AAPA honors Portsmouth physician assistant with Humanitarian PA of the Year Award

When Jack Gardner, PA-C, of Portsmouth, N.H., left a successful business career 12 years ago to become a physician assistant, he did not anticipate the number of lives he would touch as he pursued his dream to provide medical care to those in need.

Today, Gardner spearheads humanitarian efforts worldwide and has provided desperately needed medical care to more than 10,000 people in Central America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. To honor his accomplishments, the American Academy of Physician Assistants will recognize Gardner with the Humanitarian PA of the Year Award for his outstanding commitment to human rights at AAPA's Annual PA Conference in Toronto, Ontario on May 28.

"Jack is an inspired PA and a dynamic humanitarian who is able to make complex situations understandable," said Nicaraguan Pastor Julio Cortez, of Centers of Hope Mission International. "In spite of these formidable gifts, he is a humble and approachable person who loves to share his extensive knowledge with others."

Gardner is passionate about mentorship and encourages other PAs and healthcare providers to participate in medical missions and practice medicine in developing countries. To date, he has recruited and brought 19 healthcare providers to developing countries.

Gardner devotes a great deal of his effort to helping developing countries improve their own medical infrastructure.  For example, he coordinated $40,000 worth of donated medicines, $150,000 worth of medical equipment and recruited key personnel to train Malagasy midwives to handle high mortality problems. He was also instrumental in developing a sustainable healthcare model in Honduras through the Village Health Worker program, where people living in remote locations are trained to recognize, treat, or refer patients with medical problems that place them at high-risk of death. This Village Health Worker Model is now being expanded to several other developing countries.

SOURCE American Academy of Physician Assistants