Charitable donations increased among Americans from 2019 to 2020, rising 5.1% to $471.44 billion. Individual donations comprise 69% of total giving, according to the National Philanthropic Trust. Charitable donations take many forms other from monetary gifts, including volunteer work. It is in this capacity that physicians can provide healthcare charities’ niche need for medical care and expertise.
Medical writer Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, points to several charities that are making significant headway in propelling healthcare. For example, the Physicians Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization that aims to strengthen the
physician-patient relationship while assisting physicians with navigating an ever-changing healthcare system. According to its website, the foundation enhances both physician well-being and leadership while enriching physicians’ worldviews. The Physicians Foundation enables doctors to provide care via education, research, and
grants, which support various entities like universities, medical societies, and nonprofits.
Another charity is Doctors Worldwide, which offers excellent medical care in 22 countries around the globe. Doctors Worldwide, which primarily serves Africa, Central America, and Asia, aims to address community healthcare needs to enhance futures. According to its website, this organization has changed the lives of more than 3 million people.
Doctors Worldwide operates with the mindset that all humans have the right to quality healthcare, and the organization strives to make this happen, particularly for the most vulnerable communities. Current programs focus on addressing medical poverty, helping the poorest patients afford vital medical care, and delivering both emergency and palliative care.
Project Hope is another charity mentioned by Dr. Saleh. According to its website, Project Hope enables local healthcare workers to provide lifesaving care, working in tandem with healthcare professionals and public health institutions. This organization zooms in on issues like healthy equity, training healthcare workers, and protecting mental health in healthcare workers and patients, such as those struggling with the stresses of living with kidney disease.
Dr. Saleh also suggests that physicians consider getting involved with MedShare. This organization gathers extra medical supplies from local institutions and delivers them to needy facilities, both in developing countries and in the
US. Not only does this benefit the receiving communities, but repurposing supplies keeps them out of landfills, thereby protecting the environment.
