McMaster professor could win $10 million health care prize

What was your pitch to explain why your program should win?

In rural Guatemala five million women and children have little access to health care. We educated over a thousand Guatemalans to become community nurses and health workers. We gave them a basic tool, a cell phone, to talk with doctors in health centres. Today, we have 300,000 people in rural villages in one province who have access to care in their communities. Over a hundred women and children's lives were saved. Now the ministry wants us to take our show on the road and do it for two million more people.

How do you train people with no health care background on how to provide treatment?

First nations people have been historically excluded from government programs. We got youth from rural communities trained so they can go back and work there. We set up classrooms in rural health centres. Students implement what they learn minutes after they learn. Classroom time in the morning and practicums in the afternoon.

If you win, how will it change the services youu provide?

It will give us more clout. We know the neighbouring two provinces are the same. If we get the prize we'll begin to launch into the neighbouring provinces where it's basically first nations populations and two million more people who really need help. If we win we'll launch in September.