MEDLIFE believes that in order to improve the overall health and welfare of families and communities in need, a comprehensive approach is needed. With this goal in mind, MEDLIFE seeks to deliver aid through three broad avenues: Medicine, Education, and Development.
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MEDLIFE Mobile Clinics deliver primary care services to individuals and families who otherwise lack access. Going beyond the services we can provide on our Mobile Clinics, MEDVIDA staff conduct year-round patient follow-up services for those requiring additional care, ensuring that no patient is left behind. Additionally, MEDLIFE Fund development projects often directly contribute to the overall health of a community. |
Education is essential to effecting sustainable change in poor communities. MEDLIFE hosts age and gender specific educational programs that seek to instruct and empower our patients on relevant health topics. MEDLIFE Fund projects assist via the construction of new classrooms or other services for schools in poor areas. |
MEDLIFE Fund community development projects address specific issues faced by individual communities. The types of projects we engage in varies greatly from region to region, but throughout all our work MEDLIFE places a priority on engaging and involving communitity stakeholders, so as to promote long-term use and maintenance of our projects. |
MEDVIDA Staff: MEDLIFE hosts a staff of full-time MEDVIDA employees ('vida' means 'life' in Spanish) to conduct year-round operations in Latin America. The MEDVIDA team is responsible for coordinating Mobile Clinics, MEDLIFE Fund development projects, and our educational programs.Medical Professionals: Our MEDVIDA staff works closely with teams of medical professionals in each country, who provide services to our patients during Mobile Clinics, and coordinate our patient follow-up efforts.
Students: Motivated undergraduate and graduate students provide essential support to MEDLIFE's operations. MEDLIFE Student Chapters host fundraisers that provide funding for MEDLIFE Fund projects. Student volunteers support our MEDVIDA staff on Mobile Clinics. MEDLIFE seeks to place the most committed and hard-working students in positions of greater responsibility, such as the Student Advisory Board, the MEDLIFE Expansion Team, and even Internships in Latin America.
Executive Board: Helmed by Dr. Nick Ellis, MEDLIFE's Executive Board provides direction and oversight on all MEDLIFE activities and operations. The Executive Board serves on a volunteer basis -- no member receives a salary or stipend from MEDLIFE.
Imagine a time in your past when you or a loved one was sick and needed medical attention. Now imagine that you weren't able to see a doctor or specialist when you most needed one. What would have happened?
As defined by the World Health Organization, nearly 1 billion people worldwide face a critical shortage of healthcare. This means that these 1 billion people will face a great challenge in seeing a doctor or medical professional during a time of need.
MEDLIFE currently operates in Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. In each country, MEDVIDA staff seek out the poorest of the poor. The hardships faced by our patients and communities vary from country to country: In Lima, MEDLIFE works in a community on the ourskirts of the city where 20,000 people are designated to a single doctor for their primary care needs. In Ecuador, MEDLIFE works with villages where access to a hospital or emergency medical services are essentially nonexistent during heavy rains. Find out more about the countries and communities in which we work on our 'Where We Work' page.
MEDLIFE divides donations into two funds, the MEDLIFE Fund, which dedicates 100% of every donation toward building sustainable development projects for poor communities, and the Mission Fund which is the broadest kind of giving to MEDLIFE and helps MEDLIFE accomplish it’s overall mission.
The MEDLIFE Fund: 100% of donations and fundraising are used toward the creation of medical clinics, schools and other development projects topromote access to basic necessities and skills encouraging poor individuals and families to free themselves from the constraints of poverty and promote a cycle of health, education and personal development.
All public donations and chapter fundraising dollars go to the MEDLIFE Fund.
The Mission Fund: To aid MEDLIFE in achieving its overall mission: promoting local primary care providers to bring preventative health education and curative treatment to people living in poverty who live in marginalized, rural or areas that otherwise prevent their access to quality medical care; educating these patients about gender and age specific health concerns; providing students with real-life, hands-on experience working with poor and underserved populations and to provide them an opportunity to reflect on the root causes and implications of poverty. To support the logistical and operational expenses associated with these goals as stated above.
MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic participation fees and Mobile Clinic campaign donations go to the Mission Fund.
Disclaimer: In accordance with United States tax law and regulations, a donation to the MEDLIFE Project Fund is 100% tax-deductible by the person making the donation. However, only 50% of a donation given to the 50:50 campaign (i.e., the portion that goes towards MEDLIFE's General Mission Fund) is tax-deductible for the person making the donation. The portion of a donation that reduces a student’s cost of participating in a mobile clinic is not tax-deductible. If donors have general questions about whether or not donations to MEDLIFE are tax–deductible, they can call MEDLIFE’S U.S.-based office at 207-433-0780. However, specific questions about the deductibility of contributions should be directed to a donor’s qualified tax advisor.
