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Dr. Kantilal Bhalani first got the idea to organize charitable medical missions around the globe from his son who volunteered at a Leprosy camp in Bangor, India in 1999. “Sometimes father teaches the son, but in this case it was the son who taught me,” Bhalani said. “He was a bright student. But when he put that on the resume, it opened up the eyes of every medical school admissions department he applied to. He got admitted into 12 medical schools right out of high school.”
The experience proved that volunteering in less developed parts of the world had advantages for medical students as well as the patients who in many cases would have little to no access to care.

Bhalani founded Doctors Goodwill Foundation in 2003 as a way to raise charitable donations to support three to four medical missions each year. Since then, the foundation has raised about $400,000 — about $150,000 goes to scholarships for medical students — and treated tens of thousands of patients with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

The money raised by the foundation comes nearly entirely from the Doctors Expo the group holds for Continued Medical Education (CME) credit once a year. Local area hospitals also donate equipment and supplies. This year’s Doctors Expo — free to healthcare providers — will be held in Titusville on April 5.

How much money do you expect to generate this year from sponsorships?
Part of this year’s goal is to yield $40,000 for first-year medical students. We want to sponsor one University Central Florida medical student for first year medical school for the next four years.

What should people expect at the expo?
Providers come and get CME for five or six hours. We have 50 to 65 sponsorship booths. Half of the money raised will be used for scholarships to medical students, premedical students and nurses and the other half will go toward medical mission supplies and expenses. The foundation will subsidize premedical, medical students and nurses, but physicians have to pay for themselves. Medical students get about $500 to $1,000 scholarships toward the cost of each trip.

Where have you gone on your missions?
We had five physicians go to Venezuela recently. I have done 16 medical missions around the world and locally in New Orleans. Around the world, we’ve gone to places such as Haiti, Brazil, Nepal, Tibet, India and Africa.

How many patients do you usually treat on each trip?
To give you an example, in December, we went to India with three medical students and we saw about 1,500 patients in six days. Usually on every mission, we see about 1,200 to 1,500 in six to seven days. We all stay together, work together and eat together.

Is it difficult to gain access to these countries?
In most of the countries, usually the local people are very receptive. It’s just going through customs and certain hardships like traveling by bus or on roads that are not good. The only difficult experience was in Tibet. We traveled 50 to 60 miles each day and put up a tent because the local Chinese officials weren’t cooperative.

You recently returned from Venezuela. What was that like?
Venezuela was the best in terms of the hospitality of the people. We went to a beautiful location about 150 miles away from Caracas. Two cardiologists from the area came to Orlando beforehand so they could pick out supplies.

What is the medical infrastructure like in Venezuela?
It’s pretty lacking. They have regional medical centers, but not like here where every 100 miles, there’s a great center. It is a nationalized kind of service, but it is difficult for people to get access. The hospitals were even short of beds. We brought about six beds and stretchers and sent about $200,000 in equipment and supplies donated by Florida hospitals.

Where are you going next?
My partner is going to Haiti in March. In July, we’re going to Panama, then the Dominican Republic in October or November. And every December, we go to India.

Do you respond to major international disasters?
You name it; we do it. We went to the South Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the huge earthquake between India and Pakistan. For Hurricane Katrina relief, we raised $200,000 for the Red Cross.

It must be very rewarding.
That is what encourages me as a founder to keep going. We don’t have a big marketing campaign. We don’t even have advertising. It’s just word of mouth.



April 2008

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