Michigan healthcare leaders, Muslim communities to convene on 
‘Building Healthy Communities’ and life giving donation/transplantation

By February 4, 2021Community, Health
Joia in gray jacket smiling

‘Profound Conversation Arena’ to be moderated by media personality Joia Jefferson-Nuri

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 19, 2020 — Eversight, the Ann Arbor-based global eye bank network, and Muslim Life Planning Institute (MLPI), a national community-building organization, will host “Building Healthy Communities: Michigan Medical & Religious Partnerships | Lifegiving Donation & Transplantation,” 1-4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 19. (Today)

Joia Jefferson Nuri has coached more than 50 C-Suite executives and scheduled, written, and coached twelve TEDx Talks (including her own) with two more to present in Fall 2020. Joia has been on the leadership teams at NBC, CBS, C-SPAN, and BET, working as a senior producer, anchor, reporter, and host.

The online, interactive, Islamically informed discussion among southeast Michigan healthcare professionals, service providers and Muslim individuals and families will explore in session one Michigan Medical & Religious Partnerships featuring:

  • Farha Abbasi, MD, Michigan State University, Department of Psychiatry
  • Kara Odom Walker, MD, MPH, MSHS, Senior Vice President Nemours Children’s Health System
  • Michelle Jesse, Ph.D., Psychologist, Henry Ford Health System
  • Mona Makki, Director, ACCESS Community Health and Research Center
  • Steve Miller Chief Executive Officer, Association of Organ Procurement Organizations

Session two will explore Life-Giving Donation & Transplantation featuring:

  • Monir Moniruzzaman Ph.D. U of Toronto, Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University
  • Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, National Activist and Social Justice Leader
  • Sheik Ibrahim Kazerooni, Imam Islamic Center of America, Dearborn Michigan
  • Kelly Ranum, Chief Executive Officer, Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency
  • Lesley Compagnone, Director of Community Affairs for Washington Regional Transplant Community (WRTC)
  • Collin Ross, CEBT, Eversight Global Eye Bank Network, Ann Arbor MI

To attend, register Today at bitly.com/virtualarena2020.

Muslim individuals and families, healthcare professionals and other providers of services to Muslim communities in southeast Michigan and beyond are encouraged to join the conversation exploring anatomical donation and transplantation in the context of Islam. Fewer residents are registered as organ, cornea and tissue donors in Wayne County—Michigan’s most populous and diverse county—than anywhere else in the state, according to Gift of Life Michigan. Yet the need for transplants in this county is relatively high.

The event is a Profound Conversation Arena™  hosted by Eversight and the Muslim Life Planning Institute in partnership with Detroit Medical Center, Gift of Life Michigan and Henry Ford Health System, and made possible through a generous grant from The DMC Foundation, with support from Gift of Life Michigan and the Gift of Life Foundation.

About Eversight

Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.

About Muslim Life Planning Institute

Muslim Life Planning Institute (MLPI) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to establish pathways to lifelong learning and healthy communities at the local, national and global levels. MLPI was created to assist in educating and increasing American Muslim awareness of Islamic guidance related to organ and tissue donation, and to address other bioethics and critical end-of-life issues impacting Muslims. MLPI’s focus gradually expanded to concern for the total life journey of Muslims globally. MLPI educates and leads critical and profound conversations addressing the physical, mental, spiritual and financial well-being of humanity through its initiatives, services and partnerships. For more information, visit mlpi.life.

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