Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Dr. Rhoda A. Ojwang, DNP, FNP-C, Class 17, is leading an organization with an ambitious mission: “To make healthcare accessible among the underserved in Kenya, across Africa, and eventually globally.”
Dr. Ojwang, who lives in San Diego, California, works with Advanced Pain Associates, an interventional pain management practice in Imperial Valley treating and managing acute and chronic pains. She also serves as the president and founder of Healthcare Access International Group (HAIG), a 501c3 non-profit organization incorporated in San Diego in 2018 dedicated to making healthcare accessible worldwide. HAIG’s mission is made possible through short-term medical mission trips to underserved areas.
“I decided to start HAIG because I am originally from Kenya,” Ojwang said. “Growing up I was privileged to be brought up in a family where I went to the best schools and received top quality health care services when I was ill. Throughout my nursing career here in the United States, I constantly thought of ways to give back to my own people, particularly those who were not as privileged as I was. I had a burning desire to make healthcare accessible to those in need. Lack of access to healthcare and the increasing rate of poverty is a growing global public health problem. Although the same is true for developed nations, the developing nations are in dire need of basic healthcare.”
HAIG strives to connect people with sustainable healthcare systems to help individuals manage their diseases and stay connected with their health care providers. Ojwang says that HAIG is focusing on Kenya currently, and plans to spread its wings into some other underserved areas of Africa, and other parts of the world in the very near future.
Ojwang was inspired by her father, who is an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist in Kenya. He also organizes free medical clinics to help the community’s underserved population.
“My passion for serving the underserved came to fruition in April 2016 when I joined a group of health care professionals that went to deliver free medical care to an underserved area in Kenya,” Ojwang said. “This was my first medical mission trip. During this trip, I experienced an epiphany as to how much need there was among this community in terms of access and affordability of basic healthcare.”
Dr. Ojwang began her nursing career at Southwest Tennessee Community College, where she received her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) in 2007. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Chamberlain College of Nursing in 2010 and a Masters in Nursing (MSN) as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) at Azusa Pacific University in 2013. Soon thereafter, she enrolled at FNU, obtaining her Doctor of Nursing Practice.
“I am a proud FNU alumnus and Wide Neighborhood Ambassador. The DNP role prepares the graduate for the leadership role in the clinical setting, education, and the executive level. Pertaining to HAIG, I believe my leadership skills have been amplified with the attainment of the DNP degree.”
HAIG’s work is 100 percent dependent on donations. All financial donations received go towards the purchase of medications and supplies. Currently, HAIG has three board members and 12 organizing team members.
“We are all volunteers who share the same vision in making healthcare accessible to the underserved areas. Running a non-profit organization is not an easy task. You have to ensure the people you are working with share the same vision as the organization does.”
In 2019, HAIG served the underprivileged community in Kitale, Kenya, during a five-day medical mission trip. Over 900 patients were served through free health screenings for cervical and breast cancer, diabetes, and hypertension, wound care, HIV testing and counseling, ENT, and vision screenings. Patients were referred for continuity of care, treatment initiation, medication management, and follow-up. This was made possible through a partnership with AMPATH Kenya, which is an academic medical partnership between North American Academic Health Centers led by Indiana University School of Medicine, and Moi University School of Medicine in Kenya. AMPATH’s mission is to make quality healthcare achievable and sustainable for all. The partnership between AMPATH and HAIG provides comprehensive and preventive care through a sustainable health system that reduces health disparities. HAIG’s 2020 medical mission trip that was scheduled for June 15-18 in Kisumu, Kenya was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are hopeful that 2021 will be a promising year to the people of Kisumu in need of HAIG’s medical services”
“HAIG is also very supportive of students and would be willing to take a few FNU students on its upcoming medical mission trips (post-COVID-19) to experience treatment and management of tropical diseases among other cases rarely seen in the United States. HAIG would like to establish this long-lasting partnership with FNU. Student participation in HAIG’s medical mission trips would count towards their clinical hours as the HAIG team has medical professionals who would offer preceptor-ship and sign for hours.”
Ojwang said that one of the primary areas of focus for HAIG is preventative medicine. She noted that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in low and middle- income countries, due to inadequate access to screening and treatment.
“HAIG is at the forefront of increasing awareness about this killer disease through screening and vaccination. Global health focuses on improving people’s health worldwide, reducing inequalities, and protecting society from global threats such as preventable diseases that do not stop at the national borders.”
To learn more about HAIG, visit their website at www.haighealthcare.net.
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers, and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).