Medical Mission Opportunities
Akron Children’s mission to provide medical care to infants, children and teens expands well beyond northeast Ohio. We support students, physicians and other medical professionals in providing healthcare and support services to children in need around the globe.
Our passion for helping those in need has inspired a large number of our employees to serve on medical missions in some of the most impoverished regions around the globe.
We have supported mission trips from a rural village in Belize to a mission hospital in Kenya to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. In 2010, our employees gave approximately 331 days of service to global causes, and many returned with a renewed sense of the healthcare practice.
In Their Words
Hear from some of our employees who are making a difference around the world.
“One of my favorite memories is of an 11-year-old boy, David, who I got to know very well. The day I arrived, he looked as though he had just a few days left to live, due to severe congestive heart failure. Through God’s grace and some additions and adjustments of medication, he was smiling and walking around the ward by the time I left. That smile made the whole trip worth it.”
– Samantha Gunkelman, M.D., pediatric hospitalist
“I chose this trip because of the need for surgical help among the pediatric population in Haiti, as well as St. Damien’s Catholic beliefs. My most memorable experience was the night shift in an overwhelming cholera tent. I felt completely out of my element, but I was truly needed.”
– Patrick Conway, Operating Room nurse
“My most memorable experience was on a rural village trip. We stopped for a home visit for an infant with dehydration. There were seven children in the house and they were all smiling and excited to meet us. It was an example of not having all the “comforts” but having happiness.”
– Renee Plourde, D.O., third-year pediatric resident
