Women's Orthopaedist Global Outreach program sets sights on Nepal

NEW PORT RICHEY — Like many other ideas, this one was born in a hotel bar.

A group of female orthopedic surgeons had been to a conference in Chicago on women and arthritis. They'd shared stories about what it was like to be in a boys' club (96 percent of orthopedic surgeons are men), the difficulty of spending years in residency while friends were starting families, and the naysayers who didn't think women had any business doing hip and knee replacements.

It was 2006. Jennifer Cook, the youngest at the table, had just started her job at the Florida Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine Center in New Port Richey. She missed the volunteering she got to do in high school and college.

"I'd had to put part of my life on hold," recalled Cook, now 35. "I felt like I could be my own person again."

The talk turned to helping others, with the women deciding to use their skills to help women in other countries have better lives.

"We felt we had been fortunate and wanted to give back on a global scale," Cook said.

Women Orthopaedist Global Outreach was born. The nonprofit agency became affiliated with Operation Walk, a humanitarian organization that coordinates medical mission trips to Third World countries.

In September the surgeons, who come from Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and Maryland, and 150 volunteers plan to spend a week performing knee replacements for women in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Why Nepal?

The team considered other countries, such as Nicaragua and Peru. But Operation Walk had recently sent other groups there. Nepal, a 30-hour journey and one of the poorest countries in the world, hadn't received a visit in eight years.

"The country is 86 percent rural, with no access to health care," Cook explained. "Most people don't know what orthopedic surgery is."

The people make less than $1 a day, with women handling much of the household labor.

Team members visited Nepal in April to assess conditions and pre-screen patients. They are using a host hospital's operating room but will bring at least 9,000 pounds — that's 4 1/2 tons — of supplies, including medicines, IV solution and tubing gowns and gloves.

"We don't want to take from what they have," Cook said.

What they have is shockingly meager. Cook and the team brought back photos of the host hospital. Mold coats the walls, and the one anesthesia machine is antiquated. Recovering patients are corralled into two large rooms, one for men and one for women. Patients have no pillows or blankets. Family members must bring in food and medicine.

"It made Community Hospital look like the Ritz Carlton," she said.

The entire trip is expected to cost $300,000. Each team member is trying to raise $50,000. Community Hospital in New Port Richey, where Cook has privileges, has donated a host of supplies. Team members expect to spend $100,000 just for shipping.

Cook and her volunteers are putting on events such as golf tournaments and casino nights to help raise money for the trip. Cook hopes to broaden the pool of donors as word gets out about the trip.

During the April trip, Cook and the team were able to talk with patients who underwent surgeries during Operation Walk's last trip.

"They are so grateful to be able to walk and move again," she said.

Lshwori Devkota, 53, is among those who will undergo surgery. She is able to walk only the few feet from her bed to the living room of her tiny home.

Her dream, Cook said, is "to be able to go outside."

Lisa Buie can be reached at buie@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4604.