Training Medical Professionals
Global Strategic Operatives, founded by Deborah O'Hara Rusckowski, Global Ambassador of The Foundation United, is a training arm devoted specifically to equipping the medical community to identify the signs and symptoms of sex trafficking and teaches them how to assess and provide safety for patients. Medical professionals are literally on the front lines, so educating them is essential in eradicating sex trafficking. This training arm creates an entirely new layer of protection for victims of this crime.
Through a policy and system-wide approach, we provide training led by survivors and expert clinicians to healthcare providers, beginning with the highest levels of the organization. Once trained, healthcare providers know how to confidently take action internally and through external partnerships to best serve survivors.
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Healthcare Systems trained by Global Strategic Operatives in collaboration with The Foundation United:
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U.S.A.:
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Baptist Health
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Advocate Aurora Health
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Hackensack Meridian Health
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Baylor Harris Health
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RWJ Barnabas Health
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Northwell Health
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and more
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International:
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Poland
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Romania
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Australia
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Ireland
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Cambodia
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Thailand
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India
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Nigeria
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Ethiopia
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Philippines
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Italy
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Albania
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and more
Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski is a critical care nurse by training with a BSN, MBA, and a Master’s in Theology with a concentration in bioethics. After working in healthcare and the private sector for 30+ years, she is now a Delegate for the Order of Malta’s Mission at the United Nations, focused on human trafficking and the global refugee crisis. She is the founder of Global Strategic Operatives for the Eradication of Human Trafficking. She provides educational and training presentations to healthcare providers, airline personnel, government employees, corporations, and universities on human trafficking. She works closely with Homeland Security and law enforcement. She supports an anti-human trafficking educational exhibit in Haiti that rotates regularly around the country. Deb participated in the Catholic Church’s new Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking at the Vatican.
Deb founded Nurses With Global Impact, Inc. in 2016 as a resource for nurses and to recognize those doing extraordinary work and making a global impact in healthcare. She has a passion for healthcare missions: Haiti (15+ years), Philippines, Dominican Republic, and Bosnia Herzegovina, where she was a member of a Crisis Intervention Team with the National Organization for Victim’s Assistance (NOVA) of Washington, DC, to work with women and girls who survived rape camps. She was a member of the Federal Disaster Medical Team that was deployed to NYC on 9/11/01.
Deb is an active member of a number of non-profit boards: former two-term Board of Councilor with the Order of Malta, American Association, and continues as a member of the Medical Committee for the annual Lourdes Pilgrimage. Deb also sits on the boards of Malteser International Americas, RAD-AID, Int’l, World Youth Alliance, the Gold Foundation, and the National Catholic Bioethics Center. She is a former member of the CRUDEM Board for 8 years, chaired the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, was on the Board of Boston’s Healthcare for the Homeless Program for 5 years, and spent 4 years on the Board of the American Heart Association as Chair of Public Advocacy. Deb was the Director of Respect Life Education for the Archdiocese of Boston for 8 years. She continues to teach the late John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. She helped start up Pure in Heart, a 501(C3) young adult life and chastity ministry in Boston, Haiti, Kenya, Ireland, and UK.
Success and Impact
Training Attendee
“Wow! This was very eye-opening. I am profoundly impacted by the information that was shared."
Nada Wakim, PhD, RN, NE-BCAVP of Nursing & Case Management, South Miami Hospital
"It has been my honor and pleasure to work on this initiative. I could not think of a better cause to support and engage my staff as we work to better identify and care for potential human trafficking victims.”
Training Attendee
“Very well organized, moving and informative. I loved the true stories. We connected with the speakers.”