Description:

Since IMAHelps was established in 2000, the group has organized 19 medical humanitarian missions to some of the most impoverished areas of Latin America and Asia.

People travel by foot, by bus and on the backs of pickups and flatbed trucks to see our volunteers for a chance to receive medical care they could never afford.

While the specific makeup of each medical mission varies, our teams typically include pharmacists, pediatricians, general internal medicine doctors, OBGYNs, dentists, eye doctors, prosthetists, neurologists, urologists, general surgeons, cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons, plastic and maxillofacial surgeons, anesthesiologists, scrub techs, nurses and translators.

Our Volunteers Share Their Knowledge and Experience

Our volunteers share the latest Western medical knowledge involving everything from sanitation and hygiene to surgical techniques and the management of ICUs and recovery rooms.

In some instances, IMA volunteers have taught local doctors and technicians how to use modern medical equipment that has been donated to them by other organizations that they do not know how to use.

How to Become an IMAHelps Volunteer

IMAHelps selects volunteers for its medical missions based on their professional education, licensing, and experience. IMAHelps mission team leaders handle the initial screening of mission applicants and make recommendations to the IMAHelps Board of Directors for final acceptance. IMAHelps seeks volunteers from every healthcare specialty, including dentistry; optometry; general surgery; orthopedic surgery; plastic and maxillofacial surgery; internal medicine; obstetrics and gynecology; pediatrics; urology; physical therapy; prosthetics; and pharmacy.
IMAHelps also seeks surgical and medical support team volunteers, including anesthesiologists, nurses, surgical technicians; and interpreters. Optometrists and neurologists have also participated in IMAHelps missions from time to time. A limited number of student volunteers are also used on the biggest IMAHelps missions, provided they can fulfill specific mission support functions identified by the IMAHelps Board of Directors.

Students are assigned a wide range of medical mission support functions. Many have served as Spanish language interpreters and “runners” who help IMAHelps maintain crowd control and sort incoming patients into the appropriate lines and waiting areas at hospitals and other mission locations for triage and other medical and dental consultations.

IMAHelps also uses students to transport disabled patients through its treatment stations and to provide assistance to patients who need help finding specific IMAHelps treatment providers, since IMAHelps missions typically take place in large hospital facilities. Students are also used to pack and unpack boxes of medical equipment and supplies and to provide translation and other assistance to the IMAHelps pharmacy team. Student volunteers are also used as messengers to relay information and/or supplies between IMAHelps mission volunteers. In addition, students are used to provide health and hygiene education and support in local languages.

Organizational Base: Rancho Mirage, California

Other Programs: Multiple medical specialties and surgical teams, dental teams