Floating Doctors

Organization Description

The Floating Doctors Mission is to reduce the present and future burden of disease in the developing world, and to promote improvements in health care delivery worldwide.

Our Goals Include:

  • Providing free acute and preventative health care services and delivering donated medical supplies to isolated areas.
  • Reducing child and maternal mortality through food safety/prenatal education, nutritional counseling and clean water solutions.
  • Studying and documenting local systems of health care delivery and identifying what progress have been made, what challenges remain, and what solutions exist to improve health care delivery worldwide.
  • Using the latest communications technologies to bring specialist medical knowledge to the developing world, and to share our experiences with the global community and promote cooperation in resolving world health care issues.

 

Program Information

Cultural Storytelling Project (State side): create the guidelines for the Storytelling Project, create a pilot video with video content material already collected, grant seeking, grant writing.

Cultural Storytelling Project (In Panama): collect video stories of the Ngabe, one of the Panama’s largest and oldest indigenous tribes. By working alongside people and sharing their stories, students learn about themselves and the world, while preserving the cultural heritage of the Ngabe. 

Survey research on health and well-being in the Ngabe communities. 

Health & Safety

"Participation with Floating Doctors may involve significant risks to ... health, body, and life, including the potential for permanent disability, illness, and in some cases, death".

"There are inherent dangers associated with visiting and/or living in a foreign country, [please refer to] the U.S. Department of State’s "Country Specific Information" relating to Panama, and ... the U.S. Department of State’s warnings about Threats to Safety and Security , Crime , Criminal Penalties , Medical Facilities and Health Information , Medical Insurance , Traffic Safety and Road Conditions , and Aviation Safety ".

"There are inherent dangers associated with traveling in, and between foreign countries, including but not limited to risks and dangers associated with traveling in light airplanes or seagoing vessels; the possibility that adequate medical facilities may be unavailable should ...[one] require them; terrorism; piracy; violence; banditry, political unrest or guerilla activity; and, unsanitary health condition and exposure to disease (i.e., hepatitis, malaria, cholera, polio, rabies, and others).

"There are other potential risks that ...may include, but are not limited to exposure to dangerous terrestrial or marine life, injury aboard our seagoing vessels during heavy weather or while maneuvering/anchoring/docking/fueling, burns and chemical injury, fishing injures, and injuries from repair or maintenance work" 

For more information about these risks please refer to the Floating Doctors Medical Mission Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk form. 
Additional requirements and/or considerations
  • Computer Literacy
  • CPR Certification
Address 
United States
General Phone 
(310) 428-9351
Website:
http://floatingdoctors.com/
Student Contact 
Name
Ben LaBrot
Job Title
Executive Director
Phone
(empty)
Email
(empty)
Program(s) 
Service Learning
Organization type 
Healthcare Facility or Network (Nonprofit)
Focus Population(s)
People Experiencing Illness
Focus Area(s)
Civic Engagement, Education, Food & Housing Security, Health & Medicine
Hours of operation 

Our organization is based in Panama. This would have to be negotiated with those traveling to Panama and/or with the Faculty member running the service-learning project state side.

Minimum required hours 
10