Adventist Physicians Confront Ebola

Two Adventist doctors--Gillian Seton and James Appel (a member on the APF Advisory Board)--who have been screening potential Ebola patients at Cooper Hospital in Liberia, are currently in the United States. Dr. Seton plans to return to Liberia, while Appel will be returning to Chad where he has worked for more than a decade. We feature Appel's book, Nasara, on the APF resource page.

Here is a non-exhaustive round-up of the considerable media coverage they have received:

LLU Alumni Deliver Health Care at Ebola Stricken Region (ANN, 15 Aug 2014)

Dr. Gillian Seton, a 2008 graduate of Loma Linda, has served since February at Cooper Adventist Hospital in Liberia as a participant in the university’s Deferred Mission Appointment program. The program, developed by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, provides financial support to medical and dental students committed to overseas mission service.

Another physician, Dr. James Appel, a 2000 Loma Linda graduate, is expected to arrive this week in Liberia to provide medical care alongside Seton at Cooper Adventist Hospital. Appel has spent the last decade as a family medicine physician in the north-central African country of Chad. (article link)

Back from Africa, Loma Linda University Med School Grads Discuss Ebola (Steinberg, The Sun, 28 Oct 2014)

Seton and Dr. James Appel were in Loma Linda recently to attend the Global Healthcare Conference at Loma Linda University and speak to community members.

Lack of protective gear, few sinks for handwashing and little training in infectious disease control combine to make hospital work in West Africa dangerous, as this year’s outbreak Ebola takes its toll, according to Loma Linda University medical school graduates back from the continent.

“I am very disappointed by the American public’s reaction (to the Ebola threat),” said Seton, 33. “It makes me very angry.”

Seton and Appel bristle at the notion that Ebola can spread like a wildfire.

“The only way to get Ebola is if someone vomits on you, defecates on you, urinates on you or bleeds on you,” Seton said in an interview. (article link)

James Appel Documents Journey to Liberia (Appel, Adventist Health International)

Loma Linda University grads staying in Ebola-plagued region (Steinberg, The Sun, 17 Aug 2014)

In Face of Ebola, California-Trained Doctor Treats Patients in Liberia (Aliferis, State of Health, 21 Aug 2014)

Colorado doctor helping the sick in Ebola-stricken Africa (Illescas, Denver Post, 24 Aug 2014)

Dispatches from Ebola-Hit Liberia (Appel, Spectrum, 8 Sept 2014)

Loma Linda physicians: U.S. Ebola preparedness inadequate (Steinberg, The Sun, 25 Oct 2014)

Headlines: Gillian Seton Says Ebola Epidemic Exaggerates Risks (Dietrich, Spectrum, 28 Oct 2014)

6 QUESTIONS: Missionary doctor returns from epicenter of Ebola outbreak (Kleckner, KULR 8, 30 Oct 2014)

Adventist Videos on Ebola

NAD Social Media Campaign - The Ebola Crisis in West Africa (NAD). "The North American Division is starting a social media based funding campaign to support the fight against Ebola in West Africa. Adventist Health International manages two hospitals in Sierra Leone and Liberia. They are working to provide much needed health care for the people of this region. Please support the dedicated medial professionals and staff who are putting their own lives on the line to provide relief to those suffering in West Africa."

[vimeo 108797800 w=500 h=281] <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/108797800">NAD Social Media Campaign - The Ebola Crisis in West Africa</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nadadventist">NAD Adventist</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Adventism, Ebola, and You (3ABN). "Due to soaring interest in our 3ABN Today Live program, “Adventism, Ebola, and You,” we have just posted this two-hour program on YouTube. Viewers can watch this fascinating interview with Dr. Peter Landless, director of Health Ministries for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, as well as Dr. James Appel, and Dr. Gillian Seton, who have just returned from caring for patients at the Cooper Adventist Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia."

Part 1 (YouTube)

Part 2 (YouTube)

The Story of Lucille Lewis Byard

I failed to post the following story on September 22, when Benjamin Baker of the Ellen White Estate shared it with me. I included a minimalist telling of this story in a writing project earlier this year. Adventist Archives - - -

On this day (September 22) in 1877, Lucille Lewis Byard was born in Petersburg, Virginia. She accepted the Adventist message in 1902 in New York City, and was an active member in the Jamaica Long Island Church for the rest of her life, serving as a Bible worker and church musician, renowned for her gracious hospitality and vegetarian cooking.

In October 1943 while visiting the Washington, D.C., area, Byard contracted a severe case of pneumonia. She checked into the Washington Sanitarium and Hospital, and since she had a very light complexion, it was assumed she was Caucasian. However, after she was admitted, hospital staff discovered from a patient form Byard had filled out that she was African American. Despite her pleading, Byard was discharged from the hospital. Her family took her to the Freedman’s Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) across town, but she died shortly after on October 20, 1943.

“The Byard Incident,” as it became known, sparked a grassroots protest among black Adventists, who saw the event as a reflection of the unfortunate state of race relations in the church. Several groups were formed, demanding church leaders to act to redress the situation. It was pointed out that African Americans robustly supported the Adventist church with tithes and offerings, yet were unable to be treated in church hospitals, attend certain churches and church schools, and were regularly and systematically discriminated against. Through a series of events, regional (black) conferences were organized in 1945-1946. Byard’s death was a key catalyst of their establishment.