John D Ward Scholarship Fund

We believe that one of the most effective ways to make our work sustainable is to introduce healthcare providers to service medical work very early in their careers. When providers are exposed to both the challenges and the rewards that come with serving populations with few resources and many barriers, they never view the practice of medicine quite the same. And that is a good thing!

We also understand that very often those who are still training to become healthcare providers, or who are very early in their careers, do not yet have the resources themselves to participate in what can be an expensive experience. With that in mind, we are very proud to offer the John D. Ward Scholarship. Dr. Ward is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon based in Richmond, Virginia. For a large part of his career, Dr. Ward organized and executed medical mission trips to serve communities in Central America. There are many elements of those trips that provided incredible positive impact, but two stand out. Physicians in training were always a major part of delivering care, and the team always sought ways to incorporate and engage local health providers and resources. These elements allow the impact of the missions themselves to have far greater reach, and to be compounded over time. More physicians develop a passion for this kind of work as a result of their amazing experiences at an influential point so early in their career, and the local healthcare system in these communities have opportunities to learn from different perspectives and practices.

Therefore, the John D. Ward Scholarship Fund will serve two purposes in advancing the mission of Extra Mile Pediatrics. First, scholarship funding will be provided to send healthcare providers who are in training or still early in their careers on each service trip undertaken by the organization. Second, the fund will be used to create partnerships and sharing opportunities with local organizations so that Extra Mile Pediatrics’ work serves to strengthen the local infrastructure and grow the everyday capacity for great healthcare in the communities we serve.