Last weekend our plane touched town with 26 volunteers and 28 empty medical bags returning from another successful Ortho/ Plastics Operation Kid Docs Mission. We were hugely successful this mission donating 76 surgeries and several pieces of specialized equipment. This equipment included an ultrasound machine (Thank you Sonosite), a new surgical saw (Thank you Stryker), and a chest of tools for the maintenance crew at the Moore Center (Thank you Carpenter Family).
We knew this week would have its challenges when the machine that sterilizes our surgical equipment broke on Monday morning. We have all had “those weeks” right? We spent the week transporting surgical equipment back and forth to the local adult hospital where they helped us clean our tools and rushed them back. We not only survived, we surpassed the number of operations we were able to perform last year. We also held two days of screening instead of our usual one. This way we were able to evaluate and treat 50% more patients than years past.
We would not have been able to persevere without the relentless creativity and positivity of the Moore Center Staff. Their can-do spirit is a reminder every trip that greatness lives in every one of us. In combination with personal donations from Dr. Williams and Dr. Gottschalk, the private fundraising of Larry Shannon, and donated funds from OKD, we will be able to replace the sterilization unit at the Moore Center. This unit will function year round and will allow us to continue serving this community for another 15 years! What a blessing to be able to continue this mission work.
Thank You Volunteers
This mission was organized by our experienced coordinators Wonda Whitaker and Dr. John Williams. We welcomed a new surgeon to our team, Dr. Brian Kaufman who joined veterans Dr. Hilton Gottschalk and Dr. Patrick Combs.
Dr. Stanford Young and Dr. Genevieve Patman coordinated anesthesia care with CRNAs Jennifer Adcock, Andrew Seider, and Catherine Zaremba. MaryKay Lauden assisted as our anesthesia nurse.
Lindsay Rogers, Rachel Parrish, and Susannah Jacobson kept our operating rooms running smoothly while Larry Shannon and MaryRobin Fletcher managed surgical equipment for our operations. Beatina Crockett returned to organize our surgical sets and sterilize our equipment.
Tanya Gomez, Linda Allyn, Megan Taylor, and Braulio Vazquez assisted every patient in our recovery room, making sure each kid woke up calm and was returned to their nervous parents happy.
Jeannette Williams returned to her post as a child life specialist. Dr. Christine Levy and PA Megan Roberts helped in multiple roles with clinics and OR support. Vanessa Fernandez joined us as a pre-med honor society volunteer. Her organization AED fundraises for our organization through the year and reminds us that the future of medicine is bright! A special addition to our team was Chris Carpenter who proved to be a jack-of-all-trades: building shelves, updating water purification systems, performing structural maintenance, and even cleaning rooms and taking out trash between cases.
This author was fortunate enough to serve Operation Kid Docs on this mission and would like to personally extend gratitude to this incredible team of volunteers. This trip was one for the books! Thank you to everyone for their generosity and selflessness. This experience would not have been the same without each and every one of you.
On behalf of the Spring 2023 Mission