Top left: Dr. Ekwenna meets Dr. Marie Brown during the 2017 mission trip. Building hope for a bright future for urology services at St. Ann's Bay Hospital!

Top right: Dr. Hesham Mostafa (2nd trip), Dr. Allison Lee, and Dr. Obi Ekwenna (multiple trips!) returning from rounds on post-operative patients

Bottom: Dr. Ekwenna, Dr. Ian Titus (Chief Surgeon), and Dr. Mostafa discussing the cases for the day.

our story...

​2009 - Our first mission trip was November, 2009. Urologists, Dr. Bruce Kava and Dr. Tasha Cooke from the University of Miami (UM) volunteered. We performed transurethral prostate resections (TURPs) and urethral slings for benign prostate enlargement and urinary incontinence.

2010 -Dr. Kava returned with UM urology fellow, Dr. Elie Antebi and resident, Dr. Aldiana Soljic. We were joined by UM gastroenterologist, Dr. David Kerman, who performed upper and lower endoscopies.

2011- Our 3rd mission ushered in Dr. Ramgopal Satyanarayana as the senior urologist from UM. He and then resident, Dr. Obi Ekwenna became hooked and have been working with us since!

2013 -We performed the first radical prostatectomy and buccal/sublingual urethroplasties ever at St. Ann's Bay Hospital. We were excited to carry out our first Regional Anesthesia workshop led by Prof. Ralf Gebhard and his then fellow, Dr. Kiesha McCausland.

2015 - This year we were joined by new team members from the University of Miami  - Dr William Chong, urology resident, and Dr Charles Umunna, regional anesthesia fellow. 

2016 - In addition to Dr Obi Ekwenna, who led the surgical team, we are grateful to our new volunteers, Drs Hesham Mostafa and Desmond Adamu. Dr Preeti Sheth joined Dr Gebhard for the regional anesthesia workshop. 

2017 - Such a wonderful experience! Dr. Marie Brown, University of the West Indies final year urology resident joined us in our work, which was focused on prostate surgeries. 

2018 - Very productive trip led by Drs. Ekwenna, Satyanarayana and Gebhard.

2019- What an amazing week! We worked grueling hours doing TURP's and stricture cases. Drs Ekwenna, Satyanarayana and Gebhard returned. Dr Laura Horodyski made her debut! Then COVID-19 happened.....BIG BIG congratulations to Urologist, Dr. Marie Brown on joining the St Ann's Bay team in 2022. The local anesthetists are doing about 400 blocks per year. Unbelievable progress. We can't wait to see what the future holds!

BIG plans in store for 2023!
 

volunteering

More than 120 lives have been touched by our volunteer physicians, who  give their time and skills during our annual  trips. Your donations also allow us to donate essential medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.

Our founder

our  team

Ann Marie James, MD

Vice-President/Secretary
Ann Marie is a Jamaican anesthesiologist in private practice in South Florida

EDUCATION

Education is a major focus of our efforts. We have carried out regional anesthesia workshops since 2013. Our surgeons work in a collaborative fashion, sharing expertise with local surgeons. 

mission & vision

We are dedicated to the goal of providing medical and surgical services for the poor, as well as advancing the education and skills of medical professionals in developing countries, such as Jamaica.

​MEDICS ON A MISSION

A registered, tax exempt, non-profit organization

Allison Lee, MD

President and Founder

Allison is a Jamaican anesthesiologist on the Faculty of Columbia University in New York, NY.

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