Nurse Ramona Cordero is a pillar of her community and more. When, in 2009, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) established a partnership with Centro de Salud Divina Providencia (CSDP) to provide primary care services to children five years and younger in Consuelo, Ramona was among the first clinical staff to join the team. She is the Lead Community Nurse for the Niños Primeros en Salud (NPS - “Children First in Health”) program, which serves the town of Consuelo, a rural community in the Dominican Republic. Her responsibilities include ensuring that all of NPS’s ≈800 young patients stay connected to care. Ramona has been a key catalyst for the program's growth, from serving two barrios (neighborhoods) and 100 patients to now serving 15 barrios and close to 800 patients. This remarkable growth under her leadership is a testament to her dedication, ability to build trust and inspires all who witness it. Her most outstanding achievement, however, is her impact on people - her patients and their families, her colleagues, the community in Consuelo, and the countless CHOP and Dominican physician trainees and staff (residents, fellows, nurses, and others) who benefit from her mentorship, which is helping to ensure a brighter future for children in Consuelo.
“I remember heading out on home visits with Ramona when I first started my CHOP David N. Pincus Global Health fellowship in 2015. I can still see her walking in her measured, unhurried way through the barrios, greeting everyone we passed by name, whether young, old, mother, grandmother, or child. She knew everyone, and they knew her; they would stop to tell her about their families, their jobs, and how they were doing. During my two years in fellowship, I was amazed at all the details Ramona could remember – everyone’s name, all their family members, that one relative who had been hospitalized for high blood pressure several years ago. It was incredible, and it continues to amaze me to this day.” - Dr. Maria Dunn, David N. Pincus GH Fellow 2015-17
One of the little girls who would often follow Ramona around while she was completing home visits with health promoters is now a health promoter herself. Ramona's personal connection with the children and families in the program drives her dedication and commitment. She also recognizes and is grateful for the support she receives from mothers in the program who open their homes and lives to her so she can help care for their children.
Aside from her clinical duties at the NPS clinic, Ramona spearheads the program’s home visiting and community outreach activities. Every weekday, she, and her health promoter team conduct home visits in each of the barrios served by the program. With quiet determination and patience, Ramona forges trust with families. She knows the names of every child in the program. It is her genuine interest, care, and concern for the community, coupled with her adept listening skills, that both strengthen trust with each family and enable her to identify new barrios that could benefit from the NPS program. Through collaborative planning with key stakeholders in each community, she unites people with the shared goal of enhancing the health and well-being of children in Consuelo. Her collaborative nature makes everyone feel included and part of a larger community, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.
Ramona also helps advance the next generation of pediatric care providers, having mentored, and trained countless CHOP and Dominican pediatric and family medicine residents, medical students, and public health students in community health work. Lastly, besides her important clinical and community-based work, Ramona is committed to high-quality research. She has supported many collaborative research projects since 2009, including many Pincus Global Health Fellow projects. She often serves as an integral member of the research team, from recruitment and enrollment of participants to data collection and dissemination of results. She has presented these results at various conferences in the DR and the US. She sees research as an essential tool to improve the health of Consuelo over the long term, providing insight into current practices, and offering evidence-informed solutions to patients, their families and health care workers.
In recognition of her impact on child health in Consuelo and beyond, Ramona Cordero was awarded the inaugural Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health in May 2024. The award recognizes and celebrates an individual who, through their commitment, resilience, brilliance, vision, and creativity, strives to make a difference in the world by advancing the health of children in low- and middle-income countries. It was created in honor of the late Dr. Melissa Ketunuti, a graduate of CHOP’s pediatric residency program and then a CHOP Infectious Diseases fellow whose life was tragically cut short by a senseless act of violence before she completed her fellowship.
“I am motivated by the children in my community. I feel honored to be able to make a difference in children’s lives, and I’m awed by how the program continues to grow each year. Recently we have seen some children who were in the program themselves now become parents to their own young children in the program!” - Ramona Cordero
As a medical student, Dr. Ketunuti received a Fogarty Ellison Scholarship, which enabled her to spend ten months in Botswana conducting HIV research. The scholarship allowed her to develop a lifelong passion for global health. Although she did not get to live out her passion, Dr. Ketunuti lives on through the fund endowed in her memory at CHOP, which affords CHOP trainees and faculty, funding to engage in global health activities. We invite you to contribute to this fund in memory of Dr. Ketunuti to help honor transformational leaders in global child health and extend Dr. Ketunuti’s legacy by recognizing transformational individuals who dedicate their lives and careers to improving the lives of children in low- and middle-income countries.
About the Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health
The Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health will be awarded annually by the CHOP Global Health Center to an individual who has dedicated their life or career to advancing the health of children in low- and middle-income countries. Their work may focus on any aspect of clinical care, education, research, public health, and/or advocacy that advances child health. Their impact extends beyond day-to-day activities and includes inspiring the next generation of global child health practitioners. A Call for Nominations (self-nominations will not be considered) will be circulated in December each year with a closing date in-January. A prize committee will evaluate nominations.
The prize includes a $1,000 award and certificate. Winners will be invited to give a brief in-person or virtual acceptance speech at the Annual Dr. Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Memorial Event.
More Information
The Global Health Center at CHOP has active collaborations in 18 countries around the world. If you are interested in global health at CHOP, contact us via email at globalhealthcenter@email.chop.edu or learn more below.
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Nurse Ramona Cordero is a pillar of her community and more. When, in 2009, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) established a partnership with Centro de Salud Divina Providencia (CSDP) to provide primary care services to children five years and younger in Consuelo, Ramona was among the first clinical staff to join the team. She is the Lead Community Nurse for the Niños Primeros en Salud (NPS - “Children First in Health”) program, which serves the town of Consuelo, a rural community in the Dominican Republic. Her responsibilities include ensuring that all of NPS’s ≈800 young patients stay connected to care. Ramona has been a key catalyst for the program's growth, from serving two barrios (neighborhoods) and 100 patients to now serving 15 barrios and close to 800 patients. This remarkable growth under her leadership is a testament to her dedication, ability to build trust and inspires all who witness it. Her most outstanding achievement, however, is her impact on people - her patients and their families, her colleagues, the community in Consuelo, and the countless CHOP and Dominican physician trainees and staff (residents, fellows, nurses, and others) who benefit from her mentorship, which is helping to ensure a brighter future for children in Consuelo.
“I remember heading out on home visits with Ramona when I first started my CHOP David N. Pincus Global Health fellowship in 2015. I can still see her walking in her measured, unhurried way through the barrios, greeting everyone we passed by name, whether young, old, mother, grandmother, or child. She knew everyone, and they knew her; they would stop to tell her about their families, their jobs, and how they were doing. During my two years in fellowship, I was amazed at all the details Ramona could remember – everyone’s name, all their family members, that one relative who had been hospitalized for high blood pressure several years ago. It was incredible, and it continues to amaze me to this day.” - Dr. Maria Dunn, David N. Pincus GH Fellow 2015-17
One of the little girls who would often follow Ramona around while she was completing home visits with health promoters is now a health promoter herself. Ramona's personal connection with the children and families in the program drives her dedication and commitment. She also recognizes and is grateful for the support she receives from mothers in the program who open their homes and lives to her so she can help care for their children.
Aside from her clinical duties at the NPS clinic, Ramona spearheads the program’s home visiting and community outreach activities. Every weekday, she, and her health promoter team conduct home visits in each of the barrios served by the program. With quiet determination and patience, Ramona forges trust with families. She knows the names of every child in the program. It is her genuine interest, care, and concern for the community, coupled with her adept listening skills, that both strengthen trust with each family and enable her to identify new barrios that could benefit from the NPS program. Through collaborative planning with key stakeholders in each community, she unites people with the shared goal of enhancing the health and well-being of children in Consuelo. Her collaborative nature makes everyone feel included and part of a larger community, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.
Ramona also helps advance the next generation of pediatric care providers, having mentored, and trained countless CHOP and Dominican pediatric and family medicine residents, medical students, and public health students in community health work. Lastly, besides her important clinical and community-based work, Ramona is committed to high-quality research. She has supported many collaborative research projects since 2009, including many Pincus Global Health Fellow projects. She often serves as an integral member of the research team, from recruitment and enrollment of participants to data collection and dissemination of results. She has presented these results at various conferences in the DR and the US. She sees research as an essential tool to improve the health of Consuelo over the long term, providing insight into current practices, and offering evidence-informed solutions to patients, their families and health care workers.
In recognition of her impact on child health in Consuelo and beyond, Ramona Cordero was awarded the inaugural Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health in May 2024. The award recognizes and celebrates an individual who, through their commitment, resilience, brilliance, vision, and creativity, strives to make a difference in the world by advancing the health of children in low- and middle-income countries. It was created in honor of the late Dr. Melissa Ketunuti, a graduate of CHOP’s pediatric residency program and then a CHOP Infectious Diseases fellow whose life was tragically cut short by a senseless act of violence before she completed her fellowship.
“I am motivated by the children in my community. I feel honored to be able to make a difference in children’s lives, and I’m awed by how the program continues to grow each year. Recently we have seen some children who were in the program themselves now become parents to their own young children in the program!” - Ramona Cordero
As a medical student, Dr. Ketunuti received a Fogarty Ellison Scholarship, which enabled her to spend ten months in Botswana conducting HIV research. The scholarship allowed her to develop a lifelong passion for global health. Although she did not get to live out her passion, Dr. Ketunuti lives on through the fund endowed in her memory at CHOP, which affords CHOP trainees and faculty, funding to engage in global health activities. We invite you to contribute to this fund in memory of Dr. Ketunuti to help honor transformational leaders in global child health and extend Dr. Ketunuti’s legacy by recognizing transformational individuals who dedicate their lives and careers to improving the lives of children in low- and middle-income countries.
About the Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health
The Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Prize in Global Child Health will be awarded annually by the CHOP Global Health Center to an individual who has dedicated their life or career to advancing the health of children in low- and middle-income countries. Their work may focus on any aspect of clinical care, education, research, public health, and/or advocacy that advances child health. Their impact extends beyond day-to-day activities and includes inspiring the next generation of global child health practitioners. A Call for Nominations (self-nominations will not be considered) will be circulated in December each year with a closing date in-January. A prize committee will evaluate nominations.
The prize includes a $1,000 award and certificate. Winners will be invited to give a brief in-person or virtual acceptance speech at the Annual Dr. Melissa Ketunuti Basselier Memorial Event.
More Information
The Global Health Center at CHOP has active collaborations in 18 countries around the world. If you are interested in global health at CHOP, contact us via email at globalhealthcenter@email.chop.edu or learn more below.
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