By Eunice Jeong
Last month, we kicked off a series about medical missions that some of our amazing Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group physicians have taken to provide care for those in need well beyond the Mid-Atlantic States. Our final installment in the series comes from Carrie Klett, MD, a MAPMG OB/GYN at our Fair Oaks Medical Center. Read about her mission below.
Dr. Klett completed her ninth medical mission with Solanus Medical Missions Group this past May. This year, she visited Comayagua, Honduras with a fellow Permanente physician on the medical team (fellow OB/GYN, Dr. Matthew Werner) to work on surgeries and provide other medical services to locals in the underserved communities.
Dr. Klett has a long history with Solanus and medical missions. She first became involved with medical missions through her church in North Carolina, where fellow members introduced her to the mission group that would later go on to be called Solanus Medical Mission group. Since joining the team, she’s been to Nicaragua, Honduras, and Africa to provide surgeries and services related to labor and delivery, sanitation practices, and teaching the use of medical technology with culturally relevant methods. In addition, Dr. Klett has assisted with a huge variety of essential services in underserved regions throughout the world, from cyst and uterus removals, to helping build hospitals, teaching birthing classes, and teaching infection prevention methods for tribal ceremonial practices – just to name a few.
Composed of multiple general surgeons and specialty physicians, each trip’s team completes around 100 surgeries. Dr. Klett performs about 20-25 surgeries on average per trip, in addition to miscellaneous patient visits. Back at home, Dr. Klett is on the board of Solanus and looking forward to certifying the group as an official 503(c)(3) organization. She also regularly works with local churches to create hygiene supply kits for the Honduran patients. She reflects that her years serving on mission trips made her more appreciative of the resources and “things” around her. Her fellow peers’ and coworker’s involvement and enthusiasm to help with the missions, is an exciting bonus.
She encourages everyone–regardless of background or medical experience–who is interested in getting involved, to reach out by visiting the mission website SBJHONDURAS.com, or contacting Dr. Klett at her KP address. The group is always looking for enthusiastic new members who are committed to improving the health of underserved communities.
Thank you to Dr. Bullock, Dr. Werner, and Dr. Klett for sharing their stories over the past few weeks. Their dedication to providing top-notch care and service both in and outside the Mid-Atlantic Region is a testament to how our physicians and are care teams are improving the health of our communities.
