Major League Baseball Players Award $50,000 Grant to Physicians for Peace

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A Physicians for Peace volunteer physical therapist works with a patient at the Hanger Clinic in Deschapelles, Haiti. Photo by Roberto Westbrook for Physicians for Peace.

NORFOLK, VA (05/11/2011)(readMedia)-- A $50,000 grant from the Major League Baseball Players Trust will support Physicians for Peace in its ongoing efforts to provide prostheses and rehabilitation to amputee victims in Haiti. In addition, the money will help fund long-term, distance-learning opportunities for Haitian technicians working with disabled populations, especially those disabled as a result of the January 2010 earthquake, and will promote information-sharing and best practices across the island of Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

"On behalf of all Major Leaguers, it's an honor to award this grant to Physicians for Peace to support their ongoing efforts to help Haitians in need of medical assistance," said Curtis Granderson, MLBPA Association Representative and N.Y. Yankees outfielder. "The effects of the earthquake are still being felt by thousands of Haitians, and we hope this grant helps remind people that our Caribbean neighbors are still in need of our ongoing support."

Physicians for Peace, an international nonprofit based in Norfolk, Va., has a history of collaborative partnerships in Haiti. Immediately after that disaster, the group became a founding member of the Haitian Amputee Coalition, a public-private partnership with Albert Schweitzer Hospital, the Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, the Harold and Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation and the Shepherd Center, among others. Through the coalition, Physicians for Peace sends volunteer physical therapists to work with patients and technicians at the Hanger Clinic at Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles.

"The grant will assist us as we continue to deliver immediate patient care in Haiti, which is an invaluable gift to the many people waiting for a prosthetic leg and those who need on-going physical therapy and services to maintain or replace a prosthesis," said Brig. Gen. Ron Sconyers (USAF, Ret.), president and CEO of Physicians for Peace. "Perhaps even more importantly, the money will help fund a training and certification program for local healthcare professionals, so that Haitian prosthetic experts can one day meet the needs of amputee patients in their own communities."

Since the earthquake, Physicians for Peace has continued to prioritize partnerships. Last year, Physicians for Peace worked with Don Bosco University in El Salvador to launch a national training and certification program for the Dominican prosthetic community; 13 local technicians are currently enrolled in that program, which provides students with distance learning courses and regular, side-by-side training from U.S. professionals. Physicians for Peace is now working with Don Bosco University, other partners and Haiti's Ministry of Health to launch a parallel track in Haiti later this year. The Players Trust grant will help support the Haitian efforts.

For more information on Physicians for Peace's work in Haiti, please visit www.physiciansforpeace.org. For more information on MLBPT, please visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com.

High resolution images from the Hanger Clinic in Deschapelles available upon request.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international non-profit organization that mobilizes volunteer healthcare professionals to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace develops long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based programs to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Since 1989 Volunteers for the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 60 countries. With its headquarters in Norfolk, Va., Physicians for Peace has programs in 22 countries and offices in Manila, the Philippines and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

ABOUT THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS TRUST

The members of the Major League Baseball Players Association created the Players Trust, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, to provide resources of caring to those in need by volunteering in causes close to their hearts and encouraging others to do the same. The foundation became the first of its kind in professional sports established and administered by the players. For additional information, please visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com and visit the Players Trust channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/MLBPlayersTrust.

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