A Special Presentation
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Who founded SoH?
Professor Alain Deloche, MD, the best-known cardiovascular surgeon in France, founded our European partner, Chaine de l’Espoir (CdE). In 1969 he had co-founded “Doctors Without Borders”, then later “Doctors of the World” in 1980, where he hoped to redress the lack of medical care in developing countries — especially for children. He remained president for four years, while pursuing his hospital and university careers. In 1989, he founded the Chaine de l’Espoir and became its president in 1995.
In 2001, Professor Deloche decided to found an American, fully independent subsidiary and appointed Philippe Lerch to spearhead the operation. Within six months of coming to the United States, Mr Lerch had obtained 501(c) 3 status for a US corporation and had obtained pro bono headquarters in New York City.
What is the difference between your foundation, and Doctor’s Without Borders?
While founded by some of the same philanthropists, our organizations answer to different kinds of crises. Doctors Without Borders provides internal medicine to adults and children in developing countries and responds to medical and natural disasters around the world. Surgeons of Hope provides complex surgery in hospitals we we build for that purpose. As our strong emphasis is on open-heart surgery for children, our facilities must be of the highest technological order. Although we intend to build many hospitals around the world, we cannot move about, responding to temporary disaster situations. Rather, we operate from fixed locations, which we intend to make fully self-sufficient as local surgeons are trained in the latest surgical techniques.
Why did we start a organization in the United States?
It was time to tap into the enormous talent of surgeons and medical staff in the U.S. who were more than willing to help us with our medical missions at our worldwide hospital projects. We knew that the American public would respond generously to the great need for pediatric surgery in the developing world.
What are your goals and when do you expect to accomplish them?
Our goal is to build hospitals in the developing countries of the world. We would hope that every child who needs surgery would have access to it by the end of this century.
Who are your U.S. partners?
SoH is currently working to increase the number of American surgeons, pharmaceutical companies, financial experts, and corporate sponsors to make more people aware of the work that we do. Our current partners include Publicis, Edwards Life Sciences, the Rotary Club International, Gift of Life, Medtronics and the Central Presbyterian Church of New York City. Each contribute in various ways through our Corporate Sponsorship Program.
How is the donated money used?
All donations made to Surgeons of Hope are used by our U.S. Foundation. 91% of donations go directly to program. Here is an idea of how different sized donations could be spent:
- $10 could provide education materials for intensive care nurses.
- $50 could provide enough medical equipment to care for a child in Intensive Care for two days
- $100 could pay for the drugs that are essential for a child throughout their operation and aftercare
- $300 could provide essential tools to monitor a child’s oxygen levels throughout the procedure
- $500 could pay for a flight for a trained nurse, cardiologist or surgeon to accompany a mission
- $1000 could partly cover the cost of medical equipment for an entire overseas mission
- $3000 could fund a child’s entire open-heart operation (with medical staff donating their time)
- $12,000 could buy a new heart monitor for an overseas hospital
- $40,000 could fund an entire overseas mission where 15 children receive life-saving heart surgery
- $50,000 could fund a full time training cardiologist for one year
- $100,000 could equip an operating room
- $5,000,000 could build an hospital in a developing country
How do your hospital centers become autonomous?
The Surgeons of Hope goal is that 50% of the surgical procedures will be made available to indigent children. The other 50% of patients will pay a fee for these services, but even this fee will be considerably less than the cost of going abroad for an equivalent surgical procedure. Those with means will gradually and indirectly pay for those with lesser means. When local medical staff have been sufficiently trained to carry on the work themselves, the hospital will be financially self-sustaining.
Why don’t you have projects in places that really need help right now, like Afghanistan? Or Iraq?
Every developing country needs help right now. We put hospitals in places where there is sufficient stability to sustain our operations over time.
We cannot build hospitals in war zones or places where we cannot insure the safety of staff or equipment. We do have a hospital in Kabul, which was opened in 2005.
Why no projects in the United States?
Our objective is to bring surgery to children in developing countries while training local surgeons. The United States has the most highly trained medical personnel in the world and is not a developing country.