2014 Induction Ceremony, Awards Presentation and Reception
The University of Toledo - Health Science Campus
Howard L. Collier Building
March 22, 2014
7:30 – 9:30 pm
2014 Recipients:
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
Paris, France
Doctors Without Borders is a highly regarded private international relief organization that aids victims of armed conflicts, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters and others who lack adequate health care due to social, political and/or economic disorganization. Thus, MSF has a unique mandate to speak out against violations of humanitarian law that the organization may witness in the course of providing medical aid, nutritional assistance and disaster relief.
Doctors Without Borders is to be strongly commended for the extraordinary achievements of its professional staff and volunteer workers who have provided compassionate humanitarian health care assistance to marginalized individuals and populations since MSF was founded in Paris, France, in 1971.
MSF has courageously endeavored to improve the human condition by freely providing humanitarian health, medical care and disaster relief to our brothers and sisters throughout our world for over four decades. Since its founding, MSF has worked to meet the health needs of people too often forgotten by the world. Consistent with its laudable mission, MSF has been willing to courageously respond during national and international conflicts to meet the needs of patients and to aid local health-care workers who have been cut off from assistance in their own countries. MSF volunteers have often valiantly spoken out against genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Moreover, MSF advocates for the improvement of food aid to insure that young children in malnutrition hot spots have access to the nutrients they need to be healthy and to resist life-threatening diseases.
MSF received the prestigious international Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in October 1999. This significant event occurred at a time when civilian populations were increasingly targeted in civil wars and when humanitarian principles were under fire. The well-deserved award honors the organization’s national and international relief workers who have provided medical assistance in more than 80 countries. For the MSF workers around the world, this prize indicates that there is a high level of public support for the right to humanitarian assistance, which is so often abridged during times of conflict. The award of this prestigious prize also inspired other individuals, organizations and academic institutions such as The University of Toledo, and the Medical Mission Hall of Fame. The Medical Mission Hall of Fame endeavors to honor the tremendous work and achievements of Doctors Without Borders.
Richard Bransford, MD and Millie Bransford
Boone, North Carolina
The Bransfords have touched the lives of thousands of children with disabilities in some of the world’s most disadvantaged regions. After participating in an academic undergraduate educational program at Compton College in California, the young doctor-to-be enrolled at UCLA. After receiving a degree of bachelor of science in physics from UCLA, Dick embarked in earnest on his medical career. He headed east to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In addition to making an excellent medical school choice, he met and married Millie, his lifelong partner to be. After graduating from Johns Hopkins in 1967 and completing his residency program and a tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force, the Bransford family traveled to Switzerland to join AIM International.
In further preparation for a medical missionary career, while in Europe, Dr. Bransford received a degree in tropical medicine. With that degree in hand, the Bransford family continued their dedicated quest to improve the human condition of their brothers and sisters throughout the world. This quest has remained a central purpose and a motivating force in their lives for over three decades.
Dr. Bransford began work as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Comoro Islands. From 1978 to 1998 the Bransford team served at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya. While working in Kenya, Dick and Mille helped found Bethany Crippled Children’s Centre in Kijabe. Compelled by a burning desire to further improve the lives of surgery deprived African children, they went on to co-found Bethany Relief and Rehabilitation International. This organization is now known as BethanyKids. Currently, the organization endeavors to transform the lives of African children with life-threatening surgical conditions and disabilities through pediatric surgery, rehabilitation, public education, spiritual ministry and the training of health-care professionals. Today, the BethanyKids organization has grown to assume responsibility for all children’s services at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya and is the only accredited hospital in East Africa for pediatric surgeons.
The Bransfords’ dedicated and compassionate concern for all of God’s children as medical missionaries has defined their meaningful life’s career choices. In recognition of his outstanding pediatric surgical contributions, Dick was awarded AMA’s Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine and the ACS Surgical Humanitarian Award. Today, their medical mission service continues as they travel throughout Africa providing compassionate care and disseminating God’s message of love. When discussing the humanitarian organizations with which the family has had the opportunity to serve their fellow man, Dr. Bransford said, “Each was birthed with a view to glorify God, most through the compassionate care of children and their families. Each has borne fruit for eternity. I have no doubt that each was placed in God’s hands and each was guided carefully by Him.”
The Bransfords have seven children and reside in Venice, Florida. The Medical Mission Hall of Fame of The University of Toledo is proud to honor the Bransford family in the class of 2014.
Pedro J. Obregon, II, MD, PhD, FACS and Judith Obregon, CMT, RMA
Venice, Florida
Dr. Pedro “Pete” and Judy Obregon are truly a dedicated medical missionary team. They personify those who honor others by serving those in need. They have distinguished themselves by following in practice the biblical injunction “love thy neighbor.”
Pete is a product of an American medical mission in the Philippines. His mother and father were the first converts to the Christian faith in the Philippine city of Hollo in the early 1900s. Dr. Obregon received his academic training at a Baptist University in the Philippines. After graduating from medical school, he came to the United States for his medical specialty training in general surgery and began his private practice in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and later in Columbus, Ohio.
In their words, “We were richly blessed by God and highly honored to be called to serve Him. So, we promised to give back to Him by serving the underserved people of our community and the world. Judy and I were pleased to have been given the opportunity to promote the common good by giving back to our community by making our talents and abilities available to our many underserved brothers and sisters.”
Pete and Judy began to give back by starting two homeless clinics in Columbus, Ohio, but their greatest desire was to serve the underserved medical and surgical needs of the poor in the third world. Early in their medical mission career, Dr. Obregon started doing short-term medical mission work at Hollo Mission Hospital where his mother started working years before as a nurse. Their medical mission practice eventually branched out to El Salvador, Africa, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
In 1993, Dr. Obregon was appointed medical director for Medical Ministry International for Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Recognizing the larger medical and surgical needs of the underserved in third world countries, Pete decided to give up his private practice and began to serve full-time for Medical Ministry International. Since making that life-transforming decision, Dr. Obregon and Judy have taken 134 medical and surgical teams to 39 different countries in the world. In addition to participating on numerous medical and surgical teams, Judy has served as project director for many MMI projects. She handled the administrative aspects of the mission projects while Pete concentrated on the medical aspects. She assisted in the surgery and pharmacy aspects of mission projects and has taught techniques of respiratory therapy to nurses.
Dr. Obregon is still actively doing medical missions by serving as International Medical Director of Medical Ministry International. Pete and Judy are representative of the many unsung heroes among us. They recognize that to truly honor those who are devoted to serving the common good we can honor them by beneficially serving others.
Lawrence V. Conway Distinguished Service Award
Kristopher Brickman, MD, FACEP
The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
Dr. Brickman, the founder and director of the Office of Global Health at The University of Toledo’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences, began his illustrious medical career when he graduated from Wright State University School of Medicine in 1983. He completed an Emergency Medicine residency at St. Vincent Medical Center/Toledo Hospital in 1988.
“To know Kris,” said one of his medical faculty associates, “is to be impressed with his exuberance, his dynamism and his love of life.”
Dr. Brickman developed Northwest Ohio Emergency Services in 1989 and currently is CEO of the organization, which employs approximately 40 physicians. This organization provides emergency staffing at six surrounding hospitals in northwest Ohio including The University of Toledo Medical Center.
Another of Dr. Brickman’s long-term faculty associates noted, “I’ve known many individuals throughout my career but never in all my years have I had the joyful experience of knowing anyone like him. He goes at rocket speed 24/7 and no one can keep up with him.” Where does Kris get the motivation to further distinguish his illustrative medical career not only in the local area, but in the larger world community? In answer to the question one of his faculty colleagues responded, “Kris truly believes that life is too short to be wasted.” He is committed to honor those who have been honored previously by the Medical Mission Hall of Fame, and he believes that we recognize them by emulating them. Dr. Brickman recently returned from one of his many medical internship trips. His reaction on arriving back home was: “When can we go again?” In 2010, Kris went on a medical mission trip to Haiti to help that country rebuild from a horrific natural disaster. Kris found that to be one of life’s transforming experiences. Since then, he has returned 10 times to Haiti and participated in 20 medical missions to extend the role of The University of Toledo in the world.
Along with serving as a member of UTMC’s medical executive committee over the last 18 years and as faculty senate president in 2007–2008, Dr. Brickman has distinguished his medical career by being deeply involved in numerous other institutional committees. In addition, Kris has been extensively involved with research activities and professional publications with medical students.
From Bryan, Ohio, to Chengdu, China, during the last 10 years he has visited 25 other countries along the way and has volunteered his talents to others in the People to People Ambassadors Program.
Kris is a man on the go with a mission who doesn’t have time to waste precious moments of life.