vardapetyan, Harutyun Karapetyan  
Standing Row 1 L to R: Gordon Yuill, Anna Arakelyan, Amy Bamber, Shahla Namak, Simon Millar 
Standing Row 2 L to R: Victor Tregubov, Ron George



Also in Armenia, Kybele has partnered with United Kingdom-based Lifebox to conduct training in the use of pulse oximetry and the World Health Organization Safe Surgery Checklist. That partnership has also facilitated the donation of 125 pulse oximeters ($25,000 value) that are being distributed in operating rooms across the country.
 
The Armenia program originated through Robin Sizemore, former Kybele board member and CEO of Hopscotch Adoptions in High Point, N.C. The program has flourished thanks to the support of individual donors and organizations such as the World Federation Societies of Anesthesiology, the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association, the Society for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology, the International Association for the Study of Pain and Novant Health. This has truly been a remarkable effort under the able leadership of U.K.-based Kybele team leaders Dr. Gordon Yuill and Dr. Simon Millar, as well as our Armenian host, Dr. Ashot Amroyan.
 
Please consider supporting these and other Kybele team members by making a donation to Kybele. Help us continue our life-saving work.

With gratitude,
Medge Owen Sig
Medge D. Owen, MD, President - Kybele, Inc. 
Professor of Obstetric Anesthesia 
Director of Maternal Infant Health Programs, Office of Global Health
Affiliate Faculty in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity 
Wake Forest University School of Medicine  |  336.713.9182  |  kybeleworldwide.org 
An Insider's Look:  The Passion Behind Kybele
ANESTHESIOLOGY NEWS
ISSUE: OCTOBER 2015 | VOLUME: 41:10

Gail Fisher, MSW
Quentin A. Fisher, MD
Department of Anesthesia
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Adjunct Associate Professor
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Masters in Anesthesia, Washington, DC

The past several decades have given rise to a shift in physicians' thinking to a global view. Many anesthesiologists now go beyond their operating room (OR) suites to share their skills, knowledge and materials with colleagues in low-resource settings who have no such access. From small volunteer efforts to well-established international agencies and university educational partnerships, participation has become widespread.

In recognition of these efforts, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) established the Nicholas M. Greene, MD Award for Outstanding Humanitarian Contribution. This year, Medge Owen, MD, the founder of Kybele, an organization dedicated to improving global childbirth safety and neonatal outcomes, will be named as the 2015 recipient of the award, which will be presented at the ASA's annual meeting in San Diego. Dr. Owen is professor of obstetrical and gynecological anesthesiology, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity in Winston-Salem, N.C.

We called Dr. Owen to learn more about Kybele's challenges and methods. Kybele is well known for its clinical efforts in 11 countries, but we were interested in the all-important aspect of the program's nuts and bolts, its infrastructure and what fuels it. A key turning point in Dr. Owen's interest came while on a Fulbright Scholarship in Turkey, where she saw how women in labor were on the lowest tiers of hospital resources. She determined to change how women were resigned to deal with difficult births by co-creating educational programs. Within a few years, she created Kybele to help her Turkish colleagues achieve those aims.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Mark your calendars. Kybele will be participating in #GivingTuesday!
 
In the United States, we have a day for giving thanks and another two for getting deals. Now, we have Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, charities, families, businesses, community centers and schools around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. It's a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, community, company or organization to come together to give something more.

On this international day of giving, please consider making a financial contribution to Kybele.

Next year will mark Kybele's 15th anniversary as an organization. In honor of our approaching 15th anniversary, Kybele is looking to raise $15,000 between now and December 31. What better way to usher in a new year than by supporting an organization that has helped thousands of women and children worldwide have safer and less painful childbirth? We'd love to kick off that goal on Giving Tuesday with a great show of support.

Please consider a tax-deductible gift of $10, $25, $50 or $100. Join us, and be a part of a global celebration of generosity. Stay tuned for more info as Giving Tuesday approaches.

#SaferSurgeryArmenia - Lifebox Blogs With Kybele Armenia Team Leader, Dr. Gordon Yuill










The following article was taken from a blog post by Lifebox on September 5, 2015.

The Armenian Society of Anaesthesiologists and Intensive Care Specialists (ASAICS) is joined by Kybele, Inc in the capital city, for refresher training with all eyes on a safer future for providers and patients across the country.

Lifebox is thrilled to support the workshop with training materials and the donation of 100 pulse oximeters.  Safer surgery can't bring back women and babies lost in childbirth, but it can change the world for future generations.

With the oximeters ready and waiting in the wings, thanks to the Ministry of Health of Armenia, and delegates fast arriving in Yerevan, we caught up with Kybele's Gordon Yuill at the airport - just in time! - to find what's in store for the week ahead...

Tell us about the ASAICS/Kybele partnership: 
Kybele first went to Armenia in 2006, and then in 2010 we signed a 5-year collaboration with the anaesthesia association.  The aim was to increase the use of regional anaesthesia in obstetrics, and to produce national guidelines that would help get every hospital in the country to national standards.

The doctors were so encouraging and welcoming. They're so proud of their country, but they could see how Yerevan, with a third of the population and the best hospitals, could offer a higher standard of care.

They wanted to bring other hospitals in the country up to the same standards as the capital.  That was really on their hearts - safer anaesthesia not just for the lucky few, but across the whole country.

What difference do you think this conference will make? 
When we first started working together, we focused on clinical improvement, technique and post-operative pain management.  And we've seen some fantastic changes!

The use of spinals and epidurals has gone up dramatically, which is a safer option for both mother and baby.  The women get choice about pain relief, and it's even got to the stage when they can have a partner in the delivery room with them.

Now, this conference is looking beyond clinical practice: to a greater awareness of safety and quality in surgery and anaesthesia.  There's not much qualitative information available, so we're also working together to understand the importance of collecting data for more reflective practice.

What difference will the Lifebox oximeters make? 
When we were sending out the needs assessment last year...READ FULL ARTICLE.
Dr. Owen Speaks at Grand View University
Written by Dayne Logan

Kybele's story fell on a roomful of new ears Monday, Oct. 12, when Founder and President Dr. Medge Owen visited Des Moines, Iowa's Grand View University as part of the school's Global Vision Week. Owen showed a brief documentary on Kybele and spoke to 100-plus interested students, faculty and staff members about the state of birthing methods in developing countries throughout the world.
 
Grand View University is a private institution that serves approximately 2,500 students in central Iowa. Its Global Vision Week is an annual event devoted to connecting students, faculty and staff to issues that are impacting the world in hopes of inspiring engagement and improving global awareness. This year's event was focused around the theme of Global Health, making Owen's participation a natural fit. Kybele E-Newsletter Editor Dayne Logan is on faculty at Grand View and worked to coordinate the visit and obtain sponsorship from Grand View's student government.
 
Although event attendees came from a variety of academic disciplines, Owen's presentation was particularly well attended and well received by those in Grand View's nursing department. Prof. Melissa Larsen brought an entire class of nursing students with her and later shared the documentary with students in other classes.
 
Other event attendees showed their support for Kybele by purchasing more than $500 in merchandise that will go toward supporting the work of Owen and her Kybele colleagues.

Welcome New Board Member


Kybele would like to recognize new board member, Dr. Matt Hatch to our board of directors.  Matt is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Wake Forest University and has been involved with our Ghana project for several years.  Welcome Matt!  

Frivolous Things and Guest Lectures
With 15 years of experience as an organization and a wealth of knowledge possessed by our over 200 medical professionals who have served as Kybele Team Members, we want to share our experience with your communities and educational institutions. Kybele recently produced a professional documentary film in collaboration with Wake Forest School of Film that highlights our extensive medical work in Ghana. This film premiered in Toronto during the Society for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology annual meeting. Since its premiere, the film, titled "Frivolous Things," has been shown in numerous public and academic settings - typically accompanied by a discussion.
 
The 35-minute film is a perfect resource for academic classrooms, guest lectures, medical gatherings, conferences or any setting focused on global health.
 
Beginning in 2016, Kybele would like to offer a guest lecture package, which includes the showing of "Frivolous Things" along with a follow-up presentation/discussion given by a Kybele Team Leader (approximately 1-1.5 hours total). Package price will vary depending upon availability and location of event. Interested individuals or institutions should contact us at (336) 713-9182 or by email at [email protected] to discuss details.
Kybele is Proudly Supported by:
Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology
Obstetric Anaesthetists Association
International Association for the Study of Pain
World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiology







Novant Health - Maya Angelou Women's Health and Wellness Center

Quick Links
Board of Directors and Staff
Medge Owen, MD - President

Holly Muir, MD - Vice-President
Curtis Baysinger, MD
Ronald George, MD
Matt Hatch, MD
Yemi Olufolabi, MD
Nancy Pearson, RN
Rohit Ramaswamy, PhD
Melvin Seid, MD
Leigh Stanfield

Staff:
Sebnem Ucer, Accounts Manager
Kimber Whanger, Marketing & Admin
Erin Pfeiffer, Grants Manager
Lynn Snyder, Programs Coordinator
Dayne Logan, Editor 
If you would like to nominate a person for the Board of Directors or would like to more information about Board Committee membership, please contact a Kybele staff person.

Kybele, Inc. | kybeleworldwide.org | 336-713-9182 | 116 Lowes Foods Drive #170 | Lewisville, NC | NC | 27023