Tuesday, August 11, 2020
“As a graduate of AUB (MD ’02), the son of an AUB graduate (Omar Hasan Al-Nimr, MD ’68), and the husband of an AUB graduate, I could not stand idly by,” explained Dr. Amer Al-Nimr (MD ’02), director of the Global Child Health Program at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD). He and his wife, Professor Rima Itani Al-Nimr (BS ’01), MS, RDN, LD, who is director of the Nutrition in Medical Education Curriculum at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, organized a webinar on August 9th to disseminate information about the massive August 4th explosion in the Beirut port and also to raise money for the AUB Medical Center.
Webinar participants – all AUB alumni (see list below) – touched on a number of topics including the strong ties that link Dartmouth and AUB and AUB’s important role in Lebanon and the Arab world (Dr. Tarek El-Ariss), what transpired and some background on the August 4th explosion in the Beirut port (Mr. Faysal Itani), the effect that the economic situation and COVID-19 have had on the medical sector in Lebanon (Dr. Khalil Diab), mental health (Dr. Farid Talih), and the impact of the August 4th explosion on children (Dr. Samar Rahhal).
Amer thanked the CHaD development team for its strong support noting, “it is very rare for a development office to dedicate all of its resources to support another academic medical center.” He thanked also the participants, donors, and attendees. “Although we are spread around the world, we are a tight community – especially at times like this,” said Amer.
All of the donations received for the Beirut Explosion Victims’ Fund – totaling more than $10,000 so far – will be used to treat children at the AUB Medical Center affected by the August 4th explosion. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Amer and Professor Rima – and to all the AUB alumni and friends who participated in this initiative raising urgently needed funds for our medical center,” said Associate Vice President for Development Walid A. Katergi.
You can watch the webinar here.
Here is a list of the participants:
- Dr. Khalil Diab (MD ’02), Clinical Associate Professor, LAU
- Dr. Tarek El-Ariss (BA ’94), Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Studies, Dartmouth College
- Mr. Faysal Itani (BA ’04), Deputy Director, Non-State Actors and Geopolitics, Center for Global Policy
- Dr. Samar Rahhal (MD ‘01), Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, AUB
- Dr. Farid Talih (MD ’01), Associate Professor of Psychiatry, AUB