Dr. Pushkar Mehra Returns to Ukraine with Expanded Group of Volunteers
In partnership with the Smiles International Foundation, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Associate Professor and Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Boston Medical Center (BMC) Dr. Pushkar Mehra led a team of select doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists from across the United States on a charitable mission trip to Ukraine in May.
Accompanying Dr. Mehra from GSDM/BMC was Chief Resident Dr. Daniel Jeong, Family Nurse Practitioner Ms. Paula Surro, and Oral Surgery Assistant Ms. Wendy Little. Other members of the team included nurses Ms. Barbara Mullen and Ms. Patricia Hunter from Los Angeles, California; Dr. Jeffrey Moses from San Diego, California; Dr. James Bertz from Scottsdale, Arizona; anesthesiologist Dr. James Fleck from Phoenix, Arizona; Patient Coordinator Ms. Maribel Moses from Costa Rica; and Dr. Ruben Figueroa, former GSDM faculty member, now based in Orlando, Florida. The government of Ukraine and local Rotary International Clubs held a press conference during the trip where Dr. Moses and Hunter spoke to the media about the outreach efforts.
A total of 21 children, ranging in age from six months to 19 years, who were suffering from various craniofacial deformities were treated on this trip. In addition to the reconstructive surgeries performed, the team completed over 40 consultations with other patients with significant maxillofacial disorders. The team also brought donated medical equipment to aid in the surgeries, which was ultimately gifted to the local hospital.
Surro also added a unique aspect to the trip by organizing a letter-writing campaign between her US-based grandchildren’s fifth grade class and the orphans that they met on the trip. After returning from the trip Surro spoke to the fifth grade students about her experiences and announced that the Ukrainian teacher of the children at the orphanage is now organizing a letter-writing campaign in response to their letters. With this small but thoughtful gesture, the team has not only provided much needed surgical treatment to these underprivileged children, but has also opened a line of communication and friendship which would otherwise have remained closed.
The team plans to return to Ukraine in May 2010. The Health Ministry of Ukraine has shown their appreciation by recognizing the combined efforts of the Smile International Foundation and Boston University with certificates of appreciation and by scheduling a meeting with the team at the Ukraine consulate in New York to see how future travel and missions could possibly be facilitated.