Sharing expertise, financial & practical support in Nepal

When the Nepal earthquake hit, our employees rushed to think of ways they could use their skills and knowledge to help those affected. Some employees established a Wolters Kluwer Employee Giving & Matching Campaign where employee donations made to the Red Cross were matched by the company. Over $30,000 was contributed this way.

Other employees were able to support relief efforts directly, like Dr. John Oommen, business development consultant for Wolters Kluwer Health India, who has been working tirelessly on a taskforce to provide knowledge to relief workers on the front line who are dealing with challenges and injuries they have never seen before. Donating our expertise, products, and services is a powerful way that we can offer support during times of crisis.

“In a matter of a few hours of the earthquake striking in Nepal, health professionals across the globe converged on an online discussion forum to volunteer their support. We wanted to leverage the power of information technology to extend their helping hands to the victims of the devastating earthquake,” said John.

An online survey tool was created and shared to the hospitals and key healthcare personnel in Nepal to report on the ground situation and what support would be most relevant. Based on the inputs of the online survey it was quickly recognized that many of the health professionals in Nepal needed decision support tools so that they could make quick decisions to save lives. Based on John’s report, our Health team opened free access for relief workers to multiple clinical information solutions through the Wolters Kluwer Emergency Resources Portal.

John’s taskforce then created customized emails to each of the healthcare facilities that had reported into the database containing specific links to our resources based on the clinical questions and challenges that arose. This practical support was welcomed by doctors. Dr. Bhaskar R. Pant, Orthopedic Surgeon at Grande International Hospital, Nepal wrote to John: “Thank you. We really appreciate this. I have shared this with all my colleagues. We are working hard day and night at Grande International Hospital treating all the earthquake victims free of cost."

Free access is still available for ongoing relief efforts and has been promoted widely within the health community in Nepal.