The School of Nursing is proud to honor Kadija Conteh-Barrat, BSN '09, DNP '15 with the Outstanding Public Health Nurse Award.
The Outstanding Public Health Nurse Award recognizes a nurse who makes outstanding contributions to the field of public health, including social justice, health equity, and the delivery of public health care and services. Conteh-Barrat was honored at the School's Honoring Mason Nurses event in April 2022. Learn more here.
Conteh-Barrat is the founder and CEO of Manak Community Health Organization (MaCHO), founded in 2020 to advance health equity and drive better health outcomes in the most underserved communities in Sierra Leone. Conteh-Barrat’s work to help those in crisis and to increase access to quality health care in Sierra Leone was inspired by her life-changing experiences during Sierra Leone's civil war and as a refugee in Guinea.
“Kadija's medical missions and community clinic are helping to address health care needs in Sierra Leone, advance health equity, decrease mortality, and improve health outcomes in these hard-to-reach communities,” said one of her nominators.
In March 2022, Conteh-Barrat completed her second medical mission in Sierra Leone and established a health clinic in the Yurika community, serving 84 villages. She has partnered with U.S. non-profits and the local health district to ensure sustainability, increase capacity, expand care in isolated communities, and provide lifesaving medications, ongoing chronic disease management, and maternal childcare.
She is working toward a postgraduate certificate in Psychiatric and Mental Health at Mason and is an adjunct faculty member in the College. In 2021, she was recognized as an Emerging Leader in Healthcare by United Health Group.