COVER STORY


Two volunteer surgeons at the Holy Family Surgery Center in Honduras in February 2018.


Lending a Healing Hand


One World Surgery provides continuum of care to patients globally INTERVIEWED BY SAHELY MUKERJI


O


ne World Surgery in Chicago, Illi- nois, a nonprofit, partners with communities, health care providers and leaders in health care to deliver surgi- cal services globally. ASCA has joined hands with the organization to help ful- fill its mission. Below is an excerpt from an interview with Claire Cunningham, executive director of the organization.


Tell me about One World Surgery. CUNNINGHAM: Five billion people lack access to surgical care globally. One World Surgery is confronting this global health crisis by delivering sur- gery to those people in need. In chronically underfunded health


systems, surgical care is ignored and widely inaccessible to the poor. Local


“We provide world- class surgical care to underserved communities and empower


volunteers to make a positive impact on global health. We are committed to sustainability, education and collaboration with our community partners.”


— Claire Cunningham One World Surgery


facilities can lack appropriate supplies and equipment. Medical professionals often times do not have access to train-


10 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2018 |www.ascfocus.org


ing in the latest techniques. Few can afford the high cost of surgery. Our vision is a world with safe, timely and accessible surgical care. Our mission is to ignite the spirit of service and transform lives by pro- viding access to high-quality surgi- cal care globally.


How does One World Surgery provide access to global surgical services? CUNNINGHAM: We have three cor- nerstone programs: operating global surgery centers, leading surgical medi- cal missions and supporting local med- ical communities through education and training. Our ASC in Honduras, the Holy


Family Surgery Center, is located on the 2,000-acre ranch of a children’s home, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH). Half of our ASC staff mem- bers were raised in that children’s


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