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Pediatric Urology Medical Mission
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Pediatric Urology Medical Mission Trip: Amman, Jordan10 Year in Review
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1 The pediatric urology team: Ahmad BaniHani, MD; Jefferson Urology residents Halle Foss, MD, and Edward Kloniecke, MD, MHA; Keara DeCotiis, MD; and Omaya BaniHani, MD pediatric urologist and cousin of Ahmed BaniHani.
Opposite page: A quick trip to Petra, a famous archaeological site in Jordan’s southwestern desert, on a day off . 2 3 Drs. Omaya BaniHani and Halle Foss and Drs. Ahmad BaniHani and Edward Kloniecke operating at local private hospital in Amman.
4 Drs. Halle Foss and Edward Kloniecke visiting the School of Dreams at the Za’Atari Camp, the largest Syrian Refugee camp in the world.
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In July 2022, Jefferson residents Edward Kloniecke, MD (PGY-6), and Halle Foss, MD (PGY-4), had the opportunity to travel to Amman, Jordan, with our Department of Urology Nemours pediatric urology attendings, Ahmad BaniHani, MD, and Keara DeCotiis, MD, for a medical-mission trip focused on providing surgical care for Syrian refugee children and under-served Jordanian children in the region. Interestingly, Amman was previously referred to as “Philadelphia” from 321 BC-635 AD, so the team felt immediately welcomed. Amman is currently considered the Middle East’s hub for medical tourism, with 250,000 foreign patients yearly, the fifth highest in the world. In addition to this, many refugees have fled to Amman over the years given its geographic location in the region, plus the security and prosperity the city offers. Most recently there has been a large influx of Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian Civil War in March 2011.
The mission trip was coordinated by the Children of War Foundation (COWF), a Non-Government Organization (NGO) based in Los Angeles, California, to deliver access to global health and education to communities affected by poverty, war, natural disaster, discrimination, climate change, isolation, and migration challenges. This was their largest mission trip to date and included other volunteers in multiple surgical disciplines, including urology, neurosurgery, oral maxillofacial plastics, ENT, ophthalmology, and dentistry. Over the course of eight days, the urology team triaged more than 60 patients and provided surgical care to 30 children. The surgeries provided ranged from complex hypospadias repair, to laparoscopic and scrotal orchiopexy, to inguinal hernia repair.
In addition to providing medical care to children, COWF also focuses on education. The urology team had the opportunity to visit the School of Dreams, a school started by COWF, which serves more than 300 displaced families along the Syrian border at the outskirts of Za’Atari, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world. The school provides in-person and remote courses in many subjects, including virtual exchange programs.
