Hello and welcome to Good News York sponsored
by As in the Go, Get As in the Go dot com, Mike
Brindisi with you. Not in studio. I wish this
was our studio. It's absolutely beautiful. I
am here today at Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists
to meet some of the team. They also the team
members for Operation Walk New York, which is
a nonprofit volunteer medical services organization
providing free hip and knee joint replacement
for patients who are underserved. Kim Murray,
Vinny Marino, Amelia Serio, and Jim Colon. Did
I say your name right, Serio? Serio. Okay, I
got it right. So you guys do so much, and I want
to get into all of that, but let's start. Just
go around the table, introduce yourself, and
tell us a little bit about what you do. So my
name is Amelia Serio. I work at ASWA as a medical
assistant. I'm the team, I was that patient care
assistant, so helping out with physical therapy
and the nurses, it was just amazing experience.
Great. I'm Kim Murray. I'm the chief clinical
officer here at Syracuse Ospetic Specialists,
and my role in Operation Walk New York is I am
a board member and the clinical director for
the program. And I'm Jim Colon for SOS. I am
the director of ancillary services at some of
the clinical departments, including radiology.
And for Operation Walk, I'm the cargo logistics
coordinator. I'm Vincent Marino at SOS. I am
one of the physical therapists here and in the
department I also do operations supervisor. And
then as part of the team of Operation Walk, I'm
part of the therapy staff there, you know, getting
people up, they have surgery, you get them walking,
get them moving. Awesome. Now, obviously, as,
you know, employees of SOS, You do amazing things
to begin with. You're providing medical services.
But what's really exciting is Operation Walk,
which is your non for profit where you provide
medical services for people who are in countries
that are underprivileged. Recently, you guys
did a trip to Ghana and I mean, we could talk
about that this entire time because it's amazing.
Why don't you tell us a little bit about how
Operation Walk came about? and kind of what it
is exactly that you do. Okay, sure. So Operation
WAW is a national organization. It was founded
by a world -renowned joint replacement surgeon
in 1995, Dr. Larry Dorr. He has since passed
away, but left a great legacy behind being the
Operation WAW medical mission program that he
founded. So since 1995, he was... based in LA.
So the first Operation Walk chapter was Operation
Walk LA, and they began going to, they started
in Russia, but then they began going other places
in the world to provide access to hip and knee
replacement surgery, where that was not available.
Not available because they didn't have the skill
set for the surgeons there, and certainly not
available because they didn't have the implants
and equipment needed for the surgery. So when
he launched that and became very successful,
And then over the course of the years, between
1995 and now, they have had other geographic
locations of Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Boston, Chicago, Syracuse, which has expanded
to New York, reach out to the LA organization
and say, hey, we'd like to start our own chapter.
So we function loosely organized with an overarching
umbrella of Operation Walk. but then we have
individual chapters that are our own independent
501c3 organizations that we take our show on
the road with our own volunteers to go to other
places in the world that don't have access to
hip and knee replacement surgery. That's amazing.
So it's less about funding and just more about
the skill set that they lack over there. You
mean in terms of need? In terms of need, yeah.
Yeah, it's both. So they don't have the skill
set because they don't have the funding or the
access to what they need to do the surgery. So
no one would go down the path of developing that
skill set when they don't have access to what
they need to be able to do those surgeries. Absolutely.
That makes so much sense. How do you go about
finding a team that wants to be a part of this
and building that team? So we launched in 2010.
Our first medical mission trip was to Nepal.
That was our orientation trip. So we fielded
a team of about 50 people that went to Nepal.
It was such a tremendous experience, and the
volunteers had so, you know, so emotionally overwhelming
with the good that we were able to do there.
Really seeing the outcomes in patients that each
year as we developed and strategize and plan
for a new trim. The word, the power of the word
of the volunteers speaks for itself. We rarely
have trouble filling positions because people
want to return as a team member when they can.
Sometimes life prevents them from doing that.
Conflicts with time off, conflicts with weddings,
life events and things like that. But most volunteers
always want to return. And then when we do have
vacancies on the team, through that word of mouth
and just telling our story, we have plenty of
volunteers that want to jump on and become part
of that team. I mean, how could you not want
to? It's such an amazing thing that you do. And
now with Operation Walk, obviously, we're going
to talk about the trip to Ghana. And you talked
about Nepal. What is everyday life in Syracuse
like for Operation Walk? What are some of the
kind of things that you do here on a daily basis?
Yep, so I'm going to let Jim talk about one of
the biggest things, but an overarching kind of
planning for a mission trip. There's several
components to it. The planning starts about a
year out. It's about a year long process for
a variety of reasons. The number one being financial
support. Our team is completely a volunteer team.
Nobody in Operation Walk in any chapter, including
ours, draws a salary. We have no administrative
staff. It's really a 100 % volunteer organization.
And so everything we do to fund the trip really
relies on the generosity of others, fundraising
activities, spreading word of mouth, and trying
to get the money we need to be able to feel the
trip. So that's the first thing. We have to get
to a certain amount in our bank account in order
to say, OK, hey, we have enough money. We can
go ahead and start planning the logistics of
the trip. So there's the financial component.
There's the operational component of fielding
the team, you know, doing the logistics, working
with whatever country we're going to, with the
governmental relations, with all, with the hospital
that we're going to be working with, with the
healthcare providers that are queuing up the
patients and getting them ready for us to see.
And then actually just all the logistics that
go along with the trip. The biggest piece, which
I'm going to turn over to Jim to talk about,
is the preparation of the supplies and cargo.
And that's his... lifelong activity for a year.
It is, yeah. So, like Kim said, you look at the
bank account and you try to determine, is it
realistic to take a trip in any given year? And
then we start backdating and we say, okay, we
have a target of an October trip, so we have
to start counting backwards. We know how long
it takes to get... attempt to get granted implants
and all the consumables. When we backdate, we
start looking at, we have a local shipping partner
here that's been great to us at Seco Logistics.
And we look at a potential shipping date. We
know now that we've been to Ghana six times.
Six times. We know how long it takes to ship
to. typically arrive to Ghana. So we set the
date and when we started backdating, we realized
typically, oh, we're late. And so then it's a
lot of paperwork as fast as possible to try to
get implant companies to donate the implants
and to start counting the inventory that's sitting
at Seco on the shelves from the last trip, what's
back, what's outdated and what's usable. You
know, talk a little bit about, it's a standalone
operation, meaning that when we go to the destination,
we bring, we're reliant, probably 95 % or greater
on everything we bring and ship in advance. So
a lot of Jim's role in his team, he has a team
of local people that help with that, are getting
the donations or purchasing. the items, but just
talk about the breadth of the items that you
bring. Yeah, we have an inventory list, a par
level list of what we would typically bring on
any particular trip, and we have the column of
here's what we have now, and the numbers are
typically very low, here's what we need to make
the trip, and here's the balance, here's what
we have to acquire, and that's when we start
begging, borrowing, maybe stealing. supplies
and we get as much donated as possible until
we finally get to the point of Kim gives the
okay okay start start placing orders and we have
a great partner over at our surgery center a
couple of great partners at the surgery center
who do inventory and procurement that's that's
their their specialty and we start placing orders
and they start showing up at the warehouse in
my garage and it's We ship 20 full pallets of
products, and that goes into a 40 -foot container,
which is an 18 -wheeler container. And those
pallets are all packed exactly at the maximum
height of, well, I know it's to my fingertips.
And those are full. We have a deadline to get
the truck down to the Port of New Jersey. where
it then goes on the ship and then we watch it
go overseas and finally hit the port in Ghana
and then from there anything goes. We can get
to that too. The interesting part is unpacking
the container in Ghana. A team of 50 people unpacked
the truck in, what, two, three hours we have.
We haven't marched it, you know, to where it
needs to go and disperse it throughout the hospital.
It's quite the event. That is amazing. And it's
really... Think about, like, the scope of what's
brought. It's the band -aids to the implants
that are actually put in the hips and knees,
and then everything between. It's suture, it's
the OR supplies, it's crutches, it's lockers,
it's everything. The only thing we do is there's
certain things that, a small amount of things
we purchase in country, because it doesn't make
sense. IV bags are big, they're heavy. Why would
we... pack IV bags and send them over. So we,
we purchase those in country from them. It also
supports their elderly autonomy when we do that.
And then some medications, they can't, you can't
ship the things we buy. But other than that,
you know, Jim and his team, all the team of volunteers
have really procured every single thing you can
possibly need for the trip. That is absolutely
mind blowing to me. I can't even go to the grocery
store and remember everything on my list. I can't
imagine having to prep. for this kind of trip.
Are there any, because it is, you know, different
countries, different laws, how do you deal with
the legal side of things? Are there things that
you kind of have to hurdle or work around or
work with? Government relations in any country
are challenging. So the foundation is having
good relationships with, you know, your destination
hospital, the administration of that hospital,
and then the Minister of Health. the Minister
of Commerce, all those ministries within a country.
And very honestly, Ghana has been challenging
because their government turns over quite frequently.
And just when you forge the right relationships,
you get the right paperwork in place, you think,
okay, we're good this time. Okay, government
turns over and it's like Groundhog Day, you're
starting all over, like, hey, we're out, we should
walk newer. Again, Jim deals with a lot of that
and a lot, especially the import paperwork, the,
you know, everything we need to get those supplies
in there because we can get the team in there
pretty easily. But if the supplies aren't there,
you know, it's the mission's a no -go. Yeah.
And, you know, before we get into the Ghana trip,
real quick, what is the process of kind of finding
out where there is, you know, what countries
are in need of these services? How do you go
about choosing where you do these missions? Yep,
so as part of the National Umbrella Organization,
there are established sites. What it means by
established sites, it means that those government
relations have been forged, that you have an
in -country host or angel, sometimes they call
them. It's willing to work with you at that end
to accrue the patients to the hospitals that
the operational teams work with have to virtually
shut down their ORs for the time that we're there.
So they have to have some level of agreement
that they'll do that, that they'll support the
patient care before we get there, and then after
we leave, that they'll continue that patient
care. So that's critically important, is that
you have those relations. So there's probably
20 sites that we would call established operation
walk sites, and all of the teams can rotate through
those. We've been to other countries besides
Ghana, but in 2014, the LA kind of mothership
reached out and said, hey, someone in Ghana says
there's a significant need there, which there
is, and I'll let these guys talk about that,
would you consider going to Ghana? So that involved
probably two or three scouting trips to Ghana
to make the right relations. That's what our
team did, to make the right connections, to make
sure you had the support, that you had a destination
you could go to, and that you had medical staff
and administrative staff willing to do what they
needed to do to bring us there. So we established
Ghana in 2014. So that's kind of an Operation
Walk New York startup for Ghana. But then any
Operation Walk team is able to go there. So any
Operation Walk team can go to any site that's
established. But Ghana is really the one that
we launched and the one we own. I think we've
really felt very committed to Ghana because it's
where we can do the most good. for the, you know,
the most value, the most good with the people
that need it the most. The difference between
Ghana and a lot of the other countries, the people
are younger. So sickle cell. So in Ghana, the
black Africans have sickle cell anemia, which
causes they have actually necrosis of the hips.
So we're working on young people there. Our average
age of our hips are what, 30? Twenty -five. Yeah,
so younger. We go to other countries that's mostly
untreated, trauma and arthritis, and are older.
So we're working on young people and really changing
lives in ways that doesn't happen in other countries.
You know, we have people that come in and they
haven't sat in a chair for seven years. They
haven't worked. Their husbands or wives have
left them because they can't have kids. And we
fix that, and then they can... Hopefully give
head to life some of the people we fixed in the
past there are now students and teachers and
and So we the good that we do there. That's what
we've really committed to. That's why we like
Ghana That's amazing. And if you guys don't know
I'm not a doctor I know shopping so but I do
wonder you know, you're coming from a country
where primarily your Your patients are older
and now you're going to a country where you just
said they're you know, 24 25 years old From a
medical standpoint, does that change any procedures
or in the way that they recovered? Is it something
that you have to kind of learn before you go?
I bring a lot more crutches and walkers. Okay,
here they get walkers, there they get crutches.
All right. So we've learned that over the years
that we don't need as many walkers. But there's
challenges on the orthopedic side with the physicians
and how they do the surgeries because the pathology
is different. It's much more severe as far as
just how bad the joints are compared to here.
And then their bones are different, right? Yeah,
the skilled surgical team that we bring and we've
got, I would say one of our surgeons that goes
has 40 years experience as a joint replacement
physician. And he clearly still says, these are
the toughest cases I've ever done in my life
because of what Vinny identified. The pathology
is different. The age is different. But when
you talk about the recovery, the recovery is
pretty quick. They're very hardy people that
don't have antibiotic resistance because they
don't take antibiotics like we do. They take
very few medications. and they're really committed
to having the surgery and getting up and just
starting in right away, their recovery. They're
hardy people, very resilient, and this is so
life -changing for them that they really don't
care that they're going to experience the pain
of surgery or whatever. Six to 10 hours after
bilateral knees or bilateral hips, we'll have
them up and walking, and they're smiling. Oh
my God. It's really... different and then we
learn a lot there by what we do there out of
necessity or out of just because of the pathologies
a little different we bring some of that experiences
home and say hey we can do these things here
in the states because we've seen it work in this
situation so. And Amelia, no, Amelia is out on
the floor, so she's, you know, the OR people
are doing their thing, recovery room, you know,
PT, but Amelia's at the end where she's seeing
all of that pre and post -op, so that would be
great if you could kind of enjoy it. The second
day we walked in, it was amazing, just the way
people walking around were like, oh, take a second,
let's help you out here, and they're just running
around, and they're all just like, everybody
was taking videos of each other walking around,
and just so amazing. A lot of them are going
back to university and school, even if they had
said different educational pathways that they
weren't able to access before the surgery, so
just... Yeah. So many questions about the trip
itself, but real quick, do you all play a different
individual role when you go over, or is it kind
of you're all on the... Obviously, you're all
on the same team. You're all doing the same thing,
or does everybody kind of have a different role?
Yeah, the team is made up of... and all of the
roles we need, the traditional roles here in
country. You know, the surgical team, which is
surgeons, anesthesia providers, OR teams, the
recovery room teams, physical therapy, you know,
logistics, cargo, floor staff, all of that. But
one of the big things is, you know, functions
within their scope of practice. But also part
of the onboarding for volunteers is we clearly
say, you do what you're gonna do within your
role, but then you're gonna do everything else.
I like to say there, I'm a physical therapist,
but I also do whatever Kim needs me to do. You
know, I've had physicians walking holding IV
bags while I'm walking patients. Wouldn't happen
here in the States. You know, or we had one of
our volunteers is a director of HR of a hospital
system and he's a patient care assistant on the
trip. You know, so, you know, everybody just
jump on board and do what needs to be done. There's
always something to do. Yeah. Along those lines,
what does it feel like for the Operation Walk
Team to go from a U .S. hospital environment
to a Ghanaian context of limited resources? How
does that shift your perspective on things? Well,
we've been there. enough at the same hospital
with a lot of the same phases. So we've adjusted,
we've adjusted the equipment we go with, we adjust
our expectations. But you know that you may show
up in some of the surgical lighting doesn't work.
Or much of the surgical lighting doesn't work.
So you bring everything you can, maybe it's lighting
on tripods, maybe it's... you know, hiking headlamps.
So we've learned and we're comfortable going
there now, expecting the unexpected. But they
do have, this is a big old hospital and they
do know what they're doing. They have biomed
people there. I'm also supposed to be a biomed
guy. My extent is duct tape and batteries. He's
got a paper clip and a rubber band. Well, when
things go down, there are people show up. You
know, we can talk about the autoclaves where
you sterilize all of your equipment. Those things
have to be up 100 % of the time to get for us
to get to the finish line or else everything
slows down and you start to find empty operating
rooms that are clean and ready for the next patient.
Kim will tell you, we have to turn these over
fast. When there's an empty room for 10 or 15
minutes, we all start worrying about the volume.
Somebody's going to miss out on surgery because
an autoclave may have gone down. But they know
we're coming. They have extra hands on deck.
We bring everything we possibly can. Fuses. duct
tape, you know, everything to try to keep going.
And the experience has helped because we've been
there. Your motto when you go there has to be,
you got to work what you got. And I think that's
one of the things we like is overachievers and
we love taking the challenge. And if we don't
have A, all right, we're going to switch to B.
So out of all the inventory stuff, we lost the
hand sanitizer this year. That's it, because
you only didn't make it on the trip with the
sanitizer. Well, I guess, I mean, maybe you did
already answer. My next question was, you know,
I think, you know, other than what you're actually
doing, I think some of the most impressive parts
of your mission is the logistics and the planning
and everything. I'm assuming you guys have dealt
with delayed cargo or transportation problems.
This is not like, oh darn, our shampoo has not
arrived. We're talking about things that are
helping to better people's lives. Do you have
an experience where that happened and how do
you guys deal with that in the moment? We have
multiple experiences. So we don't mind the delay
because we like to challenge and figure it out.
The problem is it costs surgeries and then we
can help less people. So we've had years where
we've had to cut the surgery schedule short because
We've had delays based on, you know, delays in
cargo shipping and those kind of things, so.
You know, ironically, one year, you know, it's
usually as the foster recipients end with their
government in terms of, you know, delays or paperwork
issues or things that delay. But one year was
a 2019 where our cargo got stuck in the U .S.
port and they wouldn't release it to go. You
don't expect that to happen on the U .S. side.
Right, right. Yeah. It was horrible. Again, we
work with a professional logistics group here.
We always meet our deadline for when the truck
needs to be at the port to get the container
on the ship. But US Customs, they're doing what
they need to do. They flagged our container.
God knows where it went. And they sat on it.
And day by day, we missed the first ship. We
missed the next ship another week later. We missed
the third ship, all because the US Customs just
parked our container somewhere. I still don't
know why. Yeah. It cost us an extra $40 ,000
that year to unload everything and send it by
air. We had to fly everything there. Thank goodness
for my logistics partner. But you can't just
cancel the trip. There's 45 of us that have planned
our personal vacation time, non -refundable,
very expensive tickets, flights. Hotels are booked
over there. Dinners are booked over there. Patients
are queued up to come. Yeah, so they can turn
it into a nightmare. We have a partner on the
Ghanaian side now who understands cargo logistics.
It's a profession. So he donates his time. He
donates money, too, to pay taxes, that. were
supposedly, you know, we were supposed to have
exempt. Right. And he does everything he can.
This trip we were honestly in the car driving
to JFK and I finally got the picture with the
cargo container on the truck heading to the hospital.
It was that day we were getting on the plane.
So it's exciting. So obviously you guys are employed
by Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists and Operation
Walk is kind of its own thing under that umbrella.
How much is SOS involved in all of this? Is this
kind of like a, hey, we're gonna handle the operation
wall thing, or we've got it on our own, or are
they involved in any sort of aspect of that?
Yeah, SOS, the board of directors, the position
shareholders for the company are... Many of them
are members of our Operation Walk Team and come
with us, but they're also very supportive of
the mission organization. They assist us with
fundraising. They assist us with logistics. You
know, they let us use the physical plan to do
storage of some things. There's many volunteers
within the SOS walls that don't travel with the
team necessarily, but there's internal SOS volunteers.
They're helping with everything from fundraising
to supply acquisition to... the reams of paperwork
and applications and things that have to happen.
Social media, we have, you know, SOS volunteers
that help with that. So SOS is extremely supportive
of our mission Walk New York and all of our mission
trips that we take, both from a, you know, a
human support. factor as well as a financial
support fundraising factor. That's wonderful.
Every year we get a little less SOS because people
start moving and we have people now from Chicago,
Boston, Tampa, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia,
LA, Saratoga. We actually changed our name. We
were incorporated as Operation Walk Syracuse
and then we have a large number of volunteers
that come from a partner orthopedic practice.
which is home based in Albany and Saratoga area.
We have a lot of physician, anesthesia, staff
volunteers. So that's when, you know, a few years
ago we changed the name to Operation Walk New
York to better reflect our membership. I love
that. How often are you guys doing these missions?
Is this a once a year thing or every couple of
years? It's supposed to be every year. Okay.
We've gone every year for many years, but then
when the bank account doesn't get to the right
amount, we have to delay. Yeah. And a couple
more questions. I know you guys are very busy
and I want to respect that. But this is this
is so interesting. So you hear about major surgeries,
like heart surgeries, brain surgeries, and we
all think, oh, my gosh, this is this is so life
changing for these patients. But we all understand
always that mobility and independence is. it's
just as important. It's a quality of life. And
you kind of, from my perspective, you don't appreciate
it until something's wrong, right? Like the first
time I got a back injury and I, I mean, I was
in pain just laying there, you know, you start
appreciating things like that. What part does
joint replacement play in restoring quality of
life, especially like when patients are younger?
Well, in Ghana, it's much different than the
States. The States here is often just pain function
related to, you know, more recreational activities.
In Ghana, we're talking about life or death and
the ability to contribute to their family, contribute
to their... you know, town and community, you
know, they can't work if they, these hips and
some of the knees and the trauma that we see
are so profound that they, again, can't sit.
They can't use a normal, a normal bathroom setup.
They can't, you know, walk without an assistive
device. We see a lot of leg length discrepancies
that are really, really, really severe, an inch
or two. So they have, you know, severe, you know,
gave abnormality. So there it... It's not even
about function, it's about living and surviving
to some degree. We're repeat team members, right?
Amelia, this is her first year here, so I'd love
to hear you just talk about... You know, the
patients, they were, what did you experience?
What did you see in the theater and feel? Because
it's highly emotional. On the floor, it was definitely
emotional. There was actually a woman that we
had cared for who was homebound for many years.
And she used to be in nursing school, and she
had to jump out because she was unable to walk
from class to class and to actually care for
patients. She had received a joint art placement
in a crowd, which was in Ghana. And it was very
expensive. She actually had to sell her family
land to get the other hip replacement. And so
it was amazing to hear that she was able to come
in, follow the Facebook she found us on there,
and get the other hybrid plays, and she was so
excited to go back. And just a little stuff like
she was like, I love to dance, I used to dance,
and I didn't get to any more at all. Yeah. And
so I imagine you must come back sometimes. with
friendships. I mean, do you stay in touch with
some of the patients after? I did follow some
patients on Facebook, and they're all excited,
and they also like to hear about the US, and
we're just talking about Prince Donald, like
McDonald's, stuff like that, that they're super
interested in. All the things we take for granted.
We've been there, what, six trips, you said?
And I think every time we have people returning
who've seen us years before, and I think this
year we had somebody come that's been there every
year. Just to say thank you. Just to say thank
you. And he's... And when we say come to see
us, it's a 16 -hour bus ride. Yeah. It's not,
you know, getting in your car and driving down
the street. So that's a really rewarding stuff
thing for us to see that and to see these people
year after year that they come back and say,
hey, thank you, and you're doing great work.
You know, we see, especially working in social
media, we see a lot of people out there... We
call keyboard warriors that think they're changing
the world by making some posts on Facebook and
what you guys are doing You really are changing
the world I mean you you are what we talk about
when we say how can we make a difference in the
world? You guys are doing that and I'm honored
to be here Talking about it as far as the training
you were talking earlier about One of the main
reasons you do go over to Ghana is not just for
lack of funding or resources, it's the training.
A lot of the doctors there don't have the skill
to do these kind of surgeries. So while you're
over there doing these, is there an educational
aspect too? Are you also kind of teaching their
surgeons what to do? We do, but for the most
part... is what they deal with at the orthopedic
hospital there. I mean, we could teach them to
do joint replacement. We could, you know, accentuate
their skill set with that, but they don't have
access to the implants and what's needed to do
that. So it would almost be like a teaser to
say, let me show you how to do it. Let me show
you how, but you can't do it. Exactly. So really
we do a lot of education and engagement with
the medical staff and with the hospital staff,
but it's more about... How do you prep the patients?
How do you find the right patients that are going
to get the most benefit from what we do? And
then how do we work in tandem after we leave
for them? Because they're the eyes, ears, and
hands on the ground after we leave. So we're
in constant communication with them in terms
of any patient issues that arise, any problems.
The recovery process. Yeah. So they are completely
responsible for the management of patients after
we leave. Because of how important it is, the
demand is, with what you do, do you find that
when they know you're coming over, how do you
manage the patient list? Because I would assume
everybody's lining up, right? This is kind of,
you're coming for a short period of time. We've
got to fit it in. Kim gets lots of emails. I
would imagine. Yeah, so the hospital administrator
at St. Joseph's Hospital in Kofaritawa is where
we go. Kofaritawa... We worked with him for most
of the years, someone preceded him, but he's
been with us for many, many years. He and his
medical team accrue the patients is what we call
it. So as patients reach out through email, through
social media, or present to their hospital saying,
hey, would I be considered for a hip or a knee
replacement, they manage that list and they come
up with a potential patient list. Sometimes we
travel there to pick up the x -rays because they
had a really... had an electronic pack system,
or the ability to transmit images electronically,
which I think that's changing. But right now,
they accrue the patients. We develop a patient
list, which we get far in advance, even though
more and more patients are added to the list,
because it's hard to say no to anybody to at
least be screened. But we had, I think, 380 patients
on the list to be screened, reviewed, or whatever
for this trim. We do a lot of pre -work here,
like looking at the x -rays, looking at the patient's
medical condition, looking at things like, first
of all, do they even need surgery? Some people
have a lot of pain that isn't, they think it's
their hip or knee and it's not. It's their back
or it's some other issue, in which case a hip
or knee replacement is not going to help them.
We also look to see what are their other medical
conditions they have, because certainly the goal
is to do a procedure, make them better. not cause
any kind of complications because they're so
medically unstable that something could happen
during the surgery, like someone who's had a
fresh heart attack or someone who has other major
issues. So we try to have good, robust medical
data about them. And then we also look at, you
know, who are the candidates that are going to
have the best recovery trajectory as well as
can get back to life and society in Ghana. And
so as we go through that pre -screening process,
and then when we're there, screening clinic is
just a crazy place, and people show up beyond
the number of people we said we would identify.
And that's probably the toughest part, right?
You know, Amelia and Vinnie were there in screening
clinic, and there's a lot of people that get
nos. So, you know, talk about that. Yeah, it's
definitely tough to sit there and just have to
facilitate that, like, you know, I'm really sorry,
you know. Yeah, there's probably, you know, in
our screening clinic, we get there and it's kind
of a big kind of warehouse set up with treatment
rooms on the outside of it. And there's three,
four hundred people milling around, you know,
families, people on our list, people not on our
list. They'll kind of walk up to us with their
x -rays and say, can you look at these? Kim has
never said no once in her life on any of those.
We'd sit in there. Yes. So we, you know, one
of the one of the great things about being there
and not having to kind of live under the regulatory
environment of the the states is we can add on
people we can do things differently we can we
can know all right we have an extra case open
for for Wednesday we had somebody we can get
them going right away so you know but there's
a lot of benefits to that there too that we can
just I focus 100 % on patient care which is really
what we have to do that is incredibly selfless
and amazing I was told I need to wrap it up but
I have to ask this last question because it is
important the reflection of cultural change cultural
exchange and gratitude. You guys are coming back
from Ghana, and you're working on these patients,
and you're working in a different healthcare
system. Your mindset must change, or at least
your point of view. Can you talk a little bit
about how you feel when you come back, maybe
the first time, and what you learned? Again,
so actually when I came back... It was just amazing
to walk in and realize how grateful I was for
all the supplies that I had, and for just everything
that I had ready for me, even just our electronic
healthcare system, everything, computer, everything.
It's amazing. That just reminds me of a picture
of Nick. Nick was another SOS medical assistant
that went with us, and a picture that really
resonates. I think it resonates with everyone.
So many things you take for granted, right? You
know, there is, here, we do cooling on patients
post -op. That's a pain reduction, swelling reduction.
And there, pouring in valves, getting blocks
of ice, and then, you know, in the bag, he's
got a hammer and he has to chop the ice to get
them in little baggies to use. He's dealing an
ice machine with the wiring to make the ice.
These are the things that every American needs
to hear and see, because I think we all need
a moment of pause sometimes to say, we had a
pretty good. Looking ahead, what are the hopes
for your next missions, and how can people support
Operation Walk New York? Well, we're hopeful
that we can go back to Ghana again in the fall
of 2026. But that heavily depends. I know we
have a... very willing list of volunteers. They
would pack up tomorrow and go if we could, but
it always relies on funding and the ability to
generate the money that we need to be able to
fund a trip. So certainly any assistance with
fundraising. No donation is too small. We have
some grateful patients who might send in a $5
donation. Well, a lot of $5 donations add up.
So big or small, any way that individuals willing
to give back or grateful patients can contribute,
we very much welcome that. And we would go to
OperationWalkNewYork .org. All right. Is it?
It says OperationWalkNewYork .org. Okay, and
that's what it is. Yes, and there is a donation
link on there December 2nd, I believe, it's Giving
Day. We'll be making a push for donations then.
No one is too small, but we can use some really
big ones too. We're healthcare people. We are
really bad at asking for money. Because we like
to give, we don't like to take. So we need some
help on that side of things. Well, when people
watch and listen to this interview, I think you
won't have a hard time finding people that want
to donate because your story is amazing. I'm
honored that I got to sit here with you guys.
You truly are making a difference in the world.
You're incredibly selfless. So with that... I
want to just give a proper outro here. Amelia
Serio, Operation Walk year of medical assistant
and medical assistant at SOS. Jim Murray, Operation
Walk New York director and chief clinical officer
at SOS. We've got Jim Colon, Operation Walk New
York imaging and director of ancillary services
at SOS. And next to me, of course, Vinny Marino.
You are the physical therapist and physical therapy
operations supervisor at SOS. Thank you guys
so much for your time. And any last words? Yeah,
come with us next time. Yeah, we need social
media people. We actually do have a social media
contingent on our team. You ask my team over
there, I'm the last person. It will throw me
out of the plane. Can you break ice? I can break
ice. There you go. Can you post? That's all we
need. Sign me up. What if we need to do surgery?
No surgery. No surgery. You can watch, but you
can't do it. That is another episode of Big News
Show Friday. It's finally by Ed Dunlego again,
EdDunlego .com. It's Cherokee Specialist Operation
Walk New York. Amazing stuff. Amazing to be a
part of. Welcome to Good News York. It is Mike
Vrindisi with you, without Matt. He's really
missing out because I am here. This is a very,
very special interview. Executive Director of
the Samaritan Center, Mary Beth Fry. Thank you
for being here. You're amazing. I am not. Yes,
you are. You know, coming here, we knew as a
team where we were going. We were going to a
place that would help underprivileged individuals
with food and other things. But I'm learning
so much more even when I walked in. You do much
more than just feed the hungry. Tell us a little
bit about yourself, your background and how the
Samaritan Center came about and what it is you
do. All right. So the Samaritan Center has been
in this beautiful space for 10 years, but we've
been around for over 44. We started as a brown
bag lunch program in downtown Syracuse and then
slowly built our capacity and our organization
to be able to provide over one hundred and twenty
thousand meals to folks struggling with hunger
and poverty here in Syracuse and central New
York. We do that with nine staff and 1 ,500 volunteers
dedicated every month to making this place possible.
We like to think of it as a community kitchen
table, right? It's a place where if you think
about your own kitchen table, it's where you
come to take a breath, to share your struggles,
to share your victories, to feel connected to
something bigger, right? To be part of community.
And that's what we try to create here. You know,
when you hear about... food pantries and shelters.
We all kind of have these preconceived notions
about what it might look like. And I think it's
important for everybody in this country and in
the world to see what really goes on anyway.
But when I walked in, I don't know what I was
expecting, but it wasn't this. This is absolutely
beautiful. And I feel like it's welcoming. You
come in and you don't feel kind of like out of
place. How does the the renovation of the church
come about and and how long has it been as beautiful
as it is? So this was actually the first cathedral
of the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse So that's
why it's so ornate and so beautiful We were fortunate
enough to be able to purchase it outright ten
years ago and did a capital campaign made, you
know 1 .2 million dollars in renovations and
Created this wonderful home for the folks that
we serve and it does it feels it feels like a
home now What I was pleasantly surprised to know
is you're you're not just what I don't know if
this is the proper term a soup kitchen of sorts
You guys have a daily meal program. You've got
case management and agency outreach. You've got
basic needs distribution You have your my place
program diaper distribution. I want to get into
all of that But before we do how did you get
involved with the Samaritan Center? So my background
was in direct services within mental health went
back to school to do some more administrative
stuff. I worked at United Way for a long time
doing granting and community investment, and
that's where I became familiar with the Samaritan
Center. For me personally, there was too much
paperwork for me at United Way, and I came from
a direct service place. So Samaritan Center is
this beautiful mix for me of administration,
program oversight, supervision, growth, and direct
service. So every day I get to see The reason
I do all the audits and budgets and all that
boring stuff. Sure. Every day I see the impact
of all that work and what we make possible here.
It's amazing. The Daily Meal program. Let's start
with that. Now, obviously, again, we knew coming
here that that was kind of the main deal was
to feed the the people that were were underprivileged.
But this is a little different. This is three.
It says three hundred and sixty five days. a
year, no questions asked, you are serving food,
nine staff, over 800 volunteers. Tell us a little
bit about that. So I think what makes us different
is that no questions asked philosophy, right?
If you're hungry, you're welcome. And then we
try to get to know people, right? As Mary Beth,
as Amanda, it's easier, right, to ask difficult
questions like, I've never been homeless before.
What do I do? My son is schizophrenic and I don't
know where to turn. My husband is beating me
and I don't know what to do. You can ask those
questions to Mary Beth more easily than you can
to someone who's saying, what's your social security
number? Where do you live? What's your income?
Prove to me that you're hungry. Right. So this
place is really about relationships and it's
about community and it's about connecting on
a basic human level so that we're all there together
kind of walking through really difficult days
and trying to support each other through that.
Do you find yourself when during the daily meal
Are we seeing you mingling, walking around, sitting
with some of the people, or are you in the office?
Are you back in the kitchen? What's it like for
you during that time? My best days are when I'm
out here during meal, right? Because that's where
my joy is, right? That's what energizes me to
do all the other stuff. So it's, yeah, best part
of my day is when I get to talk with the folks
that come here. Would you say a large percentage
of the people that do come here are kind of...
regulars, for lack of a better term, do you see
a lot of repeat people that have been here a
while? So what I would say is our population
is really, if you look at law of thirds, right?
The first third are folks that you might imagine
when you think about a soup kitchen, right? There
are folks you might see on the off ramps flying
signs. There are folks that are in encampments
under bridges. That's what people originally
first think and imagine that's everyone that's
here, right? Second, third are folks that are
going through some sort of crisis, right? They
may have had a car breakdown, and if they don't
fix the car, they lose the job, then they lose
the house. They may have a medical bill. They
have to buy prescriptions. They may have a heating
bill that gets extraordinarily high. They have
to make these really difficult choices between
food and heat, food and medicine. In that crisis
period, they rely on us. So those folks we see
for a very short period of time till they get
through this crisis and they move on. The final
third are folks that we see all the time. They're
folks on fixed incomes whose resources are not
going to grow, who in a competitive society,
they have difficult time competing, right? They
might be folks with disabilities. They might
be folks with mental health issues. They might
be vets with PTSD. They might be seniors on a
fixed income. We become part of what makes their
budget work. here is where they get their nutrition.
And those folks we see over a very long period
of time. I'm so glad you said that because, you
know, especially with what's going on right now
with the federal government and the SNAP benefits
program, you know, I'm seeing on social media
a lot, there really is a misconception about
not only what it is that you do, but the people...
that are in need. It's not just people who don't
have shelter. There are people who are working
40 hours a week and still can't afford, like
you said, making those difficult decisions. They're
living paycheck to paycheck. Those people are
just as much in need or in need as well, just
as much as the people that don't have shelter
as well. And I think that's an important thing
to highlight that this is to help everybody.
Yeah, and I think there's systemic issues, right?
I mean, there's minimum wage is not living wage,
right? If you think about the cost to rent an
apartment in the city of Syracuse, it's outrageous.
People don't have those sorts of resources, so
they're stretched to the very end. Utilities
have taken major jumps every single year and
are looking for another one to come in January.
HEAP has closed down. HEAP, which is an emergency
heating assistance program federally, has also
shut down and not been funded. So people are
very concerned and very worried about what this
winter will mean for them. There are families
that rely on these supplemental funds to be able
to feed their kids. And we know that the trick
to good development is solid nutrition. How do
you focus in school as a kid if your stomach
isn't full? How do you do anything? as an adult
or as a child when you're you know you're absolutely
right and and another thing that i've learned
along the way is that people don't think outside
of the box such as you know okay so some some
food is provided for people in need but the the
the healthy stuff that's out there the stuff
the nutrition that you're talking about are sometimes
more expensive and harder to access. And if you
think about food deserts, it's a popular term,
but basically it means access. Not having access
to grocery stores, to places where you can find
affordable food. We talk a lot about you can
get lottery programs in every corner bodega,
but you can't get ahead of broccoli. So where
is it that people are supposed to find healthy
food? They can't. And the cheap stuff... is poor
nutrition, high density calories. Exactly what
I meant. And, you know, it's so important. And
with what is going on with the federal government,
and this isn't political, this is just reality
of what's going on. Can you talk about a little
bit of the direct impact it's had on this American
center and the people that come here? So we've
seen an increase of probably 50 people a day
that are new to this program. Typically, if you
think about our cycle of service, right, in the
beginning of the month, we have a little bit
of a slowdown because people typically get their
SNAP benefits. They get their resources. So it
gets a little quieter. We have not seen that
in November. So we're doing 600 meals a day between
breakfast and lunch, which would have been more
typically an end of the month experience. So
people are more and more relying on pantries,
our local nonprofit organizations and places
like the Samaritan Center just to make sure they're
able to eat. In addition to the Daily Meal program,
I love getting into the rest of the things that
you do because it's so unique and so important.
You also do case management and agency outreach,
which is, you know, helping with unemployment,
underemployment, housing issues, benefits, legal
services, health care, the things that... we
take for granted. Talk a little bit about that
program. So if you think about the reason someone
might come to someplace like the Samaritan Center,
the variables are really complex and really varied,
right? They might be literacy issues, they might
be mental health issues, might be substance misuse,
they might be a legal issue. any of those things
can impact somebody's resources and their ability
to provide for themselves. What we do is have
case managers on site to hook people into the
resources that help address those problems with
the idea that we can help move people towards
self sufficiency. They don't rely on a place
like this, but they become more focused on a
more positive future and able to move towards
their own goals. I love that because it's almost
like. You know, you could look at the soup kitchen
as, OK, we're addressing the immediate issue.
That's the bandaid. You're hungry. We'll feed
you. You're addressing the long term issue, which
is. basic needs and the transition into a new
place, which brings me to your My Place program,
which is outstanding. Talk about that as well.
So My Place came about because we had a Jesuit
volunteer here. It was kind of like a Peace Corps
volunteer for a year. And she was working with
an individual who had just gotten a new apartment.
And he came to us so proud. He had his brass
key. And then he said, but I don't have anything
in there. It was four empty walls and what should
have been this beautiful moment of positive transition
became very lonely for him because he was going
to a place that he could lock the door but there
was nothing there to make it a home. So this
individual started our My Place program where
we provide basic essentials. If you think about
a kid going to college, it's sheets and blankets
and dishes and silverware and a coffee pot and
a little bit of art if we're lucky. And we'll
put in resources like, here's the pantry that's
near you. Here's the library that's in your neighborhood.
So that people start to feel part of a larger
community and they go into this space with a
box of community that says we're with you and
we support you. And this is wonderful. And you
go forth. That is wildly impressive that you
are able to do that. Again, thinking outside
of the box. We're not going to find you a place.
We're not only going to find you a place to live,
we're going to we're going to help give you the
basic things that you need to. to live. And start
to make it a home. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody needs
that. Everybody. And in addition, you're also
the basic needs distribution. And this is kind
of along the same lines. Again, thinking outside
of the box. We're hungry. We're going to feed
you. But hey, oh, I don't have deodorant. I don't
have. Talk about that. Once a month you do the
Basic Needs Closet. Twice a week it's the Basic
Needs Closet. It's the idea of the dignity of
self -care. If you can wash your hair, if you
can take a shower, if you have the basic things
to feel good about yourself, that changes your
entire attitude and your ability to then go out
into the world. We have a lot of folks that go
to interviews that need a razor. and need a little
shaving cream to clean up, right? That's pivotal
to their success. It feels small, but it's really
huge. And I think that's the message of this
place, right? It doesn't take $8 million. It
doesn't take 50 hours of volunteer work. Every
little bit that people do, people collect socks,
people collect toilet paper for us. One roll
of toilet paper can change someone's day. Of
course. Right? And it's those things that connecting
on a human level and providing basic stuff changes
the trajectory of the day. In addition to all
these amazing programs, there's one more I want
to talk about. It's your diaper distribution
program. We all know that child care, child care
in general is something that is hard to afford
for anybody, but outside of child care. some
of the basic needs like formula, diapers, things
like that, and you guys are able to provide that
as well. So once a month we partner with the
CNY Diaper Bank to distribute diapers to over
100 children. 95 -some families to be able to
give them not a full month's supply, but a little
helping hand in terms of the supplies that they
need to care for their children. What we know
is that's another difficult choice that families
are making. There's research about families reusing
diapers, trying to wash them out and reuse them.
And the anxiety that creates, the health issues
that creates is unreal. So this simple, simple
resource allows moms to feel good about taking
care of their kids. that makes kids feel wonderful,
right? Because they're more comfortable. And
then we help connect them into other supports
they might need, like healthy families and imagination
library and all these other things that help
a family thrive. You know, I never understood
how it became politicized that basic needs should
not be a luxury. It should be a right, you know?
And I've always believed that. Have you seen,
have you experienced kind of any great redemption
stories where you saw someone come here, kind
of down on their luck, going through a lot and
through your program, made it out to the other
side and succeeding today. There's a lot of those
folks. It's pretty impressive. We have a few
people now that are working. We got them hooked
in with a manufacturing training program through
McNe. Right. So we know that kind of. in this
community, many communities, manufacturing workers,
right, are difficult to come by. So this is a
particular program that was designed to reach
out to typically untapped and underserved populations
to help them access employment opportunities.
So we've been able to get a number of our folks
into this training program where they're enrolled
at OCC. They're going to get clothing to be able
to make that next transition. They're getting
the training and then they're guaranteed interviews
at the end of the program to try to hook them
into program. So that then, right, ripples out.
So you have income, then you get shelter, and
then you have self -esteem, and then you're doing
all the things that make us, you know, every
day feel kind of normal, right? These are miracle
things for our folks. I don't know if there's
a God, but if there is, you're doing God's work,
Mary Beth. It's absolutely amazing. Few more
questions. Now, it's astounding how many volunteers
you have a month. Over 800, if not more. Did
you have you seen a change in? Did you have to
come from a place of like? really trying to actively
find volunteers and now it's to a point where
you're just blessed with an influx or how does
how's that been for you finding volunteers? We
are always in need of volunteers so it takes
between 15 and 20 volunteers every meal and then
another 10 to 15 to help prep all those things
so we are always looking for people that are
interested spending a couple hours down here.
I will say this community is incredibly generous
and incredibly supportive and incredibly kind.
So we've been fortunate, especially with the
current environment, to have a lot of people
reaching out to say, how can I help? Whether
it's a food drive, whether it's volunteering,
whether it's donating funds, this is an incredible
community that rises when there's challenges
like this. The way it should be. If somebody
is in need of any of these things, how can they...
reach out or what's the best course of action
to come to the Samaritan Center and get the help
they need? To get help, you just walk through
the door when we're open. So we do breakfast
Monday through Friday, 630 to 830, and then an
afternoon meal seven days a week, one to 230.
So you are absolutely welcome to come get a meal,
share a kitchen table with us, and we'll get
to know you and see how we can help. Outside
of that, I guess I'd say that an amazing resource
here in Onondaga County is 211. So folks are
in need of really any resource that they need
to help support them in their life journey. If
you call 211, there's professionals ready to
answer and try to connect people to what it is
that they need. Amazing. And we know Thanksgiving's
coming up. I'm sure that's kind of a big deal
for this American Center and for the community.
Do you do anything different on the holidays
that you don't do 364 other days of the year?
I think we cook a lot of food on Thanksgiving.
I bet. Like everybody's holiday, right? Thanksgiving
is a lot about food. So we start almost a week
ahead roasting turkeys and getting everything
ready and baking pies and all that kind of stuff.
But I guess I would say not that a holiday is
like every other day, but every day here is about
love and acceptance and respect and just making
sure people feel. Feel a presence here. I love
that What do you hope for for the Samaritan Center
in the next coming weeks months years? And do
you have anything? kind of lined up along the
way I think right now we're trying to manage
the environment, right? Right now it's really
shifting and changing underneath our feet. So
we're trying to make sure that we're stocking
in the food we need as numbers increase, that
we're recruiting volunteers to help us support
that increase in folks. Kind of longer term,
we're looking at the possibility of mobile outreach
for our meals. So are we able to take food into
the communities that need that? This case management
program, we just... launched a new expansion.
So we got new offices, two new staff to help
address all those other issues in a much more
in -depth way. So there's a lot of things kind
of piling on and rippling forward for this organization.
But I think my goal is always to create this
place of sanctuary, right? Which is kind of funny
because you're in a sanctuary, right? But this
is a place where people can take a breath and
think about what their next step is and then
have the support around it. So with all the great
schemes we might have, right, we want to stay
grounded. and what it is that our guests need
and where we came from and how we connect as
humans. Wonderful. Last question. I think there's
a lot of we talked about this. There's a lot
of misconceptions with what it is that you do.
And, you know, there might be some people out
there who are in need, whether it be big or small,
that might be even hesitant to reach out because
maybe they're nervous or maybe they feel like
because, you know, there is that window of, well,
I make too much to get help. but I'm not making
enough to live. And so you live in that window.
What are some misconceptions that that you might
want to tell the people out there that that that
you could shed light on? I think there's a couple
of things, right? I think if we can set aside
any judgment or preconceived ideas that we have
and just see each other as humans, right? Walking
a difficult world, right? The world can be really
challenging and really hard for any of us. everybody
deserves the opportunity to be seen, to be loved
up, and to be heard and respected, right? So
if we can just start from that place, a lot of
the other stuff gets easier. But I think I would
say come down here and see the folks that come
here to serve, see the folks that come here to
seek assistance. And I think... What we find
is the line between needing help and being able
to provide help is razor razor thin. And it can
be absolutely any of us that the world takes
us on a left turn and suddenly we're in a position
of needing help. So if we're fortunate enough
to be able to help, let's do that. I love it.
Marybeth, where can people go to if they are
in need to get a hold of you, to look things
up? basically any of the plugs, and where can
people go if they want to volunteer? Our website
is samcenter .org. You can do a volunteer application
right online and process it digitally. We'll
get you on an app and it'll be super easy to
get yourself scheduled. If you need help, again
I'd say come down during meal time and access
the services that have here. look for a staff
person we'll be looking for you as a new face
and try to make as comfortable as possible and
see what we can do from there. And there's donate
buttons and there's organizations throughout
this community that are doing great work now
and every day. What I would say is if you have
an hour, if you have a dollar, if you have a
pair of socks, there's somebody that can benefit
from that. So that tiny little bit makes a huge
difference. Marybeth Frye, you are amazing. You
are the executive director of the Samaritan Center.
I can't thank you enough for your time. I'm honored
to be interviewing someone so selfless and who
does so much for the community. Any last words
or plugs or anything you want to say? Come down
and experience the Samaritan Center. You'll enjoy
it. There it is. Marybeth Frye, executive director,
Samaritan Center. Thank you so much. Thank you.
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