health & wellness

Giving Back

Local doctors volunteer their medical skills in U.S. and abroad.

Ruthan Brodsky
Special to the Jewish News

N

o one I know goes on medical
missions for recognition or to
get rich:' says Aaron Rives, 65,
a podiatrist in Riverview. "I had refused
offers to go on missions for 30 years
and gave donations instead. This year,
I was motivated because I wanted my
son, Steven, to join me so we could both
experience the opportunity to help oth-
ers.
"Steven is finishing his rotating intern-
ship at St. Mary Mercy Livonia Hospital,
and I thought it would be a cool thing
to do together before he started his resi-
dency:'
Father and son joined with DOCARE,
a Chicago-based medical outreach
organization that provides healthcare to
indigent and isolated people in remote
areas worldwide. They left in early June
for Guatemala City, where they stayed in
between days of busing through jungle
and mountain roads to remote villages.
One bus transported the physicians,
several nurses and second-year medical
students, while another bus carried med-
ical supplies. The supply bus contained
60 suitcases filled with everything from
antibiotics to gauze and antiseptics.
"Each day it took at least 30 minutes
for all of us to just load the supply bus
and then it was usually a two-hour ride
to a village," Rives says. "The medical
students were very helpful. It was obvi-
ous after the first day that they weren't
doing this to beef up their resumes. They
genuinely wanted to help people:'
Rives says he saw a degree of poverty
he had never experienced. He saw chil-
dren playing soccer with an empty pop
bottle.
The doctors worked 10-12 hours a
day for close to four days and treated
more than 1,200 patients. As a podia-
trist, Rives first dealt with foot and anlde
problems.
"There weren't that many patients so
we helped the pain management doctor
because he was overwhelmed:' Rives
says. "We worked in what looked like a
three-room schoolhouse with one light
bulb. I had to relearn how to give injec-
tions in joints, such as the knee. I also
had to make some difficult medical deci-
sions.
"Some of the people I saw had condi-
tions that were so severe that an ampu-
tation would normally be required.
However, there was no way patients
could receive aftercare, which meant I
had to find the best alternative treatment

•
In Guatemala: Dr. Aaron Rives and his son, Steven, a medical resident.

I could. I never got used to examining
patients who looked 20-25 years older
than they actually were. They aged so
rapidly working in the fields 10-15 hours
a day:'
Rives grew up in a family that con-
sistently donated to Jewish and other
worthy causes.
"I hope that we were the same role
models for our kids:' he says. "Working
in Guatemala was a tremendous mitzvah
in the Jewish tradition of giving back.
Just receiving the appreciation that was
showered on us made the trip even
more meaningful. I'm looking forward
to repeating the experience with Steven
next year:'
Steven says, "My parents taught us
early that it's better to give than to
receive. Before beginning my residency
was a perfect time to volunteer for this
medical outreach program. It was very
rewarding to work alongside my dad,
who was my motivation for attending
medical school and is my role model for
a doctor. Giving to those less fortunate
is personally heartwarming and makes
me appreciate how my medical skills can
help others:'

Giving Back Stateside
Frederick Fletcher, D.O., found his medi-
cal mission closer to home. For the last
two years, he has volunteered his medi-
cal skills in family practice and internal

medicine at the Caridad Center in
Boynton Beach during the seven months
he spends in Florida.
"I retired in 2000 and missed practic-
ing medicine Fletcher
says. At the Caridad
Center, I can put my
skills to work without
the hassle of running
an office:'
Fletcher explained
that the center was
originally founded in
Dr. Frederick
1989 to assist migrant
Fletcher
workers who labored
on Florida farms.
Today it is a nonprofit multi-service
health clinic staffed by 500 volunteers,
including 100 physicians and 70 dentists
serving a growing uninsured immigrant
population. The facility doesn't receive
government funds but relies on dona-
tions. The income of patients is carefully
screened before they are admitted to
the Center. Only those who can't afford
healthcare are accepted.
"I don't see many patients in one day
because it takes such a long time to
examine them and then to communi-
cate with them through an interpreter:'
Fletcher says. "Sometimes it's very frus-
trating because it's difficult to find hospi-
tals that will admit the uninsured. Even
so, I find it a very rewarding experience.
The people are so appreciative:' ❑

Jewish Women's
Foundation Awards
Special Grants

After completing its 2013 grant cycle
and awarding more than $230,000 for
projects that benefit Jewish women and
girls, trustees of the Jewish Women's
Foundation recently voted to award
special, one-time gifts totaling $56,000
to Detroit area organizations that serve
at-risk women and children.
"JWF always uses our growing
endowment returns to make meaning-
ful grants in the Jewish community,
but when we have especially strong
returns on our investments, we are able
to award special gifts to programs in
the broader community" said Carolyn
Tisdale, JWF chairperson.
Special one-time gifts:
• Alternatives for Girls, Detroit:
$20,000 to help purchase a new van.
• Racquet UP! Detroit: $10,000 for
sports and enrichment programming,
following 80 Detroit elementary school
children through high school.
• Pasteur Elementary School Alumni
Association: $5,000 to ensure summer
enrichment, education and nutrition
programs and to purchase more iPads
for teachers.
• JCS-Flint: $2,000 to supplement a
2013 JWF grant project that provides
senior Russian-speaking immigrant
women with health and fitness pro-
grams.
• CARE House, Oakland County's
Child Abuse and Neglect Council:
$5,000 for "Stewards for Children' a
training program for educators and
first responders in the area of child
abuse and neglect.
• Orchards Children's Services:
$5,000 to send foster children to area
summer camps.
• Planned Parenthood Detroit Health
Care Clinic: $5,000 to help pay for
check-ups and contraception services
for women who are uninsured.
• Pitch for Detroit: $4,000 to support
the August 2013 Pitch for Detroit event
on Belle Isle that benefits "Do it for
Detroit" and NEXTGen Detroit, offer-
ing competitive mini-grants to Detroit
agencies that serve at-risk populations.
JWF's annual open board meet-
ing will be Tuesday, Sept. 17, at
the Holocaust Memorial Center in
Farmington Hills. Participants will take
the first guided tour of the new exhibit,
"Through Anne Frank's Window," fea-
turing a chestnut tree sapling from the
tree Anne Frank watched while hiding
in an Amsterdam attic.
The meeting is open to the com-
munity at no charge; reservations are
required. Go to www.jewishdetroit.org/
jwf or contact Helen Katz, director, at
(248) 203-1483 or katz@jfmd.org.

❑

102

August 29 • 2013

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