People (Global health subpage)

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Jordan Francke, MD, MPH is an obstetric anesthesiologist whose global health work centers on sustainable, simulation-based training in low-resource settings, particularly in Huế, Vietnam. In November 2025, he returned to Huế University of Medicine and Pharmacy to launch phase two of a project he began during his Brigham & Women’s Hospital fellowship, supported by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)/Kybele International Outreach Grant. He implemented eight obstetric anesthesia emergency simulations for 26 residents across two one-week visits, paired with pre- and post-tests and linked didactic sessions, while also training local anesthesia faculty (most new to simulation) to design and lead future scenarios. This work, presented at SOAP, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting, and the World Congress of Obstetric Anesthesia in Medellín, reflects his commitment to educational scholarship and sustainable international partnership. (Global health diary)

Elizabeth "Heidi" Jerome, MD,  is a pediatric anesthesiologist and long-standing global health leader whose work has focused on advancing safe anesthesia care for children undergoing cleft lip and palate and related reconstructive surgeries worldwide. From 2004 to 2022, she served as the sole pediatric anesthesiologist on Smile Train’s Medical Advisory Board, where she helped develop the organization’s Safety and Quality Protocol and Anesthesia Guidelines and traveled to partner sites in Honduras, Ghana, Kenya, and India to promote safe anesthesia practice and airway management. Since 2003, she has participated in numerous international surgical teams providing cleft, burn scar revision, and pediatric urologic care across India, Egypt, China, Southeast Asia, Haiti, Colombia, and Guatemala, often working in resource-limited hospitals, mentoring trainees, and refining her own expertise while improving access to high-quality perioperative care for children with complex needs.

“My experiences in global health, from helping redistribute medical supplies in Sierra Leone to providing care alongside anesthesiologists in Brazil, have reshaped the way I think about equity and sustainability in medicine. Meaningful medical care beyond the OR requires sustainable partnerships and close collaboration with local clinicians and leaders.”

Nathalie Rivas, MD, Resident

Young Kim, CRNA,  is an experienced global health nurse anesthetist whose career spans more than 100 international medical missions since 1992, focused on complex pediatric surgery and disaster response. She has provided anesthesia for orthopedic, cleft, urologic, and burn procedures across Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia through organizations including Healing the Children, Kids First Orthopedics, Heart Care International, Smile Train, Operation Smile, and others, often returning to the same sites to ensure continuity of care. Her extensive work includes early pediatric orthopedic missions in Guatemala, long-term engagement in Mexico, cleft and reconstructive trips to Vietnam, Bolivia, Haiti, and Mongolia, and disaster relief following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In addition to her global efforts, she and her husband volunteer regularly with Remote Area Medical in Appalachia, providing essential care to underserved U.S. communities for over a decade. 

Richard Raker, MD, is a global health anesthesiologist whose career has emphasized sustained service, education, and systems support internationally. For nearly two decades, he has led anesthesia teams for multiple nonprofit organizations, providing

perioperative care for children and adults with cleft, craniofacial, burn, limb, and urologic conditions while overseeing supply logistics and equipment repair. As anesthesia team leader and board member for Changing Children’s Lives, Inc., he helped develop long-term surgical outreach programs in East Africa, Southeast/East Asia, and South/Latin America. His work also includes resident and student teaching, neuroscience education for Tibetan Buddhist monks through the Emory Tibet Science Initiative, and participation in the American Society of Anesthesiologists' Global Humanitarian Outreach Training Program in Guyana, reflecting his deep commitment to sustainable, high-quality anesthesia care in resource-limited settings. (Global health diary)

Joseph Rumley, MD,  is a critical care anesthesiologist whose global health experience bridges elective surgical outreach and high-acuity trauma care in conflict zones. Between 2015 and 2016, he provided anesthesia for urologic and plastic surgery missions in Honduras, helping expand access to elective reconstructive care rarely available within local health systems. He later served six months in Libya and three months in Afghanistan in trauma hospitals, delivering lifesaving care for severely injured patients in austere, resource-limited settings. These experiences, spanning both humanitarian and emergency response contexts, have shaped his academic interests in trauma systems development, critical care delivery in low-resource environments, and the ethical dimensions of providing care amid instability. Dr. Rumley continues to apply these lessons to his clinical, educational, and academic work in critical care and global perioperative medicine.

"Learning creative and thoughtful ways to provide safe, comprehensive anesthesia care with limited resources to Nigerian pediatric patients fundamentally changed the way I practice anesthesiology and think about our duty to our patients and community."

Stephanie Chen, MD

                                  Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Anjan Saha, MD, PhD,  is an anesthesiologist, former Apgar Scholar, and current T32 NIH fellow whose global health work integrates implementation science and data science in low-resource settings. In rural Sri Lanka, he helped develop a new model of chronic disease care by linking the University of Michigan with local hospitals, USAID partners, and a community-based nonprofit to train medical assistants, reduce clinic congestion, and strengthen diabetes management. Building on these experiences, he co-founded F.L.I.G.H.T. (Foundation for the Localization and Innovation of Global Health Technologies), a 501(c)(3) that applies implementation science and data-driven methods to improve supply chains and perioperative care in Sierra Leone in partnership with the Ministry of Health. This effort has delivered over $5 million in essential medications and supplies and received recognition through the 2023 Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)/Kybele International Outreach Grant. (Global Health Diary)

William Schecter, MD, MS + Max Feinstein, MD:  Dr. Schecter is an anesthesiologist and global health leader whose international work has been through Heart Care International, a nonprofit he helped establish at Columbia University Medical Center in the early 1990s. He has led multidisciplinary teams partnering with hospitals across Central/South America and the Caribbean to build sustainable, high-quality pediatric cardiac programs. Under his leadership, these teams have cared for more than 5,000 children, donated essential equipment, and provided hands-on training in surgery, critical care, and cardiac catheterization—meeting standards comparable to top North American centers. Dr. Schechter has shared outcomes and “lessons learned” through publications and international presentations on humanitarian medicine. Recently, he has helped engage new Columbia faculty, including Dr. Max Feinstein, whose participation marks the next generation of departmental leadership in pediatric cardiac global health.

Richard Smiley, MD, PhD, is an obstetric anesthesiologist whose global health work has centered on strengthening perioperative and maternity care in low-resource settings through both direct clinical service and education. Since 2009, he has participated in programs in Ghana, Bangladesh, South Sudan, Guyana, and Rwanda with organizations including Kybele, Smile Bangladesh, Médecins Sans Frontières, the ASA Overseas Teaching Program, and the International Organization for Women and Development. His contributions have spanned providing anesthesia for pediatric, obstetric, and fistula-repair surgery, mentoring local providers, and helping establish sustainable approaches to audit and quality assurance within hospitals and training programs. Through these efforts, Dr. Smiley has sought to build local capacity, promote enduring educational partnerships, and advance safe, equitable obstetric and perioperative care on a global scale.