Martin's Point Physician Traveling to Dominican Republic on Medical Mission

William Schirmer, M.D., among 39 Mainers going on mission to provide medical care, build hospital for poor workers

William F. "Skip" Schirmer, M.D., a family physician at Martin's Point Health Care, will travel to the Dominican Republic on March 2 with 38 other Mainers as part of a mission to provide medical care and help building a hospital for impoverished workers in the sugar cane fields.

Schirmer is one of three Maine physicians and one nurse participating in the seven-day mission to the Caribbean country, organized by Rev. David R. Pitt of the South Freeport Church. Martin's Point also is donating medical supplies for use in examining and treating the workers, mostly recruited Haitians who work for low wages and live meagerly in cane cutters' villages.

Also, Schirmer will be accompanied on the trip by his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, one of 19 area high school students who are participating in the mission.

Jack Montgomery of Freeport, a lawyer at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson and a noted photographer whose photographs of NYC firefighters were recently on exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art, also is participating on the mission with his daughter.

"The people I treat there are people who don't have near the level of care that we have, not even the basics," said Schirmer, a Falmouth resident. "I'm going to be practicing pure medicine, at ground level. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to really try to make a difference in their lives."

The 39 participants will be divided into two groups - a medical team and a construction team. The other physicians are Richard Baker of Freeport and Robin Bartholf-Knausenberger of Litchfield. The construction crew, headed by Tom Wright of Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland, will work on a hospital under construction near La Romana on the island's south coast.

Pitt, who has been on four previous missions, is continuing to raise money to take with him to buy building supplies on the island. He said he is more than halfway to his goal of raising $15,000. In addition, each participant will be required to carry two 70-pound travel bags to transport saws, power tools, medical supplies and other items needed on the trip.

"This is and can be a life changing experience for people," Pitt said. "It's a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, but it's contagious and people want to return again and again. We are pleased that Dr. Schirmer is joining us."

Each participant paid $850 to cover the air travel and other expenses. Mission members will be housed in simple bunkhouses with tile floors and foam-padded cots.

A family practice physician based in the Martin's Point facility in Portland, Schirmer said he expects to return from the mission with a renewed appreciation for the practice of medicine. "I anticipate that this will be a rewarding experience for both myself and my daughter," he said.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients - including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel - under all major health plans.

Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields. In addition, Martin's Point continues to attract attention for its innovative approach to health care. Patient's Personal Points, an interactive, Internet-based system that allows Martin's Point patients to communicate online with their doctors, has won numerous national and regional awards, including from the Healthcare Innovations in Technology Systems (HITS) Partnership in Technology national awards program. For additional information on Martin's Point Health Care, visit online at http://www.martinspoint.org.

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