GE Healthcare Premieres Heroines of Health, A Documentary Highlighting the Courageous Women Who
Tackle Some of the Toughest Challenges in Global Health
To improve and sustain the health of a nation, the world must tap into and unleash the power of
women
A film by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lisa Russell, MPH
GE Healthcare announced the world premiere of Heroines of Health, a documentary by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lisa
Russell, MPH. The film follows three heroines, from India, Kenya and Indonesia, who are overcoming steep challenges and
expectations to bring better health and hope to their communities.
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Three women. Three countries. Three stories untold. Until now. (Photo: Business Wire)
Women comprise 75 percent of the global healthcare workforce, yet often their work is unrecognized. Heroines of Health
brings to light the stories of women on the frontlines of healthcare who are quietly and humbly saving lives.
These are their stories.
Mrs. Rohani: A volunteer midwife’s assistant from a mountain village in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Mrs. Rohani wakes up
at four a.m. daily to join her family in a morning prayer before walking expectant mothers to the nearest community health center,
more than an hour walk by foot.
Mercy Owuor: A community health expert at Lwala Community Alliance, Mercy leads a team of rural health workers as they
influence how one million people in Western Kenya access healthcare. Through a community-led approach, she is achieving her goal
for every child to reach his or her fifth birthday.
Dr. Sharmila Anand: Dr. Sharmila was trained in the U.S., but brought her passion for empowering and educating
youth and young women back home to Chennai, India, where she founded SEHPL, a social enterprise that skills students to
become X-ray technicians, OT technicians, anesthesia technicians and more. The goal is to give them meaningful employment
opportunities and bridge the healthcare skills gap in India. She says her vision is to create a million satisfied patient
smiles by transforming healthcare delivery systems through upskilling and empowering healthcare professionals.
In 2015, GE Healthcare established Sustainable Healthcare Solutions (SHS), a business that partners with governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to strengthen healthcare systems and improve the affordability and accessibility to quality
healthcare in India, Africa and Southeast Asia. These regions also offer insight into the critical role women play in this effort,
and that, when given the opportunity to lead in both community health and policy development, women have the ability to improve the
health of millions of people.
This realization was the impetus for an effort to engage our partners, public, private, non-profit and NGOs, in a shared
determination to unleash the economic and intellectual power of women to accelerate the development of sustainable healthcare
systems globally. With this documentary, GE Healthcare seeks to take one step forward by recognizing three of the many women who
are bringing better health to their communities.
“For the past six years, I’ve lived in India and spent time in communities here and across Southeast Asia and Africa, leading GE
Healthcare’s emerging markets business. I have been deeply inspired by the passion and resiliency of the women I've met who,
unofficially and despite great challenges, are on the front lines improving the health of their communities,” said Terri Bresenham,
President and CEO, Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, GE Healthcare. “The heroines in this documentary are three such women. We hope
that the film inspires recognition and opportunity for many more.”
As mothers, women are generally most impacted by disease and high mortality rates, yet they represent less than 25 percent of
healthcare leadership roles globally. Studies show that when women are in healthcare leadership roles, neonatal mortality drops,
adolescent girls receive significantly more education, and women are more likely to generate their own income. ¹
"As a filmmaker who has been telling global health stories in remote locations for nearly 15 years, I have come across many
incredible, committed women working at all levels in the healthcare industry. With Heroines of Health, it truly is my honor
to give viewers an inside glimpse into the personal lives of three remarkable heroines," said Lisa Russell, MPH.
Heroines of Health premieres July 18th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
https://www.facebook.com/events/428268137558228/?active_tab=about
Watch 1 minute each day of the film @HeroinesofHealthFilm on Instagram.
¹Increasing Women in Leadership in Global Health (2014) Academic Medicine, Dr. Jennifer A. Downs, MD, MSc, Ms. Lindsey K. Reif,
MPH, Dr. Adolfine Hokororo, MD, and Dr. Daniel W. Fitzgerald, MD
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced
quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE Healthcare (GE) works on things that matter - great people and
technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug
discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions GE Healthcare helps medical
professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. http://www.gehealthcare.com
About Lisa Russell
Lisa Russell is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker with a Masters in Public Health. She became interested in storytelling after
working as a humanitarian aid worker during the 1999 refugee crisis in Kosovo and started a career directing, producing, shooting
and editing films for UN/NGO agencies on pressing global health issues such as maternal health, girls education. HIV/AIDS, impact
of war on youth, climate change and others. She is a keynote speaker (TEDxJNJ, SwitchPoint, Unite for Sight) and workshop
facilitator with a focus on narrative justice and responsible storytelling and aims to change the narrative of global health
through her work. In 2016, she launched StoryShifter, a new entertainment for the social good, powered by machine learning and data
analytics. As a teaching artist, artist advocate and curator, she works to build institutional credibility around emerging artists
as cultural diplomats within the global health and development community. For more information on Lisa's work, visit www.lisarussellfilms.com.
GE Healthcare
Jennifer Fox
External Affairs
Jennifer.R.Fox@GE.com
Office: 414-721-3813
Cell: 414-530-3027
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