Life Saving Model Implemented in Tibet Recorded No Maternal Deaths in Target Counties in 2008

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- One HEART, a non-profit organization (NGO) dedicated to saving the lives of women and newborns around the world participated in the Clinton Global Initiative held in New York City. Arlene Samen, the executive director of One HEART, was among a group honored by President Clinton for her commitment to expand a proven maternal and newborn health model globally.

In 1998, Arlene Samen founded One HEART, (Health, Education, and Research in Tibet) a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of Tibetan women and their newborns during the birthing process. In 2008, there were no maternal deaths in the counties in which One HEART offered its life-saving programs. In 2009, One HEART turned over its Tibet operations to the Tibetans who had been working on the projects since their beginning.

"I am so excited to be participating at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)," said Samen. "I am inspired to keep moving forward with One HEART's proven model for safe motherhood and birthing practices. CGI is truly an event that makes you realize that so much good is being done in the world." Mexico's Copper Canyon, home to the Tarahumara Indians, is the next potential site for One HEART. Samen also has requests from Nepal and Tanzania as possible expansion sites for future programs.

Samen is dedicated to ensuring that all pregnant women and their newborns have access to life-saving care and information.

About One HEART

Arlene Samen began working as a nurse in Las Vegas, Nevada more than 25 years ago. She began volunteering her services to Interplast, an international non-profit organization. Samen participated in more than 15 volunteer trips to diverse locations such as the Philippines, Mexico, Jamaica, Tanzania, Chile, India, Madagascar, Honduras, and Ecuador. In her travels, she learned about the plight of pregnant women and newborns in developing countries and in particular Tibet, where one out of ten newborns is believed to die in the first month of life often due to preventable causes.

Samen organized a fact-finding mission for the first year to understand the local traditions, religious beliefs, customs, and procedures of women giving birth. Once she understood the local views of the Tibetans she then set-up a Skilled Birth Attendant Training Program, which focused on village and township doctors in providing clean birthing conditions and medical attention to pregnant women. Arlene found that much of the knowledge and life saving skills and medical supplies were not filtering down to the local village level. So she began training the local village women on learning basic life saving skills and supplying clean birthing kits so that they could take their skills back to their local villages as birth attendants.

Samen and her organization, One HEART, have designed and implemented a successful repeatable and sustainable maternal newborn model for rural cultures all over the world. Mexico's Tarahumara Tribe is the next potential development site for One HEART. Arlene has requests from Nepal and Tanzania as possible expansion sites for future programs. Arlene is dedicated to ensuring that all pregnant women and infants have access to life-saving care and information.

Samen has received many awards, including being selected as one of the 50 Unsung Heroes for Acts of Compassion, in 2001, and as a CNN "Hero" of the week in 2008. She has also been nominated for awards from the Hilton Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Noetic Science Institute.

SOURCE One HEART

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