Our Team
How it started
On October 28th, 2000, 31 volunteers left for Guatemala for the first trip of the Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation. On Sunday, they interviewed patients to see which they would be able to help that week. Some of their patients travelled hundreds of miles in the hope that the Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation medical staff would be able to provide life-changing surgery.
Having selected patients, the four surgeons and their staff went to work performing 30 surgeries in 3 operating rooms over the course of the next four days. Drs. Paul Naylor and Rick Parsons performed orthopedic surgery, Dr. Lytle Brown saw general surgery patients, and Dr. Randy Hartline operated on obstetrics and gynecology patients.
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The impact of their work was immediate and left the Knoxville-based team with a realization: they would be back the next year. And, it turns out, the next 18 years after that. Each year, the number of staff and surgeries has continued to grow. During Covid, when foreign medical teams were unable to fly into Guatemala for mission trips, a group of Antiguan businesses banded together to expand the surgical suites at Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro.
How it's going
When the Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation returned to Antigua in 2023, they found 8 operating rooms and an expanded space for pre- and post-operative care. The Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation has taken full advantage of these additional facilities. In 2024, the team consisted of 11 surgeons, 4 anesthesiologists, 8 nurse anesthetists, 5 physician assistants, 6 surgical techs, and 10 nurses to handle 140 surgeries over the course of 4 days.
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Each year, dozens of nurses and doctors volunteer for the trip and Dr. Naylor has the unenviable job of sorting through the list to decide who gets to go. It is a testament to our community that we have always had more volunteers than spaces available. In addition to deciding who gets to come, he also has to determine which kinds of surgeries will be possible as he works with corporate donors and the surgeons who will be attending. This year, the usual orthopedic surgeons were joined by pediatric orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, and urologists. Next year, that could change.
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Dr. Naylor works closely with the administrative staff at Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro to ensure that the Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation is adjusting to meet the needs of their patients, bringing any needed equipment, and that patients are ready and informed about the care that they will receive.
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After over 20 years of trips to Antigua, the Knoxville Medical Mission Foundation is a well-oiled machine that exists for one purpose: to help those in need who have no where else to go.