Lecture: “Partners In Health: Fighting for social justice and healthcare for the poor”
OpenMRS developer Darius Jazayeri will discuss his work with Partners in Health in Haiti, Peru, Rwanda and beyond
WHAT: Darius Jazayeri, former Partners in Health (PIH) lead developer and project manager of medical record systems, will give a free talk at PSU on November 9 at 7: 30 p.m.: “Partners In Health: Fighting for social justice and healthcare for the poor.”
In his talk, Jazayeri will share an overview of the history and mission of Partners in Health and an update on PIH’s work in Haiti following January’s devastating earthquake. Darius will also discuss the role technological innovation plays in the larger struggle to provide healthcare to some of the poorest communities in the world.
Darius Jazayeri builds electronic medical records for developing countries. He has worked for Partners in Health since 2002, installing and managing systems in Haiti, Peru, Rwanda, Malawi, and Lesotho. In 2009 he won the Pizzigati Prize for Public Interest Computing from the Tides Foundation. Darius is now one of the lead developers of the OpenMRS open source medical record system, co-founded by Partners in Health.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 250 (1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201)
COST: The event is free and open to the public.
CONTACT: For more information, contact David Santen, Office of University Communications, +1-503-725-8765 or santend@pdx.edu.
BACKGROUND: Darius Jazayeri’s lecture coincides with a Partners in Health photo exhibition at PSU’s Littman Gallery, Nov. 4 – Dec. 4, 2010.
The exhibit, “On the Same Map: A Photo Exhibition Celebrating Partners In Health’s 20 Years of Health and Social Justice,” depicts clinics and communities where PIH has forged partnerships with patients and local health workers. Today, Partners in Health (PIH) works in 10 countries spanning four continents, providing community-based treatment and social support to fight the pandemic diseases of the poor — AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, hunger and malnutrition.
This traveling exhibit, first assembled in 2007 to mark Partners in Health’s 20th anniversary, has been updated to include striking images from recent work to rebuild medical services in Haiti, following the January 2010 earthquake.
Littman Gallery: “On the Same Map”
November 4 – December 4, 2010; Monday – Friday, noon to 4 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 250 (1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201)
Free and open to the public.
About OpenMRS
OpenMRS was created in 2004 as an open source medical record system platform for developing countries, and is now used in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Haiti, India, China, United States, Pakistan, the Phillipines, and elsewhere. OpenMRS is a non-profit collaborative led by Regenstrief Institute, a world-renowned leader in medical informatics research, and Partners In Health, a Boston-based philanthropic organization with a focus on improving the lives of underprivileged people worldwide through health care service and advocacy.
About Partners In Health
Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack and Thomas J. White, Partners In Health is a Boston-based international health care organization that works in 12 countries to deliver high-quality health care to people and communities devastated by the joint burdens of poverty and disease. Through partnerships with our sister organizations on the ground, as well as institutions like Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, PIH works to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned around the world.
Exhibit and Lecture Sponsors
Portland State University is proud to sponsor the Partners in Health exhibit and to host Darius Jazayeri on November 9, 2010. PSU and Partners in Health share a mission of service, education and engagement with local communities around the world. The following PSU organizations that have made this exhibit and event possible:
- Institute for Sustainable Solutions
- Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
- School of Community Health
- School of Business Administration’s Healthcare MBA (with OHSU)
- School of Social Work
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Office of International Affairs
- Office of the President
- Littman Gallery/Student Activities and Leadership Programs