SIM physicians available to speak on Ebola epidemic ahead of International Volunteer Day

Two SIM USA physicians — one a long-term veteran and the second a new, short-term volunteer — are headed to Ebola-stricken West Africa and available to speak this week in advance of International Volunteer Day, Dec. 5, on a variety of topics related to the outbreak, the healthcare crisis in the region, and the role and need for volunteers.

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985, International Volunteer Day (www.unv.org/what-we-do/intl-volunteer-day.html) celebrates volunteerism around the globe. People in more than 80 countries will take part in the event by volunteering to make their communities stronger.

• Dr. John Fankhauser, 52, from Ventura, Calif., was practicing family medicine at SIM's ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, when the Ebola epidemic began there earlier this year. Since the outbreak, he has served two medical tours in the country. He treated many patients, including SIM missionary Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly of Samaritan's Purse. He also cared for SIM doctor Rick Sacra in Liberia after he was diagnosed with Ebola and assumed Sacra's duties there when Sacra returned to the U.S. for treatment. Fankhauser has personally experienced quarantine twice. He returns to Liberia Dec. 5.
• Dr. Dan Crawford, 64, a family practitioner from Portland, Ore., will travel to SIM's ELWA Hospital in Liberia with his wife, Kathy, Dec. 5 for a three-month tour as a practicing physician there. This will be his first trip to the Ebola-stricken region. Crawford has been in private practice since the late 1980s. He previously served in Indonesia from 1979 to 1988 and has experience in international and travel medicine. For 15 years, Crawford volunteered at a low-cost clinic in Portland monthly and currently takes mission trips with his church to India and Lebanon each year.

"We are thankful for John and Dan and their commitment to providing critical medical care for those in this hard-hit region of the world," said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA. "Since the start of the Ebola outbreak, we have seen numerous people make the decision to go in at great personal sacrifice and provide critical care. That's the core of what SIM is as an organization."