| CHARLIE FINN | PRIME PEOPLE
then get a momentum of their own as the volunteers want to go back and continue to provide help and education year-after-year. It all begins to snowball from the first trip but it starts with the individual physician. 'What FACE TO FACE wants to do is
provide resources and expertise to allow individuals to organise these trips. We’re developing a database of physicians who have or are willing to volunteer and their areas of expertise,' he continued. Once a team has been assembled, they
can then travel to their destination, taking their own medical equipment with them. The cost for the entire trip, including travel, room, and board is at the volunteers' own expense. However, volunteers can turn to the Academy for a grant, raised through donations, to pay for extra expenses, such as additional support staff or hospital fees. When they arrive, the team will often see
as many as 100 candidates during a screening clinic on their first day. They then identify the patients they can help the most and prioritise according to the other cases and the resources at hand. Once they have performed the surgery, they don't see the job as complete. Many of the defects they treat require follow-up procedures and the patient will need to be able to present to physicians in the future if they encounter any problems. This is a problem Charlie and the FACE TO FACE programme are trying to address through new plans. 'We are trying to increase the quality of
care we are providing and match the standards we have in the states. We are trying to build a records database so if another physician went to the same site they can see exactly what was done, see the pre- and post-treatment images, and get out of the cycle of hit-and-run volunteer surgery, which happens so often around the world. We want to built relationships and follow- up and see how good of a job we are doing. 'Records are good to help with follow-up
treatments and also measuring the quality of care you are providing. You can contact the patient and see how well you did the year before.'
National Domestic Violence Project Along with their international efforts, for over two decades the FACE TO FACE programme has been offering free surgical procedures to victims of domestic abuse who would otherwise be unable to afford treatment for their facial injuries. The aim is to not only heal the physical wounds but to
Volunteering removes a lot of the
barriers and distractions we have in modern medicine and we’re not worried about insurance and payments and all we’re worried about is getting in touch with people and helping them.
also repair the victims' self-esteem and help them move forward with their lives. The programme works alongside the
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), who run many of the shelters around the US for victims of domestic abuse, to coordinate the scheme. The Coalition has a toll free number (1-800- 842-4546) people can call to recommend someone for a free consultation. The only requirement is the patient must leave the abusive relationship, as it is no good repairing physical wounds if psychological damage is still being done. Once the patient has successfully passed the screening, they will be referred to one of the 250 volunteer surgeons around the country who will perform the treatments at no charge. 'Since it began, we have treated around
2500 patients, so this is a long-standing, ongoing, active process which we are very proud of,' said Charlie.
FACES OF HONOR The latest initiative of the FACE TO FACE programme is FACES OF HONOR, which offers free reconstructive surgery to wounded veterans who have sustained facial, head, or neck injuries in the line of duty. The service is offered as a mark of gratitude and a way of saying 'thank you' for the sacrifice they have made for their country. While Charlie believes the military and
VA hospitals provide great care for injured veterans, they may not have access to
some of the latest equipment, which can be found commonly in the practices of plastic surgeons. Additionally, injured veterans may have to travel hundreds of miles to visit their nearest VA hospital, and offering the free services of volunteer surgeons from FACES OF HONOR can be a lot more convenient for the patient. The programme runs a toll free number (703-299-9291) injured servicemen and women can call if they would like be put in touch with a volunteer surgeon. It would never have ben possible for the
FACE TO FACE programme to undertake such a commitment to offer free services both domestically and across the world had it not been for the high volume of physicians who have volunteered their time to give something back. Charlie believes he understands the eagerness of his fellow professionals to volunteer as it is the same thing that drives him to take his annual trip to Guatemala with FACE TO FACE International: 'I think volunteering, whether its
through the international or the domestic violence project, really gets us back to why we got into medicine in the first place: to help people. Volunteering removes a lot of the barriers and distractions we have in modern medicine and we’re not worried about insurance and payments and all we’re worried about is getting in touch with people and helping them. It’s such a satisfying experience for a doctor. You hear about physician burn-out all the time because we’re getting buried with an avalanche of paper-work and regulation and its such a refreshing way to get back to our true desire. It’s pure joy and it’s a very selfish thing because it actually makes us happy.' It is this joy that he and many other
physicians experience that motivates them to continue volunteering throughout their careers, ensuring that what they learn through their own experiences can be passed on to other surgeons and for the benefit of the patient. 'I will continue to go on international
trips and hopefully expand the number of trips going forward. I will always make time to go on these trips no matter how busy I am. I find as the further I get in my career the more motivated I am by doing what I want to do and less by money.'
prime-journal.com | January/February 2015
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