St. Joe’s doctors help abroad through missions
The connecting link between these two distant countries is Dr. Fred Alexander, who for the past decade has volunteered his time and talents through Cup of Cold Water Ministries, a missionary group headquartered in Newark, N.J. Alexander practices internal medicine and is an infectious disease specialist at St. Joe’s.
Along with mission programs in Mexico, Thailand and Bolivia, Cup of Cold Water Ministries sponsors the Desert Rose Shelter for young girls in Ulan Bator, the capital city of Mongolia.
Recently, a 1-year-old child — the daughter of a woman at the Desert Rose Shelter — fractured her skull when she fell down a flight of stairs. She was taken to a local hospital, where doctors recommended she be airlifted to another facility for surgery.
Cup of Cold Water Ministries sent an e-blast to its network of volunteer doctors to try and identify a hospital with the capability and capacity to perform life-saving surgery on this child. Alexander saw the plea for help and brought it to the attention of Beth Hughes, president and CEO of St. Joe’s, to see if the hospital could assist in any way.
Hughes called in the expertise of two of St. Joe’s top neurosurgeons, Drs. Tamir Hersonskey and Sasan Payvar. The doctors quickly went to work on a high-level remote consultation to review the MRI film that had been sent digitally from the hospital in Mongolia.
After reviewing the MRI, the neuro team determined the girl’s injuries did not require interventional surgery and it was unnecessarily risky to fly her out of the country. Their diagnosis proved to be correct, and under the care of doctors in Ulan Bator, the young girl made a strong recovery.
This is not the first time Alexander has played a key role in bringing together resources from across the globe to help those in need. He and his wife Beth, a pediatrician, have made numerous trips to Honduras, Ecuador and most recently Bolivia.
At the end of February, . Alexander joined a group of 25 local team members for an eight-day trip to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The team included St. Joe’s surgeon Dr. Mark Danielson and medical/surgical nurse Dana Williams as well as local dentists and physical therapists.
While in Bolivia, the mission group performed some major surgeries for people with conditions such as gallbladders and hernias while others traveled to the surrounding remote villages to provide routine care such as dental cleanings, vaccinations and treating children with intestinal worms.
“When I look at how blessed I have been in my own life, it makes me want to help those who are less fortunate,” Alexander said. “As a Christian, that’s our role. That’s what we’re called to do.”
Cup of Cold Water Ministries relies on volunteers and on donations of medicines and supplies from local companies and hospitals. To learn more, visit www.ccwm.org.
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