About Global Health Initiatives

Global Health Initiatives (GHI) is on a mission to improve lives around the globe by providing high quality health care and collaborating with local partners to strengthen health systems in developing countries.  Strong local partners are a key to our success as health care is most effective when carried out in a sustainable, culturally-sensitive way by members and institutions of the local community. 

A large part of our work is accomplished through short-term medical missions which provides free surgical, primary care and health education programs. Teams of health care providers and administrators travel to our partner facilities in order provide these services.

GHI’s role is to ultimately strengthen our local partners to better serve their own communities.  We do this by assessing community health and partner facility needs, and developing interventions that increases local capacity to promote health. This is accomplished through health prevention and education activities, direct clinical care, sharing of material resources, partnering with local organizations, and teaching and mentoring clinical and non-clinical providers and administrators.

GHI is currently working in Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Meet Our Global Health Initiatives Team

Greg Hodgson
Greg in a town outside GHI’s partner hospital in Rwanda.

Greg Hodgson, Executive Director
Email

Greg Hodgson, the founder of GHI, has extensive experience in international project management. After completing a graduate degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, Greg served as Vice President for Operations & Engineering at Adventist World Radio. He has managed projects in over 30 countries, and speaks several languages. Under Greg’s leadership, GHI has grown from its start in 2005 to include projects in five countries and engaged over 2,000 volunteers. 

Dave Watson
Dr. Watson and his daughter, with a Nepali patient he helped during a GHI mission.

Dave Watson, MD, Chief Medical Officer
Email

Dr. Watson serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Global Health Initiatives. Partnering with health care organizations and facilities within several overseas countries such as Peru, Rwanda, Nepal, Tanzania, Puerto Rico and Cuba he works with GHI to extend the healing ministry of Christ by strengthening existing health facilities and services in developing countries, and by nurturing the health of the people in those communities through local partnerships.

Kim Kennedy
Kim in Dhulikel, Nepal during a GHI mission.

Kim Kennedy, Development Officer
Email

Kim went on her first Global Health Initiatives trip in 2007 while her family lived in Iquitos, Peru for the summer. Since then she’s been a frequent Nepal and Peru volunteer and financial supporter of GHI. As a Development Officer for GHI, Kim is on a mission to inspire joyful giving that transform lives by loving God and serving people. Kim thrives in sharing the impact of GHI’s work to individuals who have a passion for the poor and vulnerable.

kristen carroll
Kristen with her daughter at Machu Picchu during a recent GHI mission to Peru.

Kristen Carroll, Travel Coordinator
Email

Kristen first heard of GHI while working as a physical therapist at Littleton Adventist Hospital in 2008. She was inspired by the idea of helping people in underserved communities around the world have the same access to health care that we are lucky enough to have here in the States. When the GHI Travel Coordinator position became available she jumped at the chance to be a part of this mission. She enjoys meeting GHI’s trip participants, sharing in their excitement for the trip, and ensuring that the week goes as smoothly as possible.

Michelle Perkins
Michelle Perkins has worked with Centura since 2004 and went on her first GHI trip to Nepal in 2011. She has been involved with GHI the past 7 years since.

Michelle Perkins

She assisted on community health clinics in Nepal and Peru before managing the Total Health project in Peru from 2015-2017. Continuing with GHI's International Project Management, Michelle has lead the Helping Babies Survive Project since March of 2017 in both Peru and Nepal. She has continued to work at Avista Hospital in the New Life Center while expanding the Helping Mothers Survive Program into Uganda and Tanzania during the Fall of 2018. Michelle recently expanded her role with Centura as the OB Educator with Saint Anthony's North Health Campus.

Michelle earned her undergraduate degree from CU Boulder in Business (with an emphasis in Commercial Recreation) with her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Nursing from Regis University. She is grateful to her family - her husband, Eddie, and children, Emma and Hunter - for supporting her with her efforts to travel and educate birth attendants all over the world with Helping Babies Breathe, Essential Care for Every Baby, Basic Life Support, and soon, helping Mothers Survive.

paula enrietto
Paula and a Nepali medical provider introducing Paula's mobile health app.

Dr. Paula Enrietto began her career as a cancer biologist and published over 50 papers and books during her academic career at Stony Brook University. While her early work focused on understanding disease and health at a molecular level, she soon discovered a passion for understanding and advocating for health at a more personal level. A chance conversation about global health challenges deepened this passion.

Today, she applies her knowledge and skills to the work of Centura Global Health Initiatives as Coordinator of Research and Academic Affairs. She focuses on education, program development, and the application of technology solutions to global health problems. Most recently she has supported the training of medical professionals in the Ponseti method to treat club foot. She is also one of the creators of a mobile application that allows data collection in low resource areas for the Helping Babies Survive program.