Dr. Asha Bale assited by Dr. Chiachi Wang removing a gallbladder filled with stones for a patient during a mission to Guatemala.
The International Surgical Health Initiative is a humanitarian non-profit organization that provides free surgical care to underserved communities worldwide regardless of race, religion, politics, geography or financial considerations.
ISHI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization in the US and a federally registered charity in Canada and is entirely organized, managed and operated by unpaid volunteers comprised of the medical community, journalists and artists of the developed world, who want to "give back" to less fortunate people in need of medical care.
We work in flexible teams ranging from 6-15 volunteers that generally maintain a high patient load for 1-2 weeks at a time. When appropriate, we also partner with larger organizations to provide a surgical component of care that allows them to focus on their area of expertise and avoid repeating infrastructure. Our core teams provide a wide range of general surgery expertise, adapting to other teams to better meet the needs of the communities with which we work.
Dr. Anastasia Kunac and other ISHI volunteers resting in Brussels airport during a stopover to Sierra Leone. All ISHI volunteers finance their own airfare.
Dr. Ziad Sifri during a 2011 fundraising event. ISHI strives to keep its administrative and overhead expenses very low ensuring over 93% of donations get invested on missions.
ISHI is dedicated to:
1-
improving the health of underserved people around the world by providing needed surgical care
2-
remaining highly efficient with the funds it raises. Over 93% of donations are directly spent on missions
3-
building lasting relationships with patients, families, and communities
4-
empowering local medical professionals to be self-sustained through education and training
Mission Statement
The International Surgical Health Initiative (ISHI) is a humanitarian organization dedicated to changing the global outlook of healthcare by providing surgical care and welcoming the opportunity to partner with other like-minded organizations. We want to earn the trust of our patients so we can build lasting relationships with them, their families and the communities they help shape. We also want to empower local medical professionals by educating and training them to be self-sustained through our return and beyond.
Who is
ISHI Executive Team
Ziad Sifri MD- President / Co-founder
Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Ziad Sifri moved to Montreal, Canada, at the age of eighteen to complete his undergraduate studies in biology and attend medical school at McGill University. He received his training as a general surgeon at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and specialized in trauma and critical care at UMDNJ-NJMS in Newark, New Jersey. Ziad currently works as a full-time trauma and critical-care surgeon at the New Jersey Trauma Center. Among his various interests, Ziad considers photography to be his primary hobby and enjoys taking candid pictures of people as well as nature. His affinity for photography intensified while on a medical mission in Ghana in 2008 and the series of documentary photographs that were the result of that trip have been on display as part of the fundraising efforts for future ISHI missions.
Asha Bale MD- Vice President - Treasurer / Co-founder
After completing her general surgical training at UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, Asha Bale was awarded a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery at Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center. Now specializing in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Asha's interests are varied, from tennis spectatorship, Impressionist art, and travel, to research in the areas of bariatric surgery, surgical-resident education, and quality improvement in surgery. But it is her passion for humanitarian work that took her to Ghana in 2008, where she led a surgical team that performed more than 80 life-saving surgeries in two weeks
Heather White- Vice President of Global Partnerships
Heather White is an award winning social entrepreneur and founder of the global non-profit organization, www.verite.org. An expert on outsourcing and production, between 1995-2007 she developed a global network of advocates and non-profit organizations operating in 60 countries to monitor factories' compliance with local laws and health and safety standards. In 2007 she created new-standards.com, based in China, to provide research for the socially responsible investment community on labor standards and the environmental impact of factories there. Heather has served as an advisor to women's trade collectives in Asia and Africa, and to the Nobel Women's Initiative for their tour of global conflict zones in 2008. Her fundraising work with women's NGO's in Sierra Leone brought her to ISHI in 2011. Heather has a Safra Network fellowship at Harvard for 2010-2011 at the Edmond Safra Center for Business Ethics.
ISHI Canada Executive Team
Charlie Khoury- President/ Co-founder ISHI Canada
Charlie has a background in finance and currently works at Assante Capital Management as an investment advisor. His affinity for photography and visual arts has found expression through his continuous fascination with our world's endless cultural diversity. His extensive travels across the five continents have taken him from the mountains of Patagonia to the skyscrapers of Osaka. A native of Beirut, Charlie currently lives in Montreal with his wife and two daughters.
Ziad Sifri MD- Vice President / Co-founder ISHI Canada
Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Ziad Sifri moved to Montreal, Canada, at the age of eighteen to complete his undergraduate studies in biology and attend medical school at McGill University. He received his training as a general surgeon at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and specialized in trauma and critical care at UMDNJ-NJMS in Newark, New Jersey. Ziad currently works as a full-time trauma and critical-care surgeon at the New Jersey Trauma Center. Among his various interests, Ziad considers photography to be his primary hobby and enjoys taking candid pictures of people as well as nature. His affinity for photography intensified while on a medical mission in Ghana in 2008 and the series of documentary photographs that were the result of that trip have been on display as part of the fundraising efforts for future ISHI missions.
Ibrahim G. Sabbagh- Treasurer ISHI Canada / Co-founder ISHI Canada
Ibrahim G. Sabbagh
Dev Anjaria- Surgeon Alison Baker- Nurse Asha Bale - Surgeon Siddish Bale- Attorney Irene Banares- Nurse Caitlin Blaskewicz- Logistics Cathy Blaskewicz- Nurse Myriam Brahimcha- Attorney Stephanie Burroughs- Nurse Benjamin J. Chandler-Surgeon Kevin Clarke- Surgeon Janet Clausen- Nurse John Dellamanna- CRNA Maryann D'Urso- Journalist Diana Eagen- Nurse Michele Egarian- Nurse Jean Eloy- Anesthesiologist Pushpa Goel- Nurse Marina D. Goldman- Nurse Joseph Helou - Web Consultant Vishnu Hoff - Logistics Leah Holt Grange- Nurse Anesthetist Yvette Jupiter- Scrub Tech Malik Jalloh- CRNA Charlie Khoury- Logistics Jocelyn Kerpelman- MSIV Rae Lynne Kinler- MD Mayi Kiran- Computer Tech Anastasia Kunac- Surgeon Mark Kunac- Logistics Liviu Lazar - Web Consultant David Livingston- Surgeon Debbie Livingston- Artist Vely A. Louis- Anesthesiologist Leonard Mason- Surgeon Marissa Mason - Writer Natalia McTighe- Nurse Mona Nelson- Nurse Leslie Osei-Tutu- Anesthesiologist Jennifer Otten- Web Design Marcelino Potian- Anesthesiologist Nura Qureshi- Photographer Chantal Pyram- Anesthesiologist Margaret Rathburn- Nurse Anesthestist Nina Regevik- Internist Diego Reino- Surgeon Kimberly Riback- Journalist Jhoselyn Ritto- Nurse Socorro Rogers- Nurse Ibrahim G. Sabbagh- Treasurer Ziad Sifri -Surgeon Emma Tousaint- Nurse Mae Tingson- Nurse Tamara V. Uhler- Nurse Sherine Varghese- Nurse Zeina Wakim- Logistics Susan Walsh- Nurse Anesthetist ChiaChi Wang- Surgeon Emilia Wawszczyk- Nurse Heather White -Social Entrepreneur Daniel Yerelian- Computer Tech
