For the 10th straight year, Vanderbilt Health surgeons and staff spent a day providing free surgical care to qualifying uninsured and underinsured Middle Tennesseans.
Vanderbilt Health’s Orthopaedics Outreach Day, which has occurred every year since 2017, finds its surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and medical students volunteering to provide free surgical care.
This year’s event took place last month at Vanderbilt Surgery Center in Franklin, Tenn., where 13 patients received free surgeries such as knee and shoulder scopes and hand surgeries. More than 50 Vanderbilt Health staff members donated their time this year, and some of them have participated in the program every year. Numerous sponsors supported the endeavor.
“Orthopaedics Outreach Day is more than just free surgery,” said Eric Bowman, MD, MPH, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery with Vanderbilt Health. “It’s a reset for many of us, a reminder of why we went into medicine in the first place. It restores purpose; providing care for patients who otherwise wouldn’t receive it. We are grateful for so many giving up a Saturday to help those in need.”
