Did you know that Operation Walk has grown to 21 teams? As the founder of Operation Walk, Dr. Lawrence Dorr helps new teams to develop by providing guidance from the experienced Los Angeles team. First, each new team undergoes a 5-6 hour introductory lecture that covers everything from fund-raising, starting a non-profit 501(c)(3), using the Operation Walk name and logo, forming a qualified team, procuring supplies and implants, to social media. Surgeons starting a new team are taken on an Operation Walk mission so they can understand the scope of involvement and commitment needed to support their own team. Then a location is selected and the team leaders from the new site work with the Los Angeles team leaders as they put together their first mission.
In late 2018, Jeri Ward and Mary Ellen Sieben scouted out an orthopedic hospital in Havana, Cuba where Dr. Jared Roberts and the Albany team starting working in 2019. Dr. Paul Gilbert, Jeri, Mary Ellen and 10 others guided them. Operation Walk has standards which all teams follow for the first mission and can be adjusted in certain areas based on each teams’ donations (implants and medications may vary). The importance of patient safety and outcomes is the first priority.
Operation Walk is proud of all teams.
