2 weeks Ago
After 43 years of bridging the gap in access to health care and essential cleft surgeries, Virginia Beach-based Operation Smile recently launched its newest and most ambitious operation: Operation 100.Operation 100 will train 100 surgical teams across 100 hospitals, equipping them with specialized skills, essential equipment and strengthened health care infrastructure to deliver surgery closer to patients’ homes, the nonprofit organization announced. The goal will be to build 100 cleft-competent surgical teams, including specialties in surgery, nursing, anesthesia, pediatrics and biomedical engineering.
The first 100 hospitals represent Operation Smile’s global footprint of 37 countries and are located in Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. The charity provides free surgeries to help children with cleft lips and palates.“With still so many patients in need of cleft and other essential surgeries, we realized we had to bring safe, essential care closer to where our patients live by building and fostering stronger health systems and communities,” said Kathy Magee, Operation Smile co-founder, president and CEO.
“So, we developed Operation 100 as a transformative way to do just that. Our goal is for patients to receive care from health care providers who are part of the community — people who look like them and speak their language.”Kathy Magee, Operation Smile co-founder, president and CEO (Courtesy of Operation Smile)The global nonprofit recently launched its newest initiative at the Pan-African Surgical Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
The conference included a gathering of more than 500 academics, policymakers and global surgical leaders to discuss Africa’s surgical work shortage.Operation Smile has developed a cleft competency pathway, which consists of a series of customized training courses and practical experiences for each trainee.“This investment will grow exponentially,” Magee said.
“These newly trained local teams will be able to independently deliver life-changing surgeries at district hospitals, making year-round essential cleft surgical care accessible to nearly 500 million people within a two-hour radius of their home.”Magee said the “aha’” moment to start this initiative came when the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery reported in 2015 that 5 billion people, roughly two-thirds of the world’s population, lack access to safe, affordable surgery. Over the years, Operation Smile has worked to close the gap by providing nearly 500,000 surgeries for patients with cleft conditions.
Operation 100 is a phased, long-term initiative, and the timelines will be country-specific based on team training needs and hospital readiness. Training has already begun in many of the 100 hospitals identified as phase one.Operation 100 is about building hope and resilient health care systems and ensuring sustainable access for generations to come, said Magee, who co-founded Operation Smile with her husband, Dr.
Bill P. Magee Jr., in 1982.
“Over the years, Dr. Bill Magee and I have watched countless children and their families make that long journey to an Operation Smile site hoping their child would be the one who received a life-changing surgery,” Magee said. “Deep down, we always knew someday we would find a way to close that gap and bring access to care closer to where patients live.
Someday is here.”Lee Belote, [email protected].
