In late September 2019, Operation Walk Pittsburgh celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a return to where the organization got its start, Antigua, Guatemala. Operation Walk Pittsburgh serves the mission of providing life-changing education, service, and surgery completely free of cost to patients in Pittsburgh and around the world. This year, the Operation Walk Pittsburgh Travel Team involved 70 medical professionals including surgeons, anesthesiologists, medical doctors, CRNAs, nurses, OR staff, and physical therapists, as well as volunteers and more.
Over the course of the last decade, UPMC faculty have participated in each mission trip. This year, Wende Goncz DO, MMM, CJCP (Clinical Director, UPMC Passavant) led the anesthesiology team for the second year in a row. Her team included Francis X. Feld, DNP, LAT, NRP, CRNA (UPMC Passavant), Jessica A. Maritto, MSN, CRNA (UPMC Passavant), Catherine Mock, MHS, CRNA (UPMC St. Margaret), and Patricia K. Kitt, MHS, CRNA (UPMC Shadyside), as well as Robert McMichael, DO (Meadville Medical Center). Together, they provided anesthesia care for 41 patients that received 57 total joint replacements over the course of four days of surgery.
These trips offer more than just life-changing surgeries, they are opportunities for cultural exchange and international medical cooperation. Operation Walk Pittsburgh patients’ remarkable stories and outcomes renew its volunteers’ commitment to return each year. The shared work alongside Guatemalan colleagues and the connections and friendships fostered during the missions continues to grow year after year.