The 2015 earthquakes in Nepal took thousands of lives and devastated entire villages. Learn more about Himalayan HealthCare’s ongoing long-term recovery efforts and how you can help.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Himalayan HealthCare is pleased to announce the completion of eight health posts (clinics) in the Dhading region of Nepal. Health posts in Pida, Bhumisthan, and Salang have been handed over to the District Health Office and the communities. The Tipling and Lapa Village health posts were also handed over to the Dhading District Health Officer and the Ruby Valley representatives during HHC’s fall medical trek in October 2017. Ree and Jharlang Village health posts were handed over in Dec 2017. The Chhatredeurali health post, was handed over in February to the Dhading District Health Office by Himalayan HealthCare and AmeriCares.
Following the devastating 2015 earthquakes, Himalayan HealthCare and AmeriCares collaborated on the repair and reconstruction of eight health posts in rural Nepal. The structures were rebuilt to make them more resistant to seismic activity and to minimize the risk of injury in case of future earthquakes.
The Chhatredeurali health post will serve of population of 7,690 people. In addition to Himalayan HealthCare leadership, the handover ceremony was attended by the Dhading District Health Officer Mr. Maheshwore Shrestha, the CEO of AmeriCares Foundation Inc. Mr. Michael Nyenhuis, Senior Vice President of AmeriCares Dr. Anne Peterson, a team of AmeriCares officials from the US and Nepal offices, past and present members of the Chhatredeurali health post management committee, representatives of various political parties, television reporters, health providers, volunteers and local community members. We are grateful to all of them for their support.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Last year, nearly 1,500 people rallied behind Himalayan HealthCare and the people of Nepal to help raise $2 million in support of our earthquake relief and recovery efforts in rural Nepal. You’ve helped us provide food, shelter, clean water and emergency services to tens of thousands of victims in some of the most hard-to-reach parts of the country. We’ve given livestock and restored livelihood to hundreds of households and we’re working to rebuild health posts, a district hospital and schools that were destroyed in the earthquake.
You’ve also helped us to continue our core programs, providing healthcare, education and income-generation opportunities to communities in some of Nepal’s most remote mountain villages.
Please read our 2015-16 annual reports, detailing the work you’ve helped us accomplish, and join us in thanking all of our donors, volunteers and Nepal staff for making this possible.
Click here to read Himalayan HealthCare’s 2016 annual report
Friday, June 3, 2016
Himalayan HealthCare has completed seismic strengthening and repair work on the Bhumisthan Health Post in Dhading District and has handed the building over to the Health Post Committee in the presence of officials from the Dhading District Health Office and AmeriCares. Himalayan HealthCare and AmeriCares are collaborating on the repair and reconstruction of eight Dhading area health posts, including Bhumisthan, and the District Hospital. Our staff has been hard at work across Dhading District, clearing debris, gathering and transporting materials, preparing the site grounds and laying the foundations for permanent health posts. With no road access and at altitudes of nearly 14,000 feet, this is no small feat. Stone boulders from the hills of the Himalayas must be broken down for use in the foundation and walls of the health posts, and all building materials, including the stones, metal posts, trusses for roofing and other materials, must be carried to the construction site on foot. Volunteers from the local communities will be assisting with transportation of construction materials, while mules are being used to carry in sand.
Soil must be prepped for the foundation, concrete must be mixed and slabs fitted into the ground where metal posts will then be installed. Next will come the addition of the siding and trusses for the roof. We hope most of the work can be completed before the heavy rains of monsoon season begin and will continue to update you as our work progresses.
Monday, April 25, 2016
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Acute respiratory infection | 6 |
| Diarrhea | 7 |
| Fever | 4 |
| Trauma | 9 |
| Dysentery | 2 |
| Other | 52 |
| Total | 80 |
Fifty-six households have been moved out of Lapa and Tipling and relocated to Sankhos, close to Dhadingbesi. Himalayan HealthCare is coordinating with government and local leaders to oversee and support these relocation efforts.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
View images of Himalayan HealthCare’s relief efforts in our earthquake relief photo gallery.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare has been asked by the Dhading district health office to assist with the reconstruction of 30 health posts in the district.
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Acute respiratory infection | 22 |
| Diarrhea | 9 |
| Fever | 7 |
| Pneumonia | 1 |
| Dysentery | 3 |
| Trauma | 13 |
| Other | 42 |
| Total | 97 |
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Our team of volunteer doctors and nurses based at the Himalayan HealthCare Lapa Relief Station has returned to Kathmandu after treating a total of 807 patients in Lapa. More than 20% of the patients were treated for waterborne diseases including giardia and dysentery. Our team in Ri completed their second day of medical relief.
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Acute respiratory infection | 20 |
| Diarrhea | 18 |
| Fever | 5 |
| Trauma | 17 |
| Other | 38 |
| Total | 101 |
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| OB | 1 |
| Respiratory | 12 |
| Muscular and Orthopedic | 37 |
| Gastrointestinal | 24 |
| Neurological | 10 |
| Optometry | 10 |
| Dermatological | 11 |
| Diarrhea | 27 |
| Trauma | 2 |
| Ear/Nose/Throat | 13 |
| Dental | 3 |
| Genitourinary | 3 |
| Giardia | 6 |
| Ophthalmology | 12 |
| Emergency | 10 |
| Other | 18 |
| Total | 199 |
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Acute respiratory infection | 29 |
| Diarrhea | 12 |
| Fever | 6 |
| Pneumonia | 4 |
| Dysentery | 3 |
| Trauma | 23 |
| Other | 77 |
| Total | 167 |
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The NYCMedics team that has been working in partnership with Himalayan HealthCare has departed for Ri in Northern Dhading along with Dr. Rakshya Parajuli, Chief Medical Officer of Himalayan HealthCare’s hospital in Ilam. Ri was one of the hardest hit villages in Northern Dhading and the team will be stationed there until May 29.
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| OB | 1 |
| Respiratory | 13 |
| Muscular and Orthopedic | 19 |
| Gastrointestinal | 39 |
| Neurological | 11 |
| Optometry | 5 |
| Dermatological | 15 |
| Giardia | 5 |
| Total | 108 |
Monday, May 18, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare’s medical team that was previously stationed in Tipling and Sherthung has completed its work in the villages and is currently treating patients in Kathmandu along with NYCMedics. The combined team treated 89 patients yesterday and 144 patients today. Himalayan HealthCare also has a team consisting of our engineer, field coordinator and a government-appointed individual assessing and repairing the trails near Sherthung in Northern Dhading. The earthquake and subsequent landslides have taken out all of the bridges and damaged many of the footpaths leading to the villages we serve. Himalayan HealthCare is helping to rebuild the trails so the villages can be relinked to each other and to the road access point, which will allow for more efficient relief work and for villagers to access materials more easily without relying on outside aid organizations.
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Cardiology | 1 |
| Respiratory | 20 |
| Muscular and Orthopedic | 27 |
| Gastrointestinal | 24 |
| Neurological | 7 |
| Optometry | 9 |
| Dermatological | 14 |
| Diarrhea | 40 |
| Trauma | 4 |
| Ear/Nose/Throat | 17 |
| Dental | 1 |
| Genitourinary | 4 |
| Other | 14 |
| Total | 182 |
Sunday, May 17, 2015
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Giardia | 1 |
| Respiratory | 11 |
| Muscular | 24 |
| OB | 17 |
| Gastrointestinal | 29 |
| Neurological | 6 |
| Optometry | 9 |
| Dermatological | 12 |
| Diarrhea | 47 |
| Trauma | 6 |
| Ear/Nose/Throat | 8 |
| Dental | 4 |
| Genitourinary | 2 |
| Other | 12 |
| Total | 188 |
Saturday, May 16, 2015
| Diagnosis | # of Patients |
|---|---|
| Giardia | 5 |
| Respiratory | 10 |
| Muscular | 6 |
| Orthopedic | 3 |
| Gastrointestinal | 10 |
| Neurological | 6 |
| Optometry | 5 |
| Dermatological | 7 |
| Diarrhea | 42 |
| Trauma | 3 |
| Ear/Nose/Throat | 10 |
| Dental | 4 |
| Genitourinary | 6 |
| Emergency | 10 |
| Other | 3 |
| Total | 130 |
Friday, May 15, 2015
Our team of volunteer doctors and nurses from the United States has arrived in Lapa in Northern Dhading and set up a medical camp. Four patients had been treated by the end of the day.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Our volunteer doctors and nurses from the United States, including Himalayan HealthCare President Dr. Robert McKersie, has arrived in Dhadingbesi. The team is scheduled to depart tomorrow for Lapa in Northern Dhading.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The first lot of 100 relief tents has arrived in Nepal for use as emergency shelter, classrooms and health posts in the Dhading region. Himalayan HealthCare is grateful to Dr. Vipin Varma, U BATCH and other alumni of AFMC in Pune, India as well as the countless donors that have helped us secure these tents. Many more will be needed as monsoon season approaches and tens of thousands of people in Dhading remain without shelter.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare’s staff remains safe following the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Nepal this morning roughly 50 miles east of Kathmandu. Our team of volunteer doctors and nurses from the United States has arrived safely in Kathmandu.
Monday, May 11, 2015
View images of Himalayan HealthCare’s relief efforts in our earthquake relief photo gallery.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
| Total number of patients treated (Tipling) | 97 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 1 |
| Wounds | 2 |
| Conjunctivitis | 1 |
| Respiratory | 11 |
| Diarrhea | 5 |
| General | 77 |
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.9.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Friday, May 8, 2015 Himalayan HealthCare has signed a partnership agreement with AmeriCares to distribute donated supplies, including blankets and medications, to victims of the earthquake in Dhading. View images of Himalayan HealthCare’s relief efforts in our earthquake relief photo gallery.
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 53 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 5 |
| Wounds | 1 |
| Respiratory | 7 |
| Diarrhea | 4 |
| Conjunctivitis | 6 |
| In-patient | 5 |
| General | 25 |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare’s team of engineers and architects has arrived in Northern Dhading and has begun its assessments of homes, schools and other structures. Our field staff has delivered medicines to Sherthung, Lapa and Tipling. The NYCMedics team, assisted by Himalayan HealthCare, has arrived in Jharlang in Northern Dhading and Himalayan HealthCare has a team of volunteer doctors and nurses from the United States scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on May 12. Himalayan HealthCare’s team, which includes current HHC President Dr. Robert McKersie and past president Dr. David Johnson, will be stationed in Lapa. At present, Himalayan HealthCare has raised more than $250,000 from individual donors as well as GlobalGiving, the Jean-Abraham Py Memorial Foundation, AJWS, Brothers Brother Foundation, Nepalese Community of Pittsburgh and Morgan Stanley’s matching gifts program. We thank all of you for your continued support.
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 43 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 3 |
| Trauma | 3 |
| Respiratory | 7 |
| Diarrhea | 1 |
| General | 29 |
| Total number of patients treated (Tipling) | 63 |
|---|---|
| General | 63 |
* Report for May 6-7, 2015 Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.7.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 102 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 1 |
| Wounds | 6 |
| Conjunctivitis | 3 |
| Trauma | 4 |
| Respiratory | 10 |
| Diarrhea | 8 |
| Dysentery | 1 |
| In-patient | 1 |
| General | 68 |
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Our team of architects in engineers are in Dhadingbesi awaiting travel to the village in Northern Dhading to conduct their in-depth assessment of long-term needs. According to an initial estimate from the Dhading District Health Office, approximately 70% of health clinics in the Dhading region are totally damaged.
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 113 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 1 |
| Conjunctivitis | 1 |
| Trauma | 4 |
| Respiratory | 13 |
| Diarrhea | 4 |
| In-patient | 1 |
| General | 89 |
| Total number of patients treated (Tipling) | 20 |
|---|---|
| General | 20 |
Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.5.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Monday, May 4, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare has welcomed the arrival of NYCMedics, which was deployed to Nepal by the World Health Organization and is working in partnership with AmeriCares. HHC is providing logistical support and translation services to NYCMedics as its 12-person team makes its way to Dhading.
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 107 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 3 |
| Conjunctivitis | 2 |
| Trauma | 2 |
| Respiratory | 15 |
| In-patient | 2 |
| General | 83 |
Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.4.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Sunday, May 3, 2015
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 106 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 1 |
| Wounds | 11 |
| Diarrhea | 8 |
| Respiratory | 18 |
| Conjunctivitis | 4 |
| Dysentery | 1 |
| Trauma | 6 |
| Other | 57 |
| Total number of patients treated (Tipling) | 50 |
|---|---|
| General | 50 |
Thank you to all of our supporters who have inquired about volunteer opportunities with Himalayan HealthCare’s disaster relief efforts. At this time, we are not accepting international volunteers in Nepal but we welcome you to check back often as we continue to assess longer term needs. For volunteer opportunities in New York, please inquire with our US Director Christina Madden at [email protected].
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare has sent additional food to the villages of Sherthung, Kapurgaun and Thulogaun in Northern Dhading and has ordered an additional 25 metric tons of rice to be distributed in Dhading villages. We have distributed four satellite phones to HHC staff who are stationed in Tipling, Lapa, Thulogaun and Sherthung. An additional $13,000 worth of medical equipment donated by Himalayan HealthCare is currently en route to the hospital in Dhadingbesi. View images of Himalayan HealthCare’s relief efforts in our earthquake relief photo gallery.
| Total number of patients treated (Sherthung) | 75 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 7 |
| Wounds | 13 |
| Diarrhea | 8 |
| Respiratory | 7 |
| Conjunctivitis | 4 |
| Dysentery | 5 |
| Other | 31 |
Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.2.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update Tune in today at 4PM EDT/1PM PDT as Lainie Sevante Quirk interviews Himalayan HealthCare President Robert McKersie on Zeta Global Radio Show.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare’s medical team has reached Sherthung with half a metric ton of medications and has set up camp at the village health post. One patient from Tipling has been sent to Dhadingbesi for a septic food from a wound after a referral from our medical team. Medicines are being separated for surrounding villages, including Lapa and Kapurgaon, the location of HHC’s Timla student dormitory, where 242 people are currently stranded without food. Medical equipment worth $30,000 has been handed over to the hospital in Dhadingbesi and our hospital team is assessing the hospital’s additional needs. We are also organizing a team of engineers to conduct a full needs assessment of the damage and future construction needs in the villages we serve. Read the personal account of HHC’s Bishnu Karki who was completing work on the Timla hostel for secondary students in Lapa when the earthquake struck Nepal: Personal Account of the Nepal Earthquake from HHC Staff Bishnu Karki Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 5.1.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Heavy rains have temporarily delayed our medical team’s trip from Dhadingbesi to Sherthung. Helicopter travel is not feasible in current conditions and the footpaths leading to Northern Dhading are impassable due to landslides, downed bridges and other damage. Himalayan HealthCare has raised more then $100,000 in the five days since the earthquake and is grateful for our partners Brothers Brother Foundation, Nepalese Community of Pittsburgh, GlobalGiving and AJWS and the countless individual donor who have supported us and our relief efforts. Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 4.30.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare has now donated a total of 4 metric tons of rice, 3 metric tons of beaten rice and salty foods and 3 metric tons of cereals, peanuts and brown sugar to Dhading. Our medical team will leave for Sherthung tomorrow to provide emergency care, including psychological support and treatment and prevention of epidemics, to victims in surrounding villages. The medical team will be carrying half a metric ton of medicines, water purifying drops for 1,500 households and other supplies donated by Himalayan HealthCare. We will be donating medical equipment, including an anesthesia machine and defibrillator, as well as a back-up generator to the hospital in Dhadingbesi to assist with the influx of patients. Himalayan HealthCare has already donated four 5 kV generators to Nepal Telecom to reestablish power and telephone connection with villages in Dhading and Northern Gorkha in order to facilitate relief efforts in the region. Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 4.29.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare has donated 4 metric tons of rice for delivery to various sites in Northern Dhading. We have mobilized a team of health workers from our hospital in Ilam, Nepal and they will travel tomorrow to Dhadingbesi with over 100 essential medicines. We are looking into tent donations as there is currently a need for more than 20,000 tents in Dhading alone due to heavy destruction to homes, schools and health posts. Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 4.28.15 Dhading Quake Relief Update
Monday, April 27, 2015
Himalayan HealthCare was endorsed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in his appeal to New Yorkers to support earthquake relief and recovery efforts in Nepal. Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 4.27.15 Himalayan HealthCare’s Nepal Earthquake Assessment
Sunday, April 26, 2015
We are happy to report that our dear friend and colleague, Phe Dorje, is out of harm’s way after being critically injured during yesterday’s earthquake in Nepal. He is back in Kathmandu, where he is having tests run and being monitored fulltime by HHC staff. Phe has been an integral part of the HHC community for many years and holds a special place in the hearts of all who have worked and volunteered with him. We are grateful to Anil and the rest of the HHC staff for the hard work they are doing to keep Phe and others safe. Unfortunately, the news we are hearing out of Dhading suggests substantial damage to the villages we serve (Tipling, Lapa, Sherthung, Jharlang and surrounding areas). The Timla student dormitory that was recently constructed with HHC support and inaugurated during the Spring 2015 Medical Trek appears to have been leveled, as has the village of Sherthung. Initial reports suggest hundreds of deaths. Listen to the latest briefing on Himalayan HealthCare’s earthquake relief efforts: 4.26.15 Himalayan HealthCare’s Nepal Earthquake Assessment
Saturday, April 25, 2015
A major earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) has struck Nepal, approximately 70 miles NW of Kathmandu on Saturday, 11am KTM time. The scenes of destruction are sobering. We have made contact with Himalayan HealthCare’s founder, Anil Parajuli, and he and his immediate family are safe. Anil and his wife Soni are using their lawn and HHC’s tents to house and care for locals in their area who have been affected by this quake. One of our health supervisors has been injured, and we are trying to get a helicopter to him to bring him to the hospital. He was east of Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake attending a medical training. All other staff members appear to be fine. We will keep our followers posted as more information comes in.
