Company: One Heart World-Wide, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Company Description: One Heart World-Wide is a 501(c)3 organization that aims to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in the most remote areas of the world. The organization has implemented its signature model, the Network of Safety, that has effectively reduced childbirth losses in the rural communities of Nepal and Mexico.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Women Helping Women – Government or Non-Profit

Nomination Title: Arlene Samen, President and Founder

Describe for the judges the nominated individual's activities and accomplishments that provided support and assistance to other women since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words):

When Arlene Samen first heard of the shocking number of mothers and infants dying during childbirth in rural Tibet, she decided to leave her position as a nurse practitioner in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Utah and create One Heart World-Wide (OHW), a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in the most remote total areas of the world. OHW spent 10 years in Tibet and successfully decreased both maternal and neonatal mortality in its target area. Since 2009, OHW has expanded its programs to the Himalayans villages of Western Nepal and the Tarahumara indigenous communities within the Copper Canyon of Mexico. Both sites are remote, rural areas where indigenous women very often deliver at home without a skilled birth attendant and thus suffer from high mortality and morbidity.

OHW uses a unique, replicable and sustainable model, the Network of Safety, to improve access to care for women and infants during pregnancy and delivery, thereby reducing maternal and neonatal deaths. Programs include community outreach, health care providers training (at multiple levels), emergency evacuation systems and health facility improvement programs.

The Network of Safety is innovative because

(1) it is tailored to the local cultural context,
(2) it puts the mother first and
(3) its interventions are aimed simultaneously at multiple levels to insure continuity of care for mothers and infants.

Essential to the OHW model are integration of local resources, collaboration with local communities and providers, and respect for cultural norms and practices.

Because of the Network of Safety, last year in OHW’s program areas, there were zero maternal deaths and only two neonatal deaths. More women became aware of the need for prenatal and postnatal care and used a skilled birth attendant for delivery. Both the Nepali and Mexican governments have shown a keen interest in a wider implementation of the Network of Safety within their borders. The Nepali government has recently approached OHW to incorporate their Newborn and Birth Preparedness Packages within the Network of Safety. As a result, OHW is poised to make a significant difference by assisting the Nepali Government to reach the Millennium Developmental Goals 4 and 5 for the Baglung and Dolpa Districts.

Arlene Samen is the tireless worker behind OHW; however she does not simply stop in Nepal and Mexico. She was nominated as a CNN hero in 2008, and was a Rainer Arnold Fellow in 2009. She voiced her mission through a TEDxSF talk delivered in June 2011, and regularly blogs in the Huffington Post. The WIE Symposium invited her to be one the panelists in their 2011 International Women’s Day Conference. Arlene also demonstrated her endless dedication and professionalism as a moderator in the Clinton Global Initiative.

One Heart World-Wide continues to change lives for women and their newborns, and Arlene fearlessly continues to lead the way. Despite all the challenges, she continues the fight to save lives and replace fear, anxiety and hopelessness with anticipation, excitement and joy.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated individual (up to 100 words):

Arlene Samen is a nurse practitioner with over 30 years experience in Neonatal Intensive Care. In 2004, she left the University of Utah and founded One Heart World-Wide, a non-profit organization dedicated to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in remote rural areas of the world. She started her programs in Tibet, where her efforts were instrumental in reducing both maternal and neonatal mortality in her program areas. In 2009, Arlene expanded One Heart World-Wide’s programs to Nepal and Mexico. Arlene’s motivation stems from the belief that every mother deserves a baby to cradle, not a tiny body to bury.