SEPTEMBER 20, 2021
Dear Friends and Supporters,

The Kybele team has been quite busy since our April newsletter and we have several exciting updates to share!

We have just completed the first year of the Making Every Baby Count Initiative (MEBCI) 2.0 - our four-year $3.2 million Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) grant and the largest award we have received to date. This funding has allowed us to partner with the American Academy of Pediatrics in the development of novel training materials to improve newborn intensive care. In addition, we led the redesign of an electronic medical record system at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital that has improved the quality of patient data and the ability of local clinicians to monitor outcomes. We are poised to begin our training modules in Ghana in year two of the project.
In addition, we trademarked our Obstetric Triage Implementation Package (OTIP) and we are ready to officially launch the training program for wide-scale distribution. We are infinitely grateful to the Ghana Health Service Institutional Care Division and the Kybele team in Ghana who have successfully driven this effort towards completion. The preliminary results from our eight participating hospitals have been impressive. We look forward to sharing the results of this work once they have been published.
Mercy, a midwife leading the OTIP implementation at Sunyani Municipal Hospital recently wrote, "From the beginning of this year, Sunyani Municipal has not recorded any maternal deaths. Your intervention works like a magic. We hope to share our success story."

We recognize the continued burden that the Covid-19 pandemic places on each of us. The Kybele Board of Directors spent time this spring updating our travel policy to reflect the highest level of precaution for those Kybele team leaders and volunteers who have resumed in-person visits. This spring and summer, several team leaders were able to visit active program countries to monitor progress. Additionally, several Kybele team members have hosted or participated in virtual medical conferences and lectures with our program country partners. We look forward to the day when we can resume normal operations.

Finally, we deeply miss our friend and supporter, Dr. Davonne Loup, who died earlier this year. Dr. Loup was an OB/GYN practicing in the Seattle area. Her commitment to obstetric care seeded an interest in the work of Kybele. Our publications and demonstrated results cemented her relationship as a donor and sustainer. We invite you to join us in honoring her legacy by contributing to our 20th Anniversary Fund, which has been established at her bequest.
I am grateful for this amazing community of physicians, nurses, midwives, and others who continue to come together for this work and look forward to sharing additional updates from Ghana, the Ukraine, and our Balkans teams later this fall.

Be well and stay safe!
Medge

Medge Owen, MD
Kybele Founder
OB Anesthesiologist - Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Kybele Honored to Remember Friend
and Supporter Dr. Davonne Loup
Drs. Carl Westphal and Davonne Loup.
In February of this year Kybele lost a dear friend and supporter - Dr. Davonne Loup.
 
Dr. Loup was a retired obstetrician/gynecologist and U.S. Navy veteran who had a keen interest in Kybele’s mission. From her own work serving mothers and babies in hospitals across the world, she knew well the importance of safe environments, strong protocols, and multidisciplinary care. Dr. Loup had become a strong supporter of Kybele and closely followed our programs and developing partnerships over the years.
 
Her husband, Dr. Carl Westphal, notes that there were also family ties to Kybele. “My wife and I knew of Kybele through the parents of Dr. Medge Owen,” Westphal says. “Dr. Owen's mother is my cousin, and she has kept us advised of the progress of Kybele over the past 20 years. Understandably, we are quite proud to have Dr. Owen in our family.” 

Drs. Loup and Westphal shared an appreciation for the work that Kybele has done to promote safer childbirth experiences for women and, in particular, applauded the many professional papers Kybele has published highlighting its global impact.
“Although Kybele's reach continues to grow, we value the quality of the work over size itself,” Westphal says. “We have been pleased when Dr. Owen has time to visit in our home, as we get a first-hand review of the current work.”
 
As part of her legacy, Dr. Loup wanted to continue to support Kybele’s continued efforts around childbirth safety. A generous $20,000 gift was made to Kybele, which will be used to seed our 20th Anniversary Fund. We hope to match that gift by the end of the year (December 31,2021).
 
“We are pleased to be able to support the work with funds from a family trust, as well as with our own contributions,” Westphal says. “We are eager to see what develops next in an organization that has always exceeded our expectations.”
YES! I want to impact the lives of mothers and infants around the globe like
Dr. Carl Westphal and Dr. Davonne Loup.
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