CURE International

CURE International

Founder(s)	C. Scott Harrison, M.D., Sally Harrison, R.N.
Type	International child healthcare organization
Founded	1996
Location	Lemoyne, PA
Area served	20 Countries
Focus	International Healthcare
Mission	"Healing the sick and proclaiming the Kingdom of God."
Method	Surgery, advocacy, treatment
Revenue	$50 million
Employees	+1500
Motto	healing changes everything
Website	cure.org

CURE International is a nonprofit organization based in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. CURE's efforts are focused on providing medical care to children suffering primarily from orthopedic conditions. With the mission of healing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom of God, CURE serves a dual purpose in the life of the children the organization reaches out to. The organization operates 11 hospitals in the following countries: Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and Zambia.

History

The organization was founded in 1996 by Dr. Scott Harrison and his wife, Sally. Ten years earlier, Dr. Harrison traveled to Malawi, Africa to perform spine surgery and teach higher level orthopedic surgery skills to local surgeons. In the years following, Dr. Harrison and his wife made many trips back, discovering a need for children with orthopedic disabilities. When his tenure as CEO and President of Kirschner Medical was over, Dr. Harrison created CURE, hoping to meet that need. CURE's first hospital opened in 1998 in Kenya. Since then, CURE has seen more than 1,200,000 patients and performed more than 84,000 surgeries. Today, it is the largest provider of pediatric surgical care in the developing world.

What CURE does

With a motto of "healing changes everything," CURE prioritizes the locations of the hospitals where the greatest medical and spiritual needs are found. The organization recognizes the importance of training nationals in the most modern healthcare techniques to ensure quality and access to medical care for future betterment of each country. In order to ensure long-term sustainability of each hospital, CURE develops a diverse funding base that includes local and foreign support, government assistance, partnerships, collaborative efforts with like partners, and innovative, entrepreneurial-related supporting organizations. CURE does not deny medical attention to a patient unable to pay, practicing CURE's dedication to incorporating a faith component in the healing process. The organization's goal is to serve the poorest of the poor that have no access to specialty care.

CURE hopes to transform the lives of children with hydrocephalus, cleft lip and palate, spine deformities, clubfoot and other crippling orthopedic conditions. They desire to provide surgeries, and to change lives, families, communities and cultures. CURE helps children who have no hope for the future because of their physical disability and help these children escape stereotypes in their villages and homes.

Financially, CURE reports that 93% of every dollar that comes in to CURE goes directly to pay for care for children whose families cannot afford it. 7% of the budget goes to fundraising and administrative support. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the contributions are tax-deductible to the highest amount allowable by law. Charity Navigator awarded CURE its highest rating eight years in a row.^[1]

Hospitals

Honduras: Beginning in 2004, CURE provide children with medical care in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in the form of weekly clinics in area hospital. In 2008, a standalone hospital was built. The hospital, one of the best-equipped orthopedic surgical facilities in Honduras, has 20 beds, has seen more than 13,000 patients and performed more than 1,600 surgeries.

Dominican Republic: The CURE Dominican Republic Hospital, established in 2003, is located in Santo Domingo. Serving more than 700 outpatients per month, the hospital regularly sends surgical teams into Haiti and built a satellite clinic in Puerto Plata. In 2010, CURE played a key role in responding to the Haiti earthquake, by sending in one of the first surgical teams into that country.

Afghanistan: CURE accepted the invitation from Afghan Ministry of Public Health to take over a hospital located in Kabul in January, 2005. The hospital offers care for 8,000 patients each year and training programs for doctors and nurses in obstetrics and gynecology, pathology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery and general practice. In the Fall of 2006, CURE partnered with Smile Train to develop a cleft lip and cleft palate surgical training program.^[2]

Ethiopia: The CURE Ethiopia Children's Hospital, established in 2008, is a pediatric orthopedic teaching hospital in Addis Ababa. The hospital provides training in pediatric and advanced orthopedic techniques and has a dual focus on pediatric orthopedics and pediatric plastic reconstruction, such as cleft lip, clubfoot, limb deformities, etc.

Kenya: The first CURE hospital opened in 1998 in Kijabe. The AIC-CURE International Children's Hospital is a 30 bed hospital that serves approximately 8,000 children per year, also operating mobile clinics to remote regions.^[3] The orthopedic training program has been certified by the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, where surgeons will spend five years training at the hospital and then work at another CURE hospital for an additional amount of time. CURE clubfoot, a non-surgical treatment for the correction of clubfoot in young children, is hosted in this hospital.

Malawi: Established in 2002, the Beit CURE International Hospital in Blantyre has 66 beds and has expertise in total hip and knee replacement surgery. The hospital also provides physiotherapy and chiropractic services, offers orthopedic training, mobile clinics and a partnership with Smile Train. ^[4]

Niger: The newest CURE hospital opened in Niamey in the summer of 2010, offering specialty surgical care and training programs for doctors and nurses.

Uganda: Specializing in treating neurosurgical needs, the CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda opened in 2000 and has been recognized as a global leader in treatment of hydrocephalus. The hospital, located in Mbale, also treats children with neural tube defects, spina bifida, epilepsy and brain tumors. The training program brings in surgeons from many countries, including Bangladesh, the U.S. and Ghana.

United Arab Emirates: The CURE Oasis Hospital, located in Al Ain, was established in 1960 to bring American medical care to the UAE. The hospital delivers 3,500 babies and treats over 122,000 patients annually. CURE acquired the hospital in 2006.

Zambia: The Beit CURE International Hospital of Zambia was established in 2004 when CURE signed an agreement with the Zambian Ministry of Health to operate a pediatric teaching hospital, specializing in treatment and care of children living with disabilities. The Beit Trust, a UK-based charity, donated $1.5 million to support construction of the hospital as a centennial gift to the people of Zambia. The hospital partners with Smile Train and has a hip replacement program.^[5]

Specialty Programs

CURE Clubfoot: Clubfoot, a congenital deformity making walking difficult or impossible, can be corrected, using the surgery-free Ponseti Method for $250.^[6] CURE Clubfoot's goal is to eradicate clubfoot in the developing world, with over 220,000 children born each year with the deformity. By partnerships with other international NGO's, the donor community and in-country partners, CURE has treated 19,000 children in 16 countries with 141 clinics.^[7]

Dance 4 Kids Who Can't: CURE partners with college campuses or high schools to host dances with the purpose of raising funds to help kids run, walk, play and dance for the first time.^[8]

CURE Hydrocephalus: The program provides surgeons the training and equipment to combat the condition. Surgeons are trained in multiple forms of hydrocephalus treatment, including a “shuntless” procedure known as an EVT / CPC, where they identify the blockage in the brain and create a new path through which the accumulating fluid can drain naturally. Lasting as short as 45 minutes, CURE claims the results of this surgery are permanent and often much more stable than implanting a shunt. On August 2, 2011, three representatives of CURE Hydrocephalus testified in front of the U. S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights. Dr. Benjamin Warf, former medical director of CURE Uganda, Dr. Steven Schiff, who conducted research at CURE Uganda, and Jim Cohick, Senior Vice President of Specialty Programs at CURE International, spoke on the issue. The speakers came with the intention of informing Congress of this potentially fatal condition that affects a large part of the developing world, as well as how CURE intends to address the issue. From this experience, CURE wants to continue to encourage government involvement in the CURE Hydrocephalus program.^[9]

External links

• Cure International official site
• New hospital offers hope for disabled children of Ethiopia Christian Telegraph
• U.S. PVO Registry United States private voluntary organizations entry
• Bringing Hope and Healing to Disabled Children Synergos
• CURE Partners with Tim Tebow PR Newswire
• Oasis Hospital in UAE Oasis Hospital

References

1. ^ Charity Navigator Rating Charity Navigator, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
2. ^ Smile Train Partner Smile Train, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
3. ^ AIC CURE International Children's Hospital CMB International, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
4. ^ Smile Train Partner Smile Train, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
5. ^ Smile Train Partner Smile Train, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
6. ^ Creating country wide program for Ponseti Method CURE, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
7. ^ CURE Clubfoot CURE, Retrieved November 2, 2011.
8. ^ Students Organize a Dance 4 Kids Who Can't Presbyterian College, Retrieved November 7, 2011.
9. ^ Video of Testimonies CURE, Retrieved November 2, 2011.