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Post - Hurricanes Maria & IrmaWe began this humanitarian aid effort as Doctors for Maria Relief in October 2017 and it has since flourished to become the first free domestic surgical program for the American College of Surgeons Operation Giving Back Program. The Program has provided much needed medical assistance throughout Puerto Rico by working alongside local doctors and healthcare providers with support from the Puerto Rico Department of Health and local partners. HMARIA, Inc and the American College of Surgeons created Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico. Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico is the first domestic volunteer program for the ACS which provides access to free surgical care to Puerto Rico’s over 400,000 uninsured persons. It also works to support local doctors and runs a diversity pipeline medical program for pre-med undergraduate students, medical students, and surgical residents in Puerto Rico.
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Post EarthquakeHMARIA and the American College of Surgeons Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico Project provided free surgical care for the uninsured in Puerto Rico during the earthquake period until the COVID-19 quarantine period. Our volunteers conducted outreach at FEMA sponsored shelter camps and at “pop up” shelters to ensure the over 10,000 displaced persons that qualified to participate, were able to access our free surgical clinic. Volunteer youth have led the way in garnering support to aid in funding ongoing mental health brigades to the area led by Iniciativa Comunitaria, one of our local partners.
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COVID-19The American College of Surgeons Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico Project continues to develop our Cyber Diversity Medical Pipeline Program. The Cyber Medical Structured Mentoring Experience supports Puerto Rico’s surgical residents, medical students, and undergraduate pre-med students. ACS Volunteer Surgeons mentor Puerto Rico surgical residents and medical students who are in or are in the process of matching with residency programs across the United States. American College of Surgeon Volunteers work remotely with current Puerto Rico pre-med students to prepare them for the medical school application process. Due to COVID-19, all elective surgeries have been postponed. We continue to work to provide information for the public on the current COVID 19 crisis until our clinical project resumes. Our local medical school partners are Ponce Health Sciences University and Universidad Central del Caribe, but we are open to all surgical residents, medical students, and undergraduate pre-med students in Puerto Rico.
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TestimonialsAmerican College of Surgeons Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico has seen over 150 patients in Puerto Rico. It has provided free care to over 55 patients, both in our clinic and through our health brigades with Iniciativa Comunitaria. Our humanitarian aid efforts began as Doctors for Maria Relief and has flourished since October 2017 to become the first free domestic surgical volunteer program for the American College of Surgeons, named Operation Giving Back Puerto Rico. Testimonials from participants that have benefited from our free surgical care are the most powerful insight to the quality and impact of our humanitarian aid project in Puerto Rico. Please listen to their reflections here.
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Federal Response TimelineWe have provided a neutral overview of federal and local government responses to post natural disaster crises here. There are many diverse persons in need of support that reside in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s population is inclusive of persons from over 94 nations from across the world. We aim to work with and support all institutions and organizations providing humanitarian aid and support to the vulnerable and marginalized populations in need in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. A timeline of support is important to observe as we partner on projects to support humanitarian aid to the island archipelago.
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