We are committed to building capacity in these countries and forging sustainable change.
San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Medical Students Making Impacts (MSMI) is the student arm of the Global Health Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Founded in 2001, MSMI is dedicated to educating current and future medical professionals about global health through exposure, involvement, and service. By forging long-lasting, sustainable relationships with medically underserved communities, MSMI inspires medical students and doctors to recognize their potential in a world of health need. Faculty advisors from the Departments of Surgery; Anesthesiology; and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, along with medical students from MSMI, have dedicated one week per year to serving the community of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Our team has explored first-hand the factors that influence the quality and delivery of healthcare in a developing country. Medical students and physicians work alongside Honduran physicians at the Leonardo Martinez Hospital, where they exchange ideas as international colleagues while performing a multitude of general surgical and gynecological procedures. Under the observation and direction of Mount Sinai surgical faculty, students experience all components of patient care and assist in procedures as part of the educational mission of the service trip, in accordance with standard of care protocols and Mount Sinai policy. Particularly valuable is the opportunity to assist and observe Honduran clinical teams, an international healthcare experience that is not available through traditional medical education in the United States.
Lima, Peru
Peter Taub, MD, in conjunction with Komedyplast, has traveled to Peru to provide specialized pediatric plastic surgery care to the children of Lima. While on the ground, Dr. Taub and his team perform calvarial vault reconstruction, cranioplasty, and cleft lip and palate repair, among other pediatric plastic surgery procedures.
Komedyplast provides a unique approach to the international care of children afflicted with craniofacial anomalies. The organization conducts surgical missions to Lima, Peru for the treatment of pediatric patients that combines a volunteer surgical team with an entertainment team; the training of local plastic surgeons in Lima, providing them with the necessary skills and techniques to care for their own children; and the development of a craniofacial surgery Center of Excellence to serve as a training and treatment referral center for South America.