Mission Statement

   To enhance the level of medical care in developing countries through strategic partnerships with the host country. To provide quality education and comprehensive healthcare partnerships that are responsive to the needs of the patients, the host country, provider agencies and the community.

   Medical Relief Foundation will accomplish this through dedication demonstrated in our partnerships and by assuring excellence in patient care in all that we do.
 

   History

   Medical Relief Foundation (MRF) is a non-profit organization formed in 1997. The   initial purpose was to improve medical care for the people of the Russian Far East. This was a time when Russia was evolving from communist rule and their need was great. In response we sent a dozen 40-foot containers of donated medical supplies from the medical communities of Northern and Central California to the Russian Far East.

   In 1998, a group of American physicians, nurses and paramedics from MRF traveled from California to the Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East. During this initial trip to the Krai, medical needs assessments were conducted, professional contacts were made and personal friendships were formed. In 1999 and 2000, MRF sponsored several physician exchanges, inviting more than a dozen Russian physicians to California for training and educational opportunities.

   In May 2001, our organization, in partnership with the Primorsky Krai Regional Hospital, built and equipped the first cardiac surgical unit in the Primorsky Krai. With American and Russian surgeons working side-by-side in a Russian operating room, thirteen life-saving bypass surgeries were performed on Russian citizens. This was the beginning of a very successful cardiac surgery program. The program met the MRF goal and was self sufficient in five years. Operations now have expanded to include pediatric patients. Prior to this, the nearest Russian city where bypass surgery could be performed was Novosibirsk, 2500 miles away which   meant the procedure was out of reach for the million people in need living in Vladivostok.

   From Russia the success of our partnership spread across the globe and we now have successful partnerships in many countries.