{"id":78,"date":"2003-12-24T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2003-12-24T00:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/test\/?p=78"},"modified":"2003-12-24T00:00:14","modified_gmt":"2003-12-24T00:00:14","slug":"doctor-reaches-tibetan-plateau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=78","title":{"rendered":"Doctor reaches Tibetan Plateau"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

[WTN-L World Tibet Network News. Published by The Canada Tibet Committee. Issue ID: 2003\/12\/28; December 28, 2003.]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wednesday 24 December
\nBy Samara Cygman<\/p>\n

A Cochrane doctor weathered altitudes of 14,000 feet, exposure to potentially fatal diseases and having to drink yak-butter tea for one month to deliver desperately-needed health care, vitamins and education to locals in one of the most isolated regions in the world \u2013 the Tibetan plateau.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bill Hanlon, family physician at the Cochrane Medical Clinic, returned home Dec. 6 from his Tibet Child Nutrition and Multi-drug Resistant Tuberculosis project, where he and an American colleague, Dr. Nancy Harris, worked on improving the nutritional and general health status of the children of Tibet by introducing a western approach. They have a huge problem with nutrition, poor sanitation, poor hygiene, a lot of problems with infectious diseases, problems with Ricketts a lack of vitamin D and calcium so people get stunted in growth and a lot of developmental problems. We saw a lot of stunted children, well below their ideal weight and height, many with thin, discoloured hair, thin limbs and protuberant bellies, recounted Hanlon. Those are conditions we don’tt see much here anymore. We helped deliver visual charts with a balanced nutrition message, a hygiene message and ways to recognize symptoms of tuberculosis and treatment options. They even worked with a local musician to create a series of songs about hygiene and the importance of hand-washing and covering your mouth when you cough. By the hundreds, children filed past Hanlon, afflicted with illness ranging from inactive thyroid glands causing goiter in the neck, chronic diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was an area I was interested in. They have a lot of resistant tuberculosis to a lot of medicines we use, said Hanlon, adding a lack and improper use of medicines have resulted in the resistant strains of TB. But it is one of the most treatable infectious diseases in the world. Which is what he found about most of the illness he saw. Not only treatable illness, but entirely preventable illness, ran rampant through the population. One man had a stroke and I was asked to see him. He had a very high blood pressure and it was sad because it was totally preventable, said Hanlon, who worked with the 70-year old every morning to get his blood pressure down. He and his family are very gracious and kind, insisting I have some tea. Yak-butter tea is very much an acquired taste, he laughed, adding it was salty, and likening it to warm soup. Protecting himself against infectious diseases was a bit of a challenge. He had to get shots for rabies, diphtheria, tetanus, Hepatitis A and B and Typhoid.<\/p>\n

Hanlon tries to go on this kind of vacation (as he jokingly called it) at least once a year, with all the funds coming out of his own pocket. I’ve always had an interest in this and it helps balance the life we have here with the rest of the world, he said. To help deal with the illness and disease Hanlon and Harris handed out multi-vitamins, nutritious food, medicine and information to almost everyone that came to see them. The impact of small intervention is huge. It can have a huge impact on people\u2019s lives, said Hanlon, adding it was even more important than high-tech machines like MRIs.<\/p>\n

His colleague, Harris, who has been living off and on in Tibet for 14 years, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine when she found out 60 per cent of the children she saw had Ricketts. To combat this disease, mainly caused by a vitamin and protein deficiency, Harris had a local plant, Droma, analyzed in the United States and found it worked as a high-protein supplement. It was ground up into flour and distributed amongst the families. The problem with people is they don’t have enough variety in their diets, said Hanlon, adding they mainly eat high carbohydrate, low protein diets that are also low in fruit and vegetables. But depending on the season, their access to fruit and vegetables is sporadic at times. To help the people on a more permanent basis, Hanlon was proud to announce his new federally-registered Basic Health International Foundation. The foundation aims to support public health and primary health care programs in high-need, remote locations and more specifically, high-altitude locations.<\/p>\n

I love the mountains, so it s an area of interest, said Hanlon, adding the registered charity took almost a year to set up. This is just another stage in getting ongoing commitment to that area. His intent is to keep the foundation small to incur less administrative costs and accountable and self-sustaining by the population it serves.<\/p>\n

A web site will be up and running in the new year. Tibetans are a wonderful group to be with. I very much enjoyed their humour, sense of compassion and spirit of giving, said Hanlon. At this festive time of taking trips to the mall and holiday parties, perhaps we can think a little more on those in greater need.<\/p>\n

Cochrane Times
\nreprinted in Tibet Environmental Watch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[WTN-L World Tibet Network News. Published by The Canada Tibet Committee. Issue ID: 2003\/12\/28; December 28, 2003.] Wednesday 24 December By Samara Cygman A Cochrane doctor weathered altitudes of 14,000 feet, exposure to potentially fatal diseases and having to drink … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,21,22],"class_list":["post-78","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-local-news","tag-tibet","tag-world-travels"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4UPJH-1g","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":102,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=102","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":0},"title":"Man Conquers 7 Peaks (Oct. 2009)","author":"","date":"8 October 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"8th October 2009, 3:13pm COCHRANE \u2013 Medicine may be his calling, but a local doctor has reached a lifelong goal of climbing the highest mountain on every continent in the world. Earlier this month Dr. Bill Hanlon, a Cochrane-based family doctor, completed his seven-summit project after 20 years. Hanlon and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"7 Summits\"","block_context":{"text":"7 Summits","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=7-summits"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":254,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=254","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":1},"title":"Calgary Herald: Albertan skis to South Pole for a cause, Jan 27, 2010","author":"","date":"27 January 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Albertan skis to South Pole for a cause Cochrane doctor takes health care to the poor Valerie Berenyi Calgary Herald Wednesday, January 27, 2010 \u00a0 I t's not easy to sum up Dr. Bill Hanlon's remarkable ski expedition to the South Pole in a single news story, so here are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Expeditions\"","block_context":{"text":"Expeditions","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=expeditions"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/basichealthinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/calgary-herald.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1446,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=1446","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":2},"title":"Cochrane doctor returns from solo trek across world\u2019s oldest lake | Calgary Herald","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"29 March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Meeting 62-year-old Dr. William Hanlon at his clinic in Cochrane, you wouldn\u2019t guess the local family doctor recently conquered a 720 km walk across a frozen lake in Siberia. But Dr. Hanlon is no stranger to the extremes of nature. He completed the seven summits (including Mount Everest) in 2007,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Baikal\"","block_context":{"text":"Baikal","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=baikal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1482,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=1482","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":3},"title":"Dr. Bill Awarded Ambassador of the Year","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"12 June 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Community builders honoured with awards - Cochrane Eagle Ambassador of the Year: (Category Sponsor:\u00a0 Cochrane Community Awards Committee) Dr. William Hanlon Community Awards Celebrate Cochrane's Finest - CochraneNow The Cochrane Community Awards were celebrated yesterday afternoon (May 28) at the RancheHouse. An opportunity to recognize outstanding work by individuals, groups,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Awards\"","block_context":{"text":"Awards","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=awards"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ccawards.ca\/images\/MPP_7547.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ccawards.ca\/images\/MPP_7547.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ccawards.ca\/images\/MPP_7547.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1508,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=1508","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":4},"title":"Telus Storyhive: How a Cochrane Doctor is Saving Lives Overseas","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"23 October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. William Hanlon goes to extremes to bring sustainable healthcare to some of the most remote regions on the planet.","rel":"","context":"In \"Fundraising\"","block_context":{"text":"Fundraising","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=fundraising"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1486,"url":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?p=1486","url_meta":{"origin":78,"position":5},"title":"Expedition doctor earns prestigious medical award – Cochrane Eagle","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"13 June 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After three decades of helping people around the world, Cochrane Doctor Bill Hanlon is being awarded a prestigious medical award from Ireland that honours those who make exceptional contributions to medicine and society. \u201cWe need to open up to other cultures and not build walls,\u201d Hanlon said, after returning from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Awards\"","block_context":{"text":"Awards","link":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/?tag=awards"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.cochraneeagle.com\/apps\/pbcsi.dll\/bilde?Site=GG&Date=20170406&Category=COE0801&ArtNo=304069982&Ref=AR","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"http:\/\/www.cochraneeagle.com\/apps\/pbcsi.dll\/bilde?Site=GG&Date=20170406&Category=COE0801&ArtNo=304069982&Ref=AR 1x, http:\/\/www.cochraneeagle.com\/apps\/pbcsi.dll\/bilde?Site=GG&Date=20170406&Category=COE0801&ArtNo=304069982&Ref=AR 1.5x, http:\/\/www.cochraneeagle.com\/apps\/pbcsi.dll\/bilde?Site=GG&Date=20170406&Category=COE0801&ArtNo=304069982&Ref=AR 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/basichealthinternational.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}