Borland-Groover Clinic Executes Major Medical Mission to Cambodia
July 23, 2010
Two physicians and two nurses from Jacksonville’s Borland-Groover Clinic, specializing in liver and digestive diseases, will travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 22nd to oversee the installation of three complete operating rooms equipped with up-to-date Olympus 160 Series Endoscopic equipment for the detection, diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases, according to Hong Taing Tek, M.D., a physician at Borland-Groover Clinic.
Hong Taing Tek, M.D., who was born and raised in Cambodia, and Kyle Etzkorn, M.D., gastroenterologists with Borland-Groover Clinic, Dr. Tek’s wife, Suon, who will serve as translator, Lead Nurse Sandy Wilson, RN and Surgical Technician Angie Hull will travel to the Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope (SHCH) to train local medical personnel to operate, trouble-shoot, repair and maintain (the Hi-Tech endoscopy equipment) the half-million dollars of donated equipment. SHCH, a fifty-bed hospital, treating 300-350 outpatients each day, is Cambodia’s only 100% charity hospital providing education and training of medical professionals while providing 24-hour, free medical care to the poor. A lottery system determines which patients receive treatment. A non-profit hospital, SHCH staff is salaried, but all supplies and equipment are donated. Hundreds of foreign medical volunteers rotate in and out of the hospital, including large numbers of Americans.
Brigitte Schmitges, Borland-Groover Director of Facilities, facilitated the logistics of packing and transporting 1,730 pounds of medical equipment. In the end, three huge crates of seventy boxes each were transported to Cambodia and await the arrival of the Borland-Groover team.
Cambodia, a constitutional monarchy ruled by King Norodom Sihamoni, suffered war and political turmoil under former Communist leader Pol Pot, who ruled the country from 1975-1979. Pol Pot is blamed for the deaths of approximately two million Cambodians during his reign of terror. Currently Cambodia, a country slightly smaller than Oklahoma, is largely agrarian and desperately poor. There are no social services to provide medical care for the poor.
Borland-Groover Clinics, with multiple locations throughout Northeast, Central and South Florida, has specialized in liver and digestive diseases and disorders since 1947. “Our vision is to provide the knowledge and tools necessary to elevate the quality of healthcare in this region of the world while helping people and saving lives. Through education, prevention and treatment, we hope to make a positive impact for those afflicted with colon cancer and other digestive diseases.” said Dr. Jack Groover, M.D., the founder and CEO of Borland-Groover Clinic. The clinic is the major sponsor of the trip, with donations from several other medical supply companies.
“Our vision is to provide the knowledge and tools necessary to elevate the quality of healthcare in this region of the world while helping people and saving lives. Through education, prevention and treatment, we hope to make a positive impact for those afflicted with colon cancer and other digestive diseases.” said Dr. Jack Groover, M.D., the founder and CEO of Borland-Groover Clinic. The clinic is the major sponsor of the trip, with donations from several other medical supply companies.
