Date of Birth: 10 December, 1945 Military: United States Navy 1975-1977, Naval Hospital, Beaufort, S.C. Education: Union College, Schenectady, NY B.S. (Biology) 1966Albany Medical College, Albany, NY (M.D.) 1970Internship- Albany Medical Center Hospital 1970-1971Residency- Albany Medical Center Hospital 1971-1973Fellow- Infectious Diseases, Albany Medical College 1973-1975 Certified: National Board of Medical Examiners- 1971American Board of Internal Medicine- 1973 Licensed: New York, Massachusetts Professional Societies: American Society for MicrobiologyInfectious Disease Society of AmericaMassachusetts Infectious Diseases SocieryAmerican Foundation for Infectious DiseasesAmerican Medical AssociationOutpatient Intravenous Therapy AssociationH.I.V. Medical Association Affiliations: Chief of Infectious Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, Mercy Medical Center, Springfield, MAClinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University College of MedicineVisiting Instructor in Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 1989-1990Member, Division of Infectious Diseases, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MAConsultant in Infectious Diseases, Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MAHolyoke Hospital, Holyoke, MA, Noble Hospital, Westfield, MA, The Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts, Ludlow, MAChairman, Infection Control: Mercy Hospital, The Rehabilitation Hospital of Western MassachusettsMedical Advisory Committee- Visiting Nurse Association of Holyoke Massachusetts Business: Medical Director, PROTOCARE of Massachusetts 1986-1997 Employment: Hampden County Medical Group, 1977-1979Springfield Medical Associates, 1979-1999Robert P. Hoffman MD, P.C. 1999- present Pharmaceutical Companies: Clinical Consultant in Infectious Diseases and H.I.V. Care: Merck, Hoffmann- LaRoche, Glaxo, Abbott, Agouron, Ortho-McNeil, Bristol Myers Squibb Recent Papers Presented: Current Issues in H.I.V./A.I.D.S.- March 7, 1999, West Springfield, MAInfections in Long Term Care- Western Massachusetts Hospital, Westfield, MA, June 2, 1999Cost-Effective Antibiotic Use- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, June 8, 1999Salvage Therapy in H.I.V. Care- St. Petersberg, Florida, July 7, 1999OPAT in the Era of Managed Care- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, September 9, 1999Salvage Therapy in Patients with Drug Resistant H.I.V.- Worcester, MA, October 7. 1999Antibiotic Associated Colitis and other Gastrointestinal Complications of Antibotic Use- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, November 16,1999Influenza- What Is It and What Can We Do About It?- Springfield, MA, December 9, 1999Line Sepsis-How Do We Identify It, How do We Treat It?- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, March 21, 2000African A.I.D.S.- Ugly Pictures in a Beautiful Setting- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, October 10, 2000H.I.V. and the African American Community- Springfield, MA, March 5, 2001Community Acquired Pneumonia- applying Science to Practice-Springfield, MA; November 14, 2000Community Acquired Pneumonia- Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, May 12, 2001A Change of HAART- E. Longmeadow, MA, May 17, 2001CAP- A New Paradigm- Tufts Health Plan- October 19, 2001, Holyoke, MABioterrorism and the Physician- West Springfield, MA, Dec. 6, 2001AIDS in Africa- Sad Pictures in a Beautiful Place- Springfield, MA, February 6, 2002Less is More- A Change of HAART- Waterbury, CT, April 9, 2002 Symposia Moderated: Infectious Diseases Updated- 1983, Springfield, MAInfection Control Update- 1984, Springfield, MATopics in Infection Control- 1985, Springfield, MATopics in Infection Control- 1986, Springfield, MAHome Care in the ’90’s- High Tech and Compassion- Springfield, MAIntrroduction to Home Care- Hoffmann- LaRoche Home Health Services, Mahwah, NJ, February 22, 1989Antibiotics and Fever- April 4, 1990Common Infections: Contemporary Management Strategies-April 25, 1991Common Infectious Diseases- April 9, 1992. Springfield, MAQuality Assurance in Home Care- April 17, 1993, OPIVITA Conference, Chicago, IL Books Reviewed: Interpretation of Clinical Laboratory Data, American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, (ASHP), Bethesda, MD, 1990 Papers Published: “Quality Assurance of Protocare of Masasachusetts”, OPIVITA, Oct. 1991“Valuing Outpatient Management Services”, OPIVITA, December, 1991“Managed Care and the Infectious Diseases Specialist”, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Vol. 23, No. 2, August, 1996In Preparation: “Outcomes of H.I.V. Care in a Community Based Practice-1998-1999”Merck Protocol 094/CRX463 (Direct study)- A Study of the Effectiveness and Side Effects of Indinavir-Ritonavir Combination.Glaxo (Zorro study)- To Assess the Tolerability and Safety of Ziagen in H.I.V.-I Infected Individuals.Agouran AG1700-1170- A Study to Assess the Ability of Delaviradine to Improve Lipid Profiles in H.I.V. Infected Individuals. Textbooks: Handbook of H.I.V., Total Learning Concepts, Boston, MA 2002Read More
General Manager & Treasurer eclecTechs™, LLC 22 Cherry Street Westfield, MA 01060 info@eclecTechs.com www.eclecTechs.com Barbara has been the General Manager at eclecTechs since 1998. eclecTechs offers many Internet services, including Web Design, Programming, Networking and Consulting. eclecTechs also offers DSL and web hosting at reasonable rates. Barbara received a degree in Accounting from The University of Massachusetts in 1989.Read More
Senior Advisor in Health Promotion Leader, Urban Health and Health Determinants Team Area for Sustainable Development and Environmental Health Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 525 23rd Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Phone: 202 974-3969 Fax: 202 974-3645 e-mail: ricemari@paho.org Marilyn Rice is Senior Advisor in Health Promotion and Coordinator of the Urban Health and Determinants of Health Team for the Area of Sustainable Development and Environmental Health for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). She has over 30 years of experience working in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment, often playing the role of a facilitator to help ensure clear communication and collaborative efforts in developing and implementing initiatives. She has done extensive work to support systematic evaluation and documentation of health education and promotion experiences in countries throughout the world and she coordinated and oriented technical cooperation activities in the areas of health promotion, social determinants of health, urban health and development, community mobilization, and implementation of healthy public policies. She has worked for PAHO for 22 years and the Global Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for 7. She has also held the position of Project Director of the National Resource Center for Prevention of Perinatal Abuse of Alcohol and Other Drugs and Branch Chief of the Perinatal Branch for the US Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (part of the US Department of Health and Human Services). She holds a degree in sociology and masters training in public health and health education. She is known throughout the world for her work in community development, social mobilization, health promotion and education, as well as for her leadership in the emerging field of urban health. She has been very active in the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), serving multiple terms as Regional Director, and she currently is the Regional Vice President for the North American Regional Office (NARO) and sits on the Global and NARO Boards. Additionally, she is the Chair of Society of Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) International and Cross-Cultural Health (ICCH) Community of Practice and as a result she also sits on the SOPHE Board. She is on the editorial board of numerous peer review journals in the fields of health promotion and education. More specifically, Marilyn Rice’s experience includes: Extensive experience in leading and managing the design and monitoring of new projects through promoting team work with a diverse group of professionals, and developed long-range strategies and objectives through consensus-building in initiatives focused on but not limited to the following areas: maternal and child health; reproductive health and family planning; gender sensitive health and development initiatives; demonstration projects addressing pregnant and postpartum women and infants exposed to alcohol and other drugs; participatory action planning and evaluation in health promotion and education, especially in local development priorities and in reproductive health; nutrition education; participatory education in health; research projects in health promotion/education and community participation, and in alcohol and other drug use; school-based health education; and disaster preparedness and the community’s participation Creating strategies, analytical models and methodologies for the planning and evaluation of public health initiatives Providing technical assistance and advice to countries throughout the world Writing state-of-the-art documents and guidelines in techniques for planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs Developing training manuals and materials from entire face to face and virtual courses to supplemental electronic teaching and audio visual materials Drafting and securing approval from the Ministers of Health from countries throughout the Americas for position papers, as well as resolutions to generate cooperative implementation of PAHO and WHO programs by these governments Coordinating collaboration with a diverse group of professionals from United Nations, intra-country, national, regional and local agencies, universities, schools of public health, community organizations and professional societies Delivering numerous public speeches, presentations, briefings, lectures and seminars to audiences – in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French for government officials and/or for community leadersRead More
12 October, 2002 Mr. Paul Hoeffel Chief, NGO Section United Nations New York, NY 10017 Dear Sir: Please accept this letter of recommendation for the Women’s Health and Education Center of Springfield, Massachusetts. I have met with Dr. Rita Luthra on several occasions and understand the mission of the Center. It is my judgment that the Center is well qualified to be an accredited NGO to the DPI of the United Nations. Dr. Luthra has attended and participated in meetings of the UNA/USA and the Connecticut Division of our national organization. The Center is developing a useful and ambitious worldwide ob/gyn information system. If you have any questions, I would be pleased to respond. Sincerely, Irving Stolberg President, Connecticut Division UNA/USARead More
President, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), 2013-2016 27 Sussex Place Regent’s Park London NW1 4RG; U.K. T: +44 20 7772 6250 David is a consultant uro-gynaecologist at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and was its Medical Director for 17 years from 1993 to 2010 prior to becoming Vice President (Clinical Quality) of the RCOG. During his tenure he published High Quality Women’s Health (2011)- a proposal for developing a public health life-course approach to care combined with implementing networks for delivery. He championed the production of the first RCOG national Maternity Clinical Indicators Report for England. This will act as a template for further national reports to include other aspects of clinical performance. David has promoted clinical quality initiatives and audit at a national level and encouraged the College to develop quality improvement projects (Each Baby Counts and Perineal Trauma – 2015). His main interests lie in all aspects of education, training, clinical quality and safety and the implementation of national guidance. He has a strong track record in workforce planning and authored the RCOG report on the Future Workforce in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for England and Wales (2009). This has led to a working party to review national standards for maternity care and also gynaecology with a particular emphasis on service delivery; Safer Women’s Healthcare. Dr. Richmond has been keen to improve the relationship between the College and its membership and is implementing the recommendations of its Governance Review and subsequent Representation Working Party which has proposed greater openness and transparency of College working and Council meetings. He has also opened the discussion on increasing the electorate to its members potentially on a global footing. He is Vice Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Council member and Fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management. He has developed strong links with the UK Government ministers in areas of mutual benefit, the Care Quality Commission and NHS England. David has represented the RCOG on independent national reviews in Scotland and England with regard to surgical mesh use for incontinence and prolapse and is co-chair of the models of care stream in the NHS Maternity Review. His main interests outside medicine involve his family and the outdoors including his garden, golf, running and climbing.Read More
Welcome to the virtual health library in women’s health care – Guidelines for Women’s Health Partner, Publish & Promote The Journal, WomensHealthSection.com contains a number of innovative and successful best practices from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), participating institutions, their faculty, and UN entities around the world. In this section, institutions, authors and NGOs can view and rate best practices in specific fields of work, network with organizations around the world, and promote their own work to a global audience. Users can also submit papers, manuscripts, photographs representative of their work which will be available for fellow users to browse. The most of our content is generally commissioned, but if you have a great idea for a commentary, editorial, public health review, news story, interview, book review, or public health classic, we would be happy to consider your proposal. We are embarking on a new era in medicine and health care. As you know the information super-highway has much information to offer to the health care providers all over the world. To reach the global community and to serve national and international health care educational needs, we have opened, the Guidelines for Contributors and Submit a Manuscript, for fast, easy electronic submission of your work. Serving all over the world, the Journal, WomensHealthSection.com is most widely read in the specialty. We plan development together. We build partnerships to last. Grants and services provided by Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) to the Authors and Editors help us all to build better health care systems in both industrialized and developing countries: Partner, Publish & Promote. What sort of papers/research do we want, publish and fund? The Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) publishes papers on matters of women’s health and health development with a special focus on Millennium Development Goal # 5 (Improve Maternal Health). This is a very broad field, and we consider a very wide range of papers, but the ones that survive peer review and are accepted for publication have some common features: The work described has some implications beyond where it was done. We learned something from the paper. We think that our readers would learn something, or find the contents useful to them in their work. The work is novel, relevant and valid, and has been conducted in an ethical manner. WHEC provides grants for the research/publications for the accepted paper for the translations in six languages to be included in WomensHealthSection.com and dissemination of the work worldwide to millions of our readers in health care and policy-makers. Authors of accepted papers are also invited to participate in Continuing Medical Education (CME) discussions and forums on WHEC Global Health Line. Unsolicited manuscripts: For the sections – Research, Policy & Practice, and Lessons From The Field manuscripts must be accompanied by two paragraphs indicating what they add to the literature:– A brief explanation of what was already known about the topic concerned;– A brief outline of what we know as a result of your manuscript. The Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC)’s policy on competing interests: Competing interests arise when authors, reviewer, or editors have personal, commercial, political, academic or financial interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their professional judgment on a paper’s content or suitability for publication. The WHEC recognizes that the desirable expertise of authors, writers and reviewers also makes them prone to acquiring competing interests in their subject area. The WHEC also requires authors, editors and reviewers to disclose their competing interests, upon submission or review of a paper for any section of the journal. Authors’ competing interests statements will be taken into consideration when a final decision is made to accept or reject a paper, but will not stand as the only criterion for rejection without the editors first seeking further clarification from the authors. The WHEC asks reviewers to decline the invitation to review a paper if they feel that they may have a conflict of interest that would impede their objectivity, and to declare any potential competing interests when accepting the invitation to review. The editors and editorial advisers are obliged to declare any competing interests to WHEC, and preclude themselves from handling papers in such interests collide. The WHEC’s usual time span on conflict of interests is for three years preceding the disclosure, but authors, reviewers and editors are asked to declare any relevant competing interests that they may have outside of this period. In addition, The WHEC requires that authors explicitly state all sources of funding for research or writing activities. This information should be included in the acknowledgements section of the paper, and the methods section of the paper should include the role of the funding source as regards the design, execution, and analysis of the study, and the decision to submit the paper for publication. Submitting and Publishing Clinical Trials on WomensHealthSection.com: The registration of all interventional trials is a scientific, ethical and moral responsibility. This will improve research transparency and will ultimately strengthen the validity and value of the scientific evidence base. Clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies should follow specific guidelines; available at: http://www.gpp-guidelines.org . All human trials that are phase 2a and above must be registered with a clinical trial registry of World Health Organization (WHO); available at: http://www.who.int/ictrp/en or National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States; available at: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ Authors should provide the name of the trial registry, the registry URL, and the trial registration number at the end of the abstract. Please note: Submit your contributions in a Microsoft Word compatible format (*.doc) and in English only. Thank you. License for publication Inquires at:Editorial OfficeWomen’s Health and Education Center (WHEC)Springfield, MA, USAe-mail: Editor@WomensHealthSection.comRead More
16 February, 1994 Dear Dr. Luthra, On behalf of the IYF Coordinator, I would like to acknowledge, with thanks, receipt of your letter to him of 9 February 1994. We are very pleased to learn that you have established close contacts with Dr. Belsey of WHO and have made good progress on your plans and activities on health and status of women in developing countries, as a specific contribution to the International Year of the Family. The IYF Coordinator and his Secretariat will continue to be of assistance whenever possible. As regards the proposed dates for the conference on the Year, kindly note that a major international event is planned to be held in Montreal from 12 to 15 October, held in cooperation with the IYF Secretariat, and on 18 October the General Assembly is scheduled to hold a special conference on families. I am attaching, by fax, relevant pages of the Calendar of events related to the Year, which you may find useful in your planning. A copy of the Calendar is sent by mail. I look forward to our continued and mutual beneficial cooperation. With best wishes, Yours sincerely, George Puthuppally Social Affairs OfficerRead More
President Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations e-mail: Rita@WomensHealthSection.com Dr. Rita Luthra is President of The Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) which is NGO (non-governmental organization) in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is also affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO), PMNCH (Partnership for Maternal and Child Health at WHO), The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UN Department of Public Information ( UN DPI), UN Women, UN University (UNU), UN Foundation (UNF), and Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy initiative of the UN Secretary-General. Established in 2001, The Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) undertakes initiatives with the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), to achieve the hopes and dreams of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with special focus on Maternal and Child Health. Dr. Luthra has worked with various international organizations, such as the UNA-USA, Peace Corps, Population Council and World Health Organization. Dr. Luthra’s main interest is international health and development. She has 25 years of expertise in the project/program development at the National and International levels with various respectable international organizations, and innovative health technology systems such as telemedicine, online distance education and various e-Health management systems. The use of information science and telecommunications to support the practice of medicine when distance separates the caregiver from the patient is the way forward to make medical care more affordable and more accessible in every country. A strong and vital health workforce is an investment in health for today and the future. It has profound effect on all the citizens of the world, political, social, and economic systems. There are 3 leading purposes of the health-related uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) in low- and middle-income countries: To extend geographic access to health care; To improve data management; and To facilitate communication between patients and physicians outside the physician’s office. In 2018 at High Level Political Forum (HLPF), Dr. Luthra presented WHEC Global Health Line’s (WGHL’s) LINK (Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge Solutions) Access Project – To provide access to reproductive health research worldwide, at UN Headquarters, NYC, New York (USA). Available @ UN Web TV: http://webtv.un.org/watch/player/5807660229001 Dr. Luthra was born and grew up in Rajasthan, India and currently resides in Massachusetts, USA. She received her education and medical degree (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) M.B.B.S. from University of Rajasthan, Jaipur (India) in 1974. M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) in Obstetrics and Gynecology, in 1978 from The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh (India). After finishing the residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, MA (USA) she received Fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in 1986. She practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology mostly in Massachusetts (USA) till November 2015. Currently working with the UN and WHO on various initiatives to achieve Universal Health Care (UHC) and improve maternal and child health. Dr. Luthra is Editor-in-Chief of the e-learning publications: http://www.WomensHealthSection.com and WHEC Update. The initiatives of WHEC are also posted on CSO Net (Civil Society Net) under Best Practices and Projects on World Map ID # 364, title: Continuing Medical Education for the Globalized World. http://www.WomensHealthSection.com – knowledge that touches patients, is a vision for the globalized world. Please visit our Letters of Support Page: http://www.womenshealthsection.com/whec/letters We welcome everyone. Dedicated to Women’s and Children’s Healthcare and Wellbeing WorldwideRead More
