Meet Our Bridges: Kids Care Everywhere

Meet Our Bridges is ClassACT HR73’s way to introduce our classmates and extended community to our Bridge Partners by letting them create awareness of their mission as well as solicit volunteer help and/or donations.

Dr. Ron Dieckmann, Harvard ’73, Founder and Executive Director of KidsCareEverywhere along with KCE Board member Dr. Marjorie (Margie) Hogan, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and retired staff pediatrician at Hennepin HealthCare, will discuss the crises, confusion and calamities in low-resourced health systems, precipitated by the abrupt withdrawal of US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds by the Trump administration in July, 2025. USAID had been the world's largest humanitarian aid donor agency for over 60 years. While KCE is increasing trainings and distributions of state-of-the-art software in multiple countries to help medical colleagues, discontinuation of US funding has created massive potholes in global services. Over 3 million children under 5 years old are expected to die in the next three years in these impoverished countries because of cancellation of American support.

Ron and Margie will describe KCE’s mission and vision, its history, and its impact over 20 years. Viewers will learn about mind-boggling health statistics in host countries, and unique obstacles and barriers to medical education in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa served by KCE. The speakers will also share some good news: 2025 program innovations and adaptations by KCE— to promote integration of AI in the software, and to include nurse providers in software training.

RON DIECKMANN '73, MD, MPH
Founder, Executive Director, Kids Care Everywhere

Dr. Dieckmann was educated at Harvard, Stanford Medical School, and the Berkeley School of Public Health. He is a Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Medicine at University of California, San Francisco and was the Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital for 25 years. Triple board certified in pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine, and general emergency medicine, Dr. Dieckmann has edited five first edition medical textbooks, is a frequent speaker at national and international medical conferences, and has received national awards for service to American medical education and training. In 2003, he co-founded “PEMSoft-The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Software”, a decision-support software knowledge system which is now owned by EBSCO Publishing in Ipswich, MA. His international family travels led him to found KidsCareEverywhere, and to donate medical software to under-resourced health systems.

MARJORIE (MARGIE) HOGAN, MD

Board Director, Kids Care Everywhere

Professor Pediatrics, University of Minnesota
Retired staff pediatrician at Hennepin HealthCare