Physicians for Peace Salutes its 'Haiti Heroes'

NORFOLK, VA (09/29/2010)(readMedia)-- At the Fifth Annual Celebrate the Nations Gala Reception in Virginia Beach, Va., Physicians for Peace will honor the many organizations and individuals behind its ongoing efforts in Haiti, including the physical therapists who have volunteered on the ground to train medical professionals and treat patients.

"After the earthquake last year in Haiti, Physicians for Peace reached out to long-standing and new partners to get medical help and training to those most in need – and to get it to them fast," said Brig. Gen. Ron Sconyers (USAF, Ret.), president and chief executive officer of Physicians for Peace. "Almost a year after the disaster, the continued support of a core group – our Haiti Heroes – has allowed us to keep our commitment to improve medical care in Haiti."

At the center of Physicians for Peace's work in Haiti are the physical therapists who have trained Haitian medical professional to provide rehabilitation services to amputee earthquake survivors. Physical therapist Mary Anne Kramer-Urner, Physicians for Peace's first volunteer at the Haitian Amputee Clinic at Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti, will tell her story at the gala and be honored at an award presentation alongside her husband and fellow physical therapist, David, who worked in Haiti on a separate Physicians for Peace mission in June. By the end of 2010, Physicians for Peace will have sent 16 physical therapists to Haiti.

At the gala, Physicians for Peace also will recognize representatives from its longtime in-country partners, Healing Hands for Haiti and Friends of St. Vincent's for Handicapped Children, and members of the newly formed Haitian Amputee Coalition, including representatives from the Shepherd Center in Atlanta; Hanger Orthopedics in Austin, Texas, and its Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation in Rockville, Md.; The Harold and Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation in Atlanta; and the Catholic Medical Mission Board in New York and Washington, D.C. During the program, Cardi's Furniture in Providence, R.I., Arpin Van Lines in Providence, R.I., and Hampton Roads Moving and Storage in Norfolk, Va., also will be honored for their support in collecting and transporting in-kind donations of medical equipment after the earthquake.

Tickets Still Available

The 2010 Celebrate the Nations Gala Reception will be held at the Cavalier Beach Club in Virginia Beach on Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, visit www.physiciansforpeace.org or contact Sallie Ray, sray@physiciansforpeace.org; (757) 625-7569. President Bill Clinton is the recipient of the 2010 Charles E. Horton Award for Humanitarian Service. He will accept the award, via video, at the reception.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international non-profit organization that mobilizes volunteer health care 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. In 2009, the organization celebrated its 20th Anniversary. For more information, go to: www.physiciansforpeace.org

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