Our Vision:
All people from all countries should have access to quality
healthcare. We also believe that young physicians and medical
students can be taught cultural sensitivity and become globally
minded.
Our Beliefs:
Health care is a human right. Through education and an emphasis
on good health we strive towards the empowerment of women worldwide.
By providing international exposure for residents and medical
students we can dissolve existing cultural barriers and contribute
to the development of globally sensitive physicians.
Our Mission:
MIA is dedicated to providing quality medical and surgical
care to people in underprivileged countries with a focus on
women's healthcare issues. Through our medical missions,
MIA also provides international exposure for residents and medical
students.
Our story:
Medicine in Action(MIA) is a non-profit 501©3 global medical
organization founded in the spring of 2006 by two like minded
energetic doctors, Drs. Deborah Chong and Karolynn Echols. The
two doctors knew each other from their residency training at
Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida. They sensed each
other's desire for providing quality healthcare in impoverished
countries around the world. It was this common interest that
would eventually become the motivation behind the founding of
Medicine in Action.
The inaugural mission took place December 2005 in Kingston,
Jamaica led by Drs. Chong and Echols. By December 2008, we will
have had 6 medical missions so far to Jamaica. On those missions,
we have seen about 3000 patients, performed approximately 50
surgeries and screened about 500 women for cervix cancer. Our
November 2008 mission will be the largest one yet In Jamaica,
we have expanded our time and effort and have built a pediatric
team. We have partnered with the Franciscan Ministries through
which inner city outreach clinics are organized; St. Joseph's
hospital, where we perform our surgeries and Port Maria Hospital
and outlying rural clinics where we perform most of our cervix
cancer screening program.
Dr. Chong also traveled to Tanzania in December 2007 to set
up a relationship with International Health Partners(IHP) and
we have now had two medical missions to Mwanza, Tanzania in
2008. Our goal is to have a long term relationship with IHP
and to improve women's health in their community as well.
Our Commitment:
Medicine in Action is committed to treating each of its patients
with the same level of quality and standard of excellence that
is guaranteed in developed nations. We are dedicated to treating
each patient with care and sensitivity. We refuse to compromise
our standards and are determined to find solutions in each of
the villages and neighborhoods we visit. We do not believe in
cultural barriers to good medicine and we strive to increase
our awareness and understanding of local customs and traditions.
We expect each of our volunteers to be knowledgeable about their
surroundings and to build trust with the local community.
Future Directions:
MIA's plan for the future is to increase its presence in both
Jamaica and Tanzania. As MIA increases its medical capabilities
and support staff, there will be opportunites to expand its
services to other countries of extrembe poverty. Our goal for
the next two years is to have semi-annual medical missions to
both Jamaica and Tanzania. We plan to hire a local nurse in
Jamaica to help us follow up with our patients so that their
care is uninterrupted between missions and we develop continuity
of care. We have implemented a large-scale pap smear screening
program in Jamaica and would like to do something similar in
Tanzania, either with pap smear screening and/or HPV vaccination.
We would also like to begin breast and colon cancer screening
since these are some of the common causes of death in women.
Patient education and preventative services are also emphasized
on our medical missions, which includes STD prevention, self
breast exams, healthy lifestyle modifications and other issues
relating to women's health that may be specific to each site.
The goal is to bring higher standards of healthcare and education,
which ultimately will improve the quality of life for patients
and loved ones.
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