Greater Gift Initiative, Inc. Announces Partnership with Southwestern Medical Clinic, a Lakeland Healthcare Affiliate
Winston-Salem, NC (PRWEB) April 09, 2014 -- The Greater Gift Initiative, Inc. (GGI) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Southwestern Medical Clinic, a Lakeland Healthcare Affiliate (SWMC). SWMC is a multi-specialty medical practice dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through medical care, foreign and domestic missions, and Christian Witness located in southwestern Michigan. GGI partners with medical practices and clinical trial sites to donate one vaccine to one child each time one volunteer makes the important decision to participate in a clinical trial. GGI donates funds to the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership that purchases vaccines to support immunization in poor countries.
“The focus of SWMC to provide quality medical care to patients both in their community and globally aligns naturally with our mission,” said Becca Chase, Executive Director of GGI. “In addition, their commitment to research as a way for patients to participate in the improvement of health to individuals all over the world embodies the message at the heart of GGI: participation truly makes a difference. We are so pleased that they have chosen to honor their clinical trial participants and make an impact through vaccine donations.”
SWMC is unique because of its extraordinary commitment to foreign missions and its role in supporting medical missionary physicians, while providing high-quality medical care to its community. Since its inception in 1968, SWMC has grown to over 70 total providers, but has maintained its identity as a Christian ministry practice combining a private business structure with a heart for Christian mission. The partnership with GGI provides another positive impact of the work of the clinic’s physicians, researchers, and staff. Richard Hines, Medical Director of Clinical Research, said, “We were excited to learn about GGI’s mission. Each clinical study participant is honored for their invaluable contribution to medical science in GGI’s provision of a vaccine to a needy child in the developing world. This meshes with SWMC’s mission for nearly 50 years which has been to reach out with the love of Jesus Christ to our less fortunate brothers and sisters via foreign medical missions.”
About Greater Gift Initiative, Inc.
The Greater Gift Initiative, Inc. (GGI) honors the clinical trial volunteers who make the advancement of medicine possible by giving one vaccine to one child each time one volunteer makes the important decision to participate in a clinical trial. Since 2010, GGI has donated more than 27,800 vaccines to children in need in developing countries. GGI is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to advance global health and highlight the greater good of clinical trial participation through the donation of vaccines in honor of clinical trial participants and professionals. Visit us at http://www.GreaterGiftInitiative.org.
About Southwestern Medical Center/Lakeland Healthcare Affiliate
Southwestern Medical Clinic (SWMC), a Lakeland HealthCare Affiliate, has been involved in clinical research since the late 1990’s. With a loyal patient base of over 80,000 patients, SWMC has participated in over 150 Phase II - Phase IV Pediatric and Adult trials. Its 3 sites are staffed with Certified Clinical Research Coordinators and Certified Physician Investigators. Their dedicated Research Department includes a Medical Director, a Site Manager, a Recruitment Specialist, and a Regulatory Document Specialist. Located 90 minutes from Chicago in lower Michigan, SWMC was founded in the 1960's by a handful of Christian physicians with an interest in foreign medical missions. SWMC’s Clinic has since grown to include more than 70 primary care physicians, hospitalists and advanced practitioners who support their colleagues serving in short, intermediate and long-term medical missions. In addition to financial support, SWMC’s doctors provide a welcoming network where returning colleagues can "plug back in" in preparation for their next trip abroad. At SWMC, participation in foreign medical missions is not merely allowed, but encouraged and facilitated. SWMC missionary physicians have served all over the globe and currently provide care to fellow human beings in a number of countries, including China, Haiti, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe. http://www.swmc.org.
About GAVI Alliance
The GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunization in developing countries. The Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. GAVI uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, GAVI has contributed to the immunization of an additional 440 million children and the prevention of approximately 6 million future deaths. Learn more at http://www.gavialliance.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Becca Chase, The Greater Gift Initiative, http://www.greatergiftinitiative.org, 336-403-1190, [email protected]
Share this article