The Virtue Foundation team of surgeons across multiple specialties including pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, OBGYN, pediatric intensive care, cardiology, and more will travel to Ghana as part of our annual healthcare initiative. The team will work with our long-standing Ghanaian colleagues to treat the people of Tumu and Wa. Moreover, one of the key goals of Virtue Foundation outreach is to work closely with our counterparts and train them to best manage these cases on their own.
Our teams will be working in multiple healthcare facilities in the underserved areas in Northwest Ghana including Tumu and Wa. We will be serving a wide range of patients from pediatric (e.g. burn victims, scar release, hernia repairs, etc.), to the elderly (e.g. cataracts, glaucoma). Patients are recruited and subsequently screened by our surgical team. We seek to
support the most vulnerable and underserved populations.
Last year's mission saw us screen over 450 patients and perform approximately 60 surgeries. This year's mission is expected to have a larger impact. Some supplies will be donated to our Ghanaian colleagues for future use by the local healthcare workers and an emphasis is placed during the mission to teach the local doctors and nurses so they can continue to provide much- needed care.
Our team worked together with Ghanian ophthalmic nurses to serve a wide range of patients in the city of Wa, Ghana. I was so inspired by the capable local nurses who were eager to learn from us. Not only do they aptly manage a wide range of patients, but they do so in a resource-limited setting.
The patients we screened often came from rural villages several hours away. They were resilient, humble, and kind. Many of these patients had advanced glaucoma that required timely surgical intervention, while others had advanced cataracts. We were able to perform both glaucoma and cataract surgeries for these patients.
Lastly, I was inspired and humbled by my fellow colleagues on this trip. These people included support staff, nurses, residents, and attending physicians. You'll never meet a more good-hearted crew with a "can do, will do," attitude. I am thankful for this opportunity to work with these people.
