Medical Outreach
4.8 billion people, about 67% of the world’s population, are without safe, affordable, timely surgical care. Access is worse in low-income countries, where 9 out of 10 people are without access to basic surgical care. Mortality and morbidity from conditions needing surgery have steadily increased in the world’s poorest regions, including congenital and acquired conditions. Moreover, the disability caused by surgically correctable conditions can impact individuals’ ability to provide for themselves and thereby burden their families and communities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified closing the gap between surgical supply and demand as a global health priority. It has called on organizations in high-income countries to work alongside low-income partners and build resilient health systems.
ConnectMed supports sustainable team care to patients in resource-limited communities by providing their local healthcare professionals (HCP’s) with education, training, research support, and other resources that they identify as critical to building up their own community’s or region’s local healthcare capacity. Unlike a traditional “medical mission” organization, we offer medical outreach at partner sites ONLY:
upon the invitation of local HCP’s practicing in a community
working closely alongside these local HCP’s to ensure patients receive related specialty and follow-up care, such as speech therapy, dental evaluations, etc.
if there is opportunity for education and training.
We believe that listening to and partnering with local HCP’s are sustainable approaches to improving access to care AND strengthening local healthcare infrastructure. Since 2010, ConnectMed teams have worked alongside partners in resource-limited communities globally, such as in Latin America, Vietnam, Malawi, Uganda, India, Indonesia, and more.
For instance, we currently work with Dr. Luis Suarez, his team, and several other local specialists at Clinica CER in Tijuana, Mexico 3 or 4 times a year to provide surgeries, medical evaluations, speech therapy, and art camps for some of the neediest patients in the area, while also providing training opportunities for surgical trainees from the U.S. and Mexico.
