Local Doctor Lends a Helping Hand in Romania

Area Physician Takes Annual Mission Trip to Provide Care to Southeastern Europe

DAYTON, Ohio (May 8, 2012) – Premier HealthNet physician, Dr. Thomas Brunsman of Jamestown Family Medicine is making a difference in his own community and in communities thousands of miles away. In April, Dr. Brunsman took his medical expertise to Romania for his annual medical mission trip.

Years ago, when Dr. Brunsman was in medical school, he made a long-term commitment to mission work.  This year marks his eleventh trip serving the Romanian community. He joined a team of medical professionals which includes nurses, doctors, and pharmacists from around the country.

“We take a team into remote villages where they don’t have access to medical care or they just don’t have enough medical resources,” said Dr. Brunsman. “We set up a clinic for a day and see the patients of the village and then we head back to the training center where we stay and resupply for a clinic in a different village the next day.”

The group departed on April 17 and visited the western part of Romania near Timisoara, specifically rural farming communities on the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The focus of the trip was to supplement the diagnoses and medications prescribed to Romanian patients for common conditions such as blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis.

“What I’m most proud of is the partnering that we have been able to accomplish with the Romanian church leaders, the Romanian doctors, and the Romanian dentists,” said Dr. Brunsman. “We don’t want to go and act independent of the medical professionals that are already there—we’re there to provide resources that they can’t afford or that are in high demand.”

In addition to supplementing medications for common diseases, the group of 21 volunteers, for the first time this year, included team members that worked on a project for a local church to develop a house for their pastor.

“I think as long as there’s a need and I have the ability to go, I’ll continue this annual tradition,” said Dr. Brunsman. “There are those villages that we’ll revisit every year, but it’s the need in those new communities that keep me coming back to help.”