Medical Mission to Peru

The annual Medical Mission to Peru, which takes place each summer, is a component of The Promise to Peru, which is facilitated in part by Stony Brook University.

A Promise to Peru has established an annual mission to the Sacred Valley of Peru in an effort to provide the people in this region with cataract eye surgery and general medical health care. The mission involves volunteer physicians and other health professionals from Stony Brook University and across the United States. The mission of a Promise to Peru also includes a mentoring program for the medical students from the School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Its future goals as a non-profit organization involve adding public health initiatives and ultimately outreach to other countries.

The organization brings together local New York physicians, Stony Brook Medicine alumni, and current Stony Brook medical students, who are interested in providing medical care to remote areas of the Sacred Valley in Peru. The program was established by John Shanley, MD, Debra Messina, MD ’88 and Natalie DiGioia, MD ’01 in October 2011.

Last year, Close to $100,000 in donations was raised in the form of medication, intraocular implants, disposable surgical instruments, and other necessary supplies to create an efficient operation room that was able to deliver quality eye surgery. Over 400 patients were evaluated for ophthalmic complaints and 36 surgical procedures were performed.

“As a participant in the medical mission and the cataract surgery mission, I gained a tremendous amount of experience in organizing and managing an international traveling clinic, obtaining patient history, and providing care with the resources at hand. With a strong interest in global health, this mission provided me the opportunity to aid an underserved population and understand the difficulties faced in obtaining medical care.” – Ruksana Rangwala BS ’10, ’15

“I would like to thank the Alumni Association for helping to fund part of my trip to Peru. In doing this trip, I was able to better understand the conditions fostering some of the public health issues in Peru, as well as gain a better understanding of the culture surrounding the people in Peru. It was a wonderful experience, and I feel as though I will be a better physician because of this trip.” – Neva Castro ’15

“My involvement this summer with this mission has sparked the desire to continue to build upon this medical mission, to aid the people of Peru in a sustainable way, and to allow medical students this invaluable life experience.”- Brianne Sullivan ’15

“This trip is important for the people of Peru, and it is especially vital for future American doctors to be exposed to the vast global health disparities.”
– Elliot Schottland ’15