MEDICAL MISSIONARIES INC

In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, our goal is to improve access to basic healthcare along the Haiti-Dominican Republic border. In the short term our goal was to send medical teams each year to provide medical care and vaccinations, and perform basic procedures and surgeries. Seeing the need for providing more continual health care, our long term goal was to build a Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti, which would be the first permanent medical facility in this region. Beyond this, the goal is to train Haitians to be self-sufficient in running and funding the Clinic and community health programs in remote outlying villages.

Beyond Haiti and the Dominican Republic, another goal has been to improve healthcare for the poorest of the poor by partnering with other NGOs and sending shipments of supplies (medicines, medical equipment and supplies, hygiene and household supplies) to those in need in the USA and elsewhere in the world (including disaster relief efforts).

Establishing Medical Missionaries, Dr. Irwin's strategy was to bring together a volunteer group of doctors, nurses, dentists, and others to work together to improve the health of the poorest of the poor.

Dr. Irwin initially assembled a team of volunteer doctors and nurses to go with him to the Haiti-Dominican Republic border to assess available medical care in the region. They gathered supplies, medicines, equipment and vaccines to carry with them so they could provide medical care in remote villages there. Dr. Irwin assembled another group of volunteers to provide on-the-ground support for the professional teams by securing, sorting, warehousing, and shipping the needed supplies.

This was the beginning of Medical Missionaries. And the beginning of a constantly growing network of professional contacts and new partnerships that make the work of Medical Missionaries possible.

Medical Missionaries quickly grew into a volunteer group of more than 200 doctors, nurses, dentists, and others who shared a commitment to work to improve the health of the poor in the USA and throughout the world.
These volunteers, along with partnerships that continue to be formed (both within the USA, Haiti, and elsewhere internationally), and committed donors and supporters, have provided the organization with the resources and capabilities needed to support our efforts.

Our ability to provide medicines and medical supplies to those in need is made possible through partnerships with USA sources of supplies that have been generous in supporting our efforts.

Medical Missionaries began in 1997, when Dr. Irwin gathered volunteer doctors and nurses to go to the Haiti-Dominican Republic border to provide medical care. In the ensuing years, medical teams returned regularly.

Seeing the need for ongoing medical care in the region, Medical Missionaries built and supports St. Joseph Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti. Opened in 2007, it was the first permanent medical facility in this region of more than 125,000 people.

By the end of its 20th anniversary year in 2017, Medical Missionaries expanded its efforts, introducing more Clinic programs:
• St. Joseph Clinic (Treats about 25,000 each year)
• Visiting Medical Teams (Treat patients & train Haitian staff)
• Global Health Fellows Program (Pre-med/public health students serve at the Clinic)
• Maternal & Infant Care Program (To reduce high mortality rates)
• Medika Mamba (Fights childhood malnutrition)
• School Lunch Program (Feeds almost 1,000 children)
• Water Purification (9,000 households reached)
• Bon Sel/Good Salt (To eradicate lymphatic filariasis)
• Vaccination Program (Thousands of life-saving vaccinations given each year)
• Community Health Centers (To provide basic healthcare in remote villages)

Elsewhere, Medical Missionaries has also provided supplies to those in need in the USA and worldwide. We work with partner groups to send supplies to help build healthcare infrastructure in poor areas of the world. Closer to home, we provide supplies to those in need in the USA, especially the Washington DC area, Appalachia, and the Midwest.

Through 2017, we have sent 173 sea containers of supplies worldwide, supported 30 local health groups, made over 300 trips to West Virginia, Appalachia, and American Indian reservations in the Midwest. We sent disaster relief for victims of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes in the US (including Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Mississippi, & Louisiana).

Over the years, the vision of Medical Missionaries has expanded. What started as an annual trip to improve healthcare in a small corner of Haiti-Dominican Republic has expanded to include building a healthcare facility in Haiti, helping those in need in the USA, and helping other organizations in Third World countries.

Moving forward, Medical Missionaries will continue to send supplies in the USA, and continue to partner with and support healthcare organizations in other parts of the world.

The nature of our work in Haiti has already begun to change, as we transition from providing direct service and support of the Clinic to an emphasis on training the Haitian staff and community leaders to become more self-sufficient in running the Clinic and its programs. We will continue to support the Clinic with an annual grant, along with sending visiting medical teams.

Medical Missionaries has been and will continue to be an effort of hundreds of individuals committed to helping improve the lives of others. We look forward to many more years of service to the poorest of the poor.