Operation Smile has conducted surgical programs in 79 cities across China. Medical volunteers have treated more than 22,700 patients in 164 Surgical Programs.
OUR FORMULA FOR TRANSFORMATION
Operation Smile’s formula for transformational impact combines care delivery & capacity-building.
Education programs are at the center of Operation Smile’s strategy to increase access to surgery closer to the patient’s home.
Each surgical program brings together providers from all over the world for a unique opportunity to share knowledge and innovate. This type of bi-directional learning is essential to redistributing knowledge between providers and building capacity in the areas of greatest need.
Our work in health infrastructure & equipment addresses structural barriers to care and helps build robust health systems. Operation Smile’s research & innovation efforts inform all aspects of our decision-making and allow us to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact our programs have on patients.
HUB & SPOKES
To ensure that every child has access to care close to home, we equip the providers within our patients’ communities with skills and resources to deliver high-quality care. We build the needed capacity by harnessing the talent and resources that exist within the country, usually in the bigger cities (the hubs) to train providers in under-resourced areas (the spokes) where most patients lack access to care.
The Kunming Guandu District People’s Hospital located in southwestern China serves as a hub, providing quality care for our patients.
The spokes are strategically based in Yunnan, Mengzi, Luodian, Liuzhou, Heze and Urumqi.
Cleft Care Programs
This year, Operation Smile will provide surgical care for 1,230 patients. Operation Smile will ensure that our patients have access to high-quality multidisciplinary services before and after cleft surgery. We will expand comprehensive cleft care programs by providing consultations in oral health (600 patients), nutrition (600 patients) and speech therapy (425 patients).
Education
To increase access to cleft care in China, Operation Smile will train and educate around 940 health workers. We plan to provide American Heart Association (AHA) courses for individuals across different specialties. Medical volunteers will receive training in nutrition, which will help us provide malnourished and underweight patients and their caregivers with the highest quality nutrition counseling and follow-up care. We will also deliver training in anesthesia, cleft surgery, nursing, pediatrics, biomed, oral health and speech therapy.
FIVE-YEAR VISION
Over the next five years, Operation Smile aims to deliver high-quality cleft surgeries to 5,300 patients in China. We will provide consultations to over 4,000 patients, expanding access to comprehensive cleft care in China.
We will address barriers to cleft care in China by increasing the number of skilled and qualified medical providers. We will provide Post Anesthesia Care Unit training, American Heart Association courses and virtual training in various specialties.
Operation Smile will expand comprehensive cleft care services by training volunteers in the fields of dentistry, nutrition, speech therapy and psychology.
