Medical Mission Box Programs
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Medical Mission Box program supports U.S. physicians going on overseas mission trips. Since inception of the program in 2004, more than 300 boxes have been used in 49 countries for an approximate wholesale value over $5 million.
Representative Mission Box Programs
Physicians Talk About Their Experiences With Medical Mission Boxes
Representative Misson Box Programs
Here are some examples of people being helped by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Mission Box program, supplied with the help of Direct Relief International to individual volunteer physicians aiding the underserved in often hard-to-reach in areas around the world. Products in each box, valued at more than $20,000 wholesale, can treat up to 200 people.
A mission trip to Pillatre, Haiti served the rural poor of Northern Haiti.
Pillatre, Haiti
Over the course of five days, Dr. Laurie Harper and the Haitian Christian Ministries served 1,200 people with the Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Mission Box and additional donations. The group shared one particularly compelling story: "After we had completed seeing all the patients on that last day of the medical clinic, a mother arrived carrying her 3-year-old son. She quietly waited to attract someone’s attention, as the medical team was busy picking up all the supplies. She was eventually escorted into an examination room and reported that her son had been ill for two days with cough and fever. He was febrile and in respiratory distress and was found to have otitis media and pneumonia on physical exam. Although we had run out of many medications by this point, we had just enough Cefzil to treat this little patient for 10 days. We don’t know his name, we don’t have his picture, and we don’t know how far his mother had to carry him that morning. We do know that your generous donation of Cefzil probably saved his life." — Laurie Harper, M.D.
Karigiri, India
Mission team will be conducting primary care outreach in conjunction with Karigiri Hospital (Schieffeline Leprosy Research and Training Center). The team will be screening for leprosy and treating various medical conditions including common infections, skin conditions, arthritis and diabetes. Cases needing extended care will be referred to Karigiri Hospital.
Hospital National, Uspantan, Guatemala
A mission trip, led by Dr. Michael McCord, worked in a remote hospital constructed in the 1980s.
A team member reports: "The 85 member team returned with empty team bags, exhaustion, and thankfulness…here is what you helped us to do: 73 surgeries, 1,327 clinic visits, 900 pairs of eye glasses given out, 17,000 vitamins for children given out, 161,000 vitamins for adults given out, 197 patients seen by the outreach team." — Amy Wilson, team pharmacist
La Banda de Shacklkyo, Peru
A mission trip, led by Dr. Douglas McFadden, in collaboration with a Christian ministry and community organizations, provided medical care to a rural community.
A group of 16 individuals from the Tampa Bay area served the impoverished rural communities of Tarapoto, La Florida, Dos de Febrero, and Shacklkyo-Bandya. The team consisted of 2 physicians and 3 nurse practitioners along with a group of support staff. During the 4 mission days, 1,300 patients were evaluated and treated. The most common conditions addressed and treated were sinus problems and skin and lung infections.
Mwimutoni, Kenya
The mission team worked in the village of Mwimutoni, just outside of Nairobi, Kenya. A clinic has been constructed in the village, but individuals can only be served at the clinic when visiting physicians and medical groups provide supplies and direct medical care. The long term goal is to maintain the clinic year-round. The mission team hopes to serve between 700-1,000 people in four days.
Villages in Lake Atitlan Region, Guatemala
A mission trip served the residents of rural villages who cannot afford to visit a doctor or to purchase medications.
Dr. Ed Reedy was part of a team of 18 people that included 4 medical providers for the first half of the trip, and 3 medical providers for the second half of the trip. The team was able to perform medical clinics for the Guatemalan people who otherwise would not be able to afford appropriate medical care. The clinics took place in San Juan, Santa Maria, Santa Clara and San Marco. The medical clinics were a great success and a total of 630 people were seen and 1,180 prescriptions filled. A wide range of medical conditions were treated, ranging from upper respiratory infections to appendicitis and 49,000 multivitamins were given out in the clinics. The most common conditions treated were upper respiratory infections, malnutrition, and arthralgia. The group was able to treat most patients with chronic conditions for 3 months to 1 year with the entire scope of medical donations they received, including Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Cefzil.
Physicians Talk about Their Experiences with Medical Mission Boxes
Abancay, Apurimac, Peru
In late April and early May 2006, Dr. Julio E. Sotelo led a mission that included his wife and a group of volunteers to Abancay, Apurimac, Peru that made use of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Mission Boxes. Here is an interview with Dr. Sotelo about that trip and how he sought to extend health care and use these products to help peasants with little earning capacity and limited access to health in remote regions.
Q: Why did you decide to go on this mission?
A: It is our sixth Medical Mission for the truly needy of the Southern Peru Andean people. It is work that needs to be continued. The needs are multiple and work must be done on a continuing basis. It is absolutely needed because there is negligible governmental help, which is unlikely to improve in the near future.
Q: What got you started?
A: We are part of the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS), a philanthropic society that works for the needy in the area of health care in Peru.
Q: Can you describe the type of medical facility you visited?
A: It is a 120 bed hospital in the Andes, without the resources to function appropriately. In this hospital we have obtained and donated surgical equipment to enable four badly needed operating rooms. We have obtained and donated three anesthesia machines, and monitoring equipment for two surgical suites. But we need more and are still trying to obtain a ventilator for the hospital.
Q: Approximately how many patients are served by the medical facility on a regular basis?
A: 500 people a week.
Q: What kinds of patients are these?
A: The patients are peasants, without work or earning capacity, who need overall medical and surgical care.
Q: Why is the mission box approach so useful?
A: It is prepared and easy to get after filling out the appropriate forms. We did not do it before.
Q: Approximately how many patients were treated w/ the BMS mission box?
A: Over the two-week period we were able to treat 1,500 patients using all of the donations, including the Bristol-Myers Squibb Mission Box.
Q: What sorts of conditions were treated with the Mission Box?
A: Both medical and surgical conditions, including malnutrition, infections, burn scars and others.
Q: Obviously, you treated patients who have little or no access to other means of healthcare so how did the mission box add to your helping these people?
A: When everything is needed we can utilize everything, from antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, H2 blockers, antiparasitics, dermatological medicines for sun-related dermatitis, antidepressants, anxiety medications and surgical paraphernalia. In these settings, the BMS mission box, which treats a significant number of conditions, can be used in its entirety.
Q: Does the Bristol-Myers Squibb Mission Box make a difference for these people?
A: Yes. It fills a need. In the name of the Abancay-Apurímac Medical Mission we want to express our gratitude for the donation of the BMS mission box and hope to receive more help.
Jinoetga, Nicaragua
One physician team, led by Dr. Thomas Ellis, visited Jinotega, a remote coffee growing region in Nicaragua, in August 2006, to provide medical, dental and educational services to the surrounding rural area, including the Jinotega orphanage. Major health concerns in the area concern primary health conditions including bacterial and respiratory infections. Here is a Q&A with Dr. Ellis and how he used Medical Mission Boxes to help in his work.
Q: Did you go alone?
A: A group from our church went—a total of 19 people.
Q: Why is the mission box approach so useful?
A: This supplies needed medication for the team. It was easy to get the box.
Q: Why did you decide to go on this mission?
A: I was motivated by the needs of the area and the missionaries involved in the current project to help children and infants in orphanages.
Q: Have you ever done this before?
A: This was my fourth trip. These trips were started by a local optometrist. Then I led my own team the past 2 years.
Q: What type of medical facility did you visit?
A: We go to rural sites—sometimes in local community health centers but sometimes local churches serve as the clinic site.
Q: Approximately how many patients do you serve?
A: Typically in our 4 days there, we see approximately 750 men, women and children.
Q: What kinds of patients are these?
A: They are rural poor and Indians.
Q: What kind of medical care do they usually receive?
A: Typically, these are people who don’t get to see doctors at other times. Most of the current care is done by local health clinics that are run by nurses.
Q: What are the major diseases and problems in this area of the world?
A: Parasites, malnutrition, asthma, allergies, skin disease. The need is great.
Q: What sorts of conditions were treated with the BMS mission box?
A: Localized infections—cellulitis, otitis and bronchitis. We used up all the supplies in the box.
Q: Are you going to go on other missions? Why?
A: I will likely go every year. It is gratifying in so many ways. It gets me away from the politics of medicine in the U.S. and reminds me why I went into medicine in the first place.