Help Katherine Bring Healthcare to Remote Nepal

Katherine Miller is organising this fundraiser.

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Hi, I’m Katherine Miller!

I am a family nurse practitioner working in Seattle-based primary care clinics for the last 6.5 years. I have dedicated my career to helping underserved communities through my training in rural Alaska providing care to Inuit populations and through my work at Neighborcare Health in Seattle - a community health clinic that provides comprehensive health services to people regardless of ability to pay. Currently I provide primary care, gynecologic care, and gender affirming care to patients at UW GYN and Primary Care Clinic in Seattle.

I am also an avid outdoor adventurer - I love to mountaineer, climb, and backpack as much as my schedule and the mountain forecast allows.

I first learned about Nomads Clinic four years ago from a fellow family nurse practitioner and dear friend’s personal experience volunteering with Nomads Clinic. I was instantly drawn to the organization’s mission, cultural sensitivity, and positive impact. Nomads Clinic is a well-established volunteer clinic serving the Dolpo region of Nepal since 1980. Every fall, medical volunteers from around the world travel to Dolpo and provide medical care to remote villages with a mobile clinic. Nomads Clinic also works with Nepali clinicians and established local clinics to help improve access to healthcare year round, including bringing telemedicine services to some of the larger towns. For additional information, check out their website:

https://www.upaya.org/social-action/nomads-clinic/

This September I will be joining Nomads Clinic with about 10 other medical providers to provide primary and urgent care services to people in some of Nepal’s most remote villages over the course of three weeks. For many people in these communities, Nomads Clinic is the only accessible healthcare - as the nearest clinic is often 3+ days away by foot. Nomads Clinic brings urgent and primary care services. Historically the most common conditions identified and treated include pulmonary tuberculosis, h. pylori bacterial infections that can cause stomach ulcers and are a risk factor to developing stomach cancer, contraceptive services, treatment of common urinary symptoms and joint pain.

I am excited to blend my love of the mountains with my passion of providing healthcare to diverse and remote communities.

This medical trek is expensive and will cost $5500 per volunteer clinician to cover various costs which include:

Transportation within Nepal including bush plane flights to rural towns
Required visas and in-country permits
Meals during the trek and “housing” - aka the tent I’ll be renting to sleep in!
Nepali support team including paying local guides to route-find and lead us over mountain passes as high as 17,400 ft, and renting mules to carry the mobile clinic and medical supplies.

There are other expenses that I am covering myself which are not included in the $5500 volunteer cost including:

Round trip airfare from Seattle to Kathmandu, Nepal
Loss of income from unpaid time off work as a nurse practitioner in Seattle
Specialized personal gear/equipment to be warm and safe for weeks on end at elevations higher than the summit of Mount Rainier

I appreciate any support my greater community can offer to make this dream financially feasible! If you feel called to, please also consider donating to Nomads Clinic to help support future medical treks and outreach.

With gratitude, Katherine Miller