Dr. Sonny Belenkie introduced Dr. James Powell, who spoke about the missions he has participated in to assist people with hip dysplasia in Ecuador. In his introductory remarks, Sonny acknowledged the large numbers of University of Calgary medical staff who have volunteered for medical missions around the world.

 

Dr. Powell has been involved with medical teams who have travelled to Cuenca, Ecuador for the past fourteen years to provide hip treatments in a severely underserved city. There are currently 40 orthopaedic surgeons in Cuenca, a city of 500,000, who performed a total of 120 joint surgeries last year. Additionally, the three Canadian teams that went to Cuenca last year performed an additional 120 surgeries. Dr. Powell specializes in performing peri-acetabular osteotomy surgery to rotate a hip dysplasia patient's pelvis into a better alignment. In addition to this type of surgery, the Canadian teams also perform hip replacements in cases where dysplasia is more severe.

 

Following his first visit to Ecuador in 2007, Dr. Powell and his associates founded the True North Missions Society to conduct medical missions to impoverished people who normally would not have access to medical care in developing countries, such as Ecuador. These missions are important as over one quarter of Ecuador's 16.62 million people live below the poverty line.

 

Dr. Powell concluded his remarks by stressing that "you can do anything with the right team and the right partners!" Following his presentation, Ralph Lundberg thanked our speaker, and presented him with an honorary Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of his commitment to improving the lives of the world's poor.