December 27, 2019

Meet Dr. Sandra El Hajj of The American Preventive Health Organization in Brickell

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Sandra El Hajj.

Dr. Sandra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all began when I decided to move to the United States to continue my education. Back then, the only goal for me was to become a doctor and specialize in preventive medicine. But, of course, that was not enough.
I have had the amazing opportunity to be in the path of pioneers in their fields who exposed me to a whole new world. Starting in Lebanon, Dr. Elie Barbour was my advisor and mentor. He explained to me the meaning of chasing big dreams from the very first beginning. “Never start small, you will remain small” he used to say. He showed me that there are no age boundaries for your goals and that you can accomplish anything when you work hard. With his help, I ended up publishing a book on Medical Advances, at the age of 20, in New Jersey, while living in Lebanon. Another book followed; then, my projects began intensifying a day after the other.
I came to Miami and had the chance to meet Dr. Janvier Gasana, who was my teacher and became my advisor. I worked with him for a couple of years researching asthma and COPD & exploring the world of environmental and occupational medicine. Involved heavily in research and aiming at a much larger scale than the clinical setting, I decided to further my education.
That’s when I decided to pursue a doctorate in Global Health. This degree opened a completely new world for me. When I graduated, I traveled to numerous countries, working alongside their ministries of health and forming coalitions with local and international health organizations. My projects became regional and I was making new health policies, publishing books, developing regional health reform activities and launching awareness campaigns all over the MENA region. I teamed up with reputable international pharmaceutical companies, to support my projects. Five years of intensive work brought so many accomplishments and happiness into my life. I reconnected with many pioneers in their fields. One of them was Dr. Hilda Chacar who is the chairman of pediatrics at a reputable university in Lebanon and one of the very best in the gulf region. We collaborated at many levels including the publication of a pediatrics book in Dubai, as well as national health awareness campaigns targeting new parents. Dr. Chacar is and will always be a one of a kind mentor to me.
Following years of projects and lots of traveling, I decided to move back to Miami with the family. Carrying on with my projects overseas, I developed a website and Instagram account “Live Well with Dr. Sandra El Hajj” to keep spreading health awareness to everyone around me. Then, I enrolled in a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and decided to twist this awareness initiative into being a combination of both modern and evidence-based natural medicine. I always believed in the power of both.
But, something was still missing. I needed to tap more into global health. So, I decided to incorporate a national health organization with an international outreach. That was the birth of “The American Preventive Organization”. The mission and vision were very clear to me from the very first thought; and, I wanted to have the best professionals’ part of the team. So, I contacted the most valuable professionals in my life: Dr. Elie Barbour, Dr. Janvier Gasana as well as Dr. Hilda Chacar to join me. I was so lucky to have all three of them onboard! That was when the real search for more team members began. I had the chance to include Dr. Mhammad Miqdady from Dubai, Dr. Fouad Medlej from Kansas, Dr. Brian Kunkle from Miami, and Judge Dr. Michel Eid from France and Beirut. Then, I approached Dr. Wael Karameh from Canada, Mr. Elias Aractinji from Miami, and Mr. Monzer Abdel Samad from Dubai. For our healthy engineering projects, that are going to be initiated soon, Engineers Elias ElHage, Nicolas Abboud and Jonathan ElHajj were approached. The team was really complete! We became a force of professionals, each a pioneer in his and her field, who share one passion: the passion to make the world a better and healthier place by helping populations.
The next step was to start initiating the collaborations with international educational bodies and ministries of health. This took longer than I expected. But, it was well worth it. So, as simple and positive as it may sound, we began our work.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was truly a smooth road. At first, it was a little bit difficult for me to do the paperwork and proceed with the registration process. Every state has its own rules and you will need to make your own searches and digging. Having an idea planned can be easy; but, building it into an organization is a little harder than one would think. Also, putting everything together took some time; but, a step well done is worth than many poorly calculated. Like my mother always says to me “take all the time you need to establish yourself, it is far more rewarding than continuing something others started”.

Please tell us about The American Preventive Health Organization.
The organization believes in the role of education, health awareness campaigns, research, policy making, environmental projects and the allocation of resources. We believe in the power of the SIX. We want to spread the health and wellness knowledge in every society & help advance the entire system by submitting our findings! We believe in diversity and the power of collaborative efforts to make more pronounced impacts. We will be operating from the USA for the USA, and other countries in need. We believe that one step at a time, we can make the world a better place for everyone.
We specialize in the field of preventive health and medicine, environmental and occupational medicine, as well as health policy making. Research and Innovations are our stepping stone. These two are the basics of every project we initiate.
I believe that we are a one of a kind team because of our diversity. We have different professional backgrounds, come from different cultural values, serve different populations and live in different nations. What could be better than this exotic bouquet of knowledge to come up with ideas, develop projects and implement them as needed.
As an organization, I am very proud of the mix we are bringing and the opportunities we are offering to professionals and students. We are coupling students from the USA and Canada with students from many other countries, to work on one same project. This mix, chaperoned by us, offers an exquisite opportunity for everyone involved. We are also offering internships and thesis opportunities to any interested student who is serious and hard working.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was born and raised in Lebanon. A country, famous for its beautiful nature and home to ancient Phoenician civilizations. This Mediterranean nation holds all my childhood and teen years. It is strange; but, I do remember all these years as extremely happy ones. I had great parents; and, the most amazing mother, Reine: super sweet, nurturing and the world’s most loving mom. She raised me and my two brothers selflessly into strong powerful caring individuals. She taught us values; but, let us make our own choices. I think when you have a very young mom, motherhood becomes like a sisterhood.
I remember when at the age of 12, I wanted to be an architect. She bought me all the tools an architect would need: I was so excited! But, of course, I changed my mind few months later and wanted to be a model. This surely did not see the light of day, except for the few times I actually did it. So, when I look back at my childhood, I can’t really pick one favorite time. From opening then rewrapping my Christmas gifts every year, way ahead of time to deciding to taking the lead in preparing the Easter eggs, every single year, and ending up with half raw colored eggs that would spill on everyone, my memories are full of joy! And, I hope I am offering the same super fun & joyful childhood to my son Nathaniel.

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