NSU Horizons Fall 2017

the near future. By 2025, the AAMC projects a shortage of between 34,600 to 88,000 doctors. It gets worse. By 2030, the AAMC estimates the number of Americans older than 65 years old will increase by 55 percent, further pressing the demand for physicians. Having traveled extensively around the world, the Patels witnessed firsthand the demoralizing conse- quences of poverty and how it can affect access to disease prevention and treatment. The entrepreneurial couple is passionate about helping the less fortunate, and believe NSU’s emphasis on community and service creates a synergistic partnership that will benefit otherwise medically under- served populations. Both Patels were impressed by these notable statistics: nearly 40 percent of NSU’s D.O. graduates choose to practice in Florida, and 60 percent of those Florida-based physicians treat patients in medically underserved and rural areas. Dr. K believes this distinction further validates the collaboration. “The fact that many students from NSU either decide to stay in Florida locally, or pick rural areas, is highly positive, because I feel that making health care accessible in areas that are a little remote is a vital role of the health care delivery system,” he said. “NSU’s goal is to provide physi- cians who are willing to fill those gaps. I feel that what NSU has delivered so far is in line with what I believe in, which is to provide care to the underserved areas.” NSU’s community of health care professionals and students has a heart for service and the colleges collaborate on medical missions to rural areas in Flor- ida and to various parts of the world where health care access is limited. Paula Anderson-Worts, D.O., associate professor, has been spearheading medi- cal missions to Jamaica since 2001. Anderson-Worts makes two trips a year to Kingston and the parishes of St. James, St. Mary, and Westmoreland, taking a group of 160 volunteers consisting of students, optometrists, pharmacists, physical and occupa- tional therapists, physicians, dentists, and nurses. They stay on the island for up to 10 days, working in makeshift clinics and providing free services to indigent people—many of whom live in remote and agricultural areas with little or no access to transportation. The annual missions involve months of planning and long, arduous days working in unfavorable condi- tions. For Anderson-Worts, it is a labor of love. “I have a connection because I am Jamaican, and that gives me the passion and motivation to keep doing this for 17 years,” she explained. “I feel that I am giving back to my community. I heard someone say you should live your life not to be a legend, but a legacy. The Patels have lived up to that—they are trying to make a difference in the lives of people who are in great need, and that’s inspiring to me.” The number of volunteers who travel to Jamaica has grown over the years, as students truly embrace giving back to less fortunate communities. NSU students complete clinical rotations in rural and underserved George L. Hanbury, right, with Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel and members of the Patel family