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Global Outreach

The Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery is excited to be able to offer mission trip opportunities to our residents. Our upper level residents may take mission trips to areas faced with social, economic and health challenges. While assessing and providing the healthcare needs of an international community can present challenges and obstacles, it can also provide unique and rewarding opportunities.

We strongly feel that experiences from this trip will not only enhance their education, equipping them to surmount future challenges in the medical field, but also to have a significant positive impact on the lives of people and communities in desperate need of medical care. Specialists are particularly welcomed as they bring a level of care that is rarely accessible to these populations. They are often in demand to care for unique cases and to provide a higher level of training through education for the staff and local medical community.

This program will be an enriching experience for otolaryngology residents and a boon to those in need. Please consider making a gift to the Otolaryngology Resident Mission Fund to help with the residents' trip expenses and purchasing a small instrument set to use on the trips. All donors will receive recognition at the annual resident graduation ceremony. Give today

Kenya

Dr. Kacie Oglesby wrote:

"This past summer (2024), I had the opportunity to be part of a surgical team that included Gina D. Jefferson, MD, Tammara L. Watts, MD, Gil Jackson, MD, and Hudson Frey, MD that traveled to the small community of Migori, Kenya. While there, we performed 59 surgeries and were able to see over 300 people in the clinic. All of this for a group of patients that otherwise would be unable to afford healthcare." Read more.

Dr. Jaxon Jordan also visited Kenya and said: 

"Through Kenya Relief, I had the opportunity to be part of a surgical team that included Lana L. Jackson, MD, Gina D. Jefferson, MD, Tammara L. Watts, MD, and Gil Jackson, MD. We performed 66 operations and numerous other clinical procedures in the small rural community of Migori, Kenya. Our group also clinically evaluated and medically treated more than 100 additional patients during our time at the Brase Clinic and Vision Centre. The primary goal of our mission was to remove head and neck masses from patients who could not afford healthcare." Read more.

Honduras

Dr. J. Mark Reed and Dr. Brandon Shepherd count themselves fortunate to have been a part of the May 2019 Honduras mission trip.  Read about it here.

Guatemala

Dr. Lauren Buck wrote the following about her trip to Guatemala:

"The trip was amazing! The mission trip was sponsored by Health Talents International, a non-profit Christian organization that works within the Churches of Christ to promote medical evangelism in developing countries"... Read more

Nalerigu, Ghana

Dr. Ryan Case went to Ghana as a PGY-4, and he wrote the following about his trip.

"I went on my first international mission trip to Nalerigu, Ghana. The Baptist Medical Center in Nalerigu provides much needed medical care to northern Ghana while delivering the good news of Jesus Christ. The hospital might seem quite foreign to American patients due to the facilities, and lack of technology. This does not seem to hinder the dedicated nurses, staff, and doctors who deliver care to approximately 60,000 patients annually in a nurturing Christian environment"... Read more

Trinidad

While a PGY-3 resident, Dr. Neal Burkhalter described his humanitarian trip to Trinidad.

"I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a program called Advanced Medical Leadership Training 2011 (AMLT) in Trinidad. This was the 13th annual AMLT, a weeklong intensive training by Mission to the World designed to train medical personnel in leading teams into the developing world in order to support the local churches operating there"... Read more

Catacamas, Olancho, Honduras

During his fourth year in residency, Dr. Byron Norris traveled to Catacamas, Olancho, Honduras and shared some of his experiences from the trip.

"I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras to participate in a surgical brigade. The team consisted of a plastic surgeon with ENT and hand training, a neuroradiologist, a rheumatologist, two trauma nurses, a certified nurse anesthetist, a scrub technician, and myself, a fourth year ENT resident. The team was organized through Predisan, a Christian Mission founded to provide physical healing and spiritual hope to the people of Eastern Honduras. Our group was stationed in Catacamas, a city of 35,000 people in the Olancho region of Honduras"... Read more