Jerry Engh had an idea.
Five days a week, four weeks a month, 12 months a year the renown hip- and knee-replacement surgeon — and it’s safe to say he is renown, his clients come to him for his expertise in the field from all corners of the map — wanted to help others who couldn’t help themselves. He could write a check, or bid on an item at a charity auction, but he wanted to do something more tangible.
The 68-year-old surgeon learned about a program called Operation Walk. Founded in 1994 by a California surgeon, Operation Walk has teams of surgeons, internists, anesthesiologists, nurses practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurses, and scrub technicians throughout the country that give up one week of their vacation to spend it in another country performing surgery on people that need it but can’t afford it.
Engh, who along with his brother, Charles, heads the Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic in Alexandria and Arlington, had found what he was looking for: an established program that he could organize here. His team could eventually become the 12th such program in the nation.
He began asking colleagues whether they too would be interested. The answer was an unequivocal yes. But everything in life comes down to money. It wouldn’t be polite to ask his colleagues who were already giving up a week of their vacation to pay for their flight, their hotel rooms, and their meals. He was going to need at least $150,000 for a trip, a figure which would also cover the medical necessities.
He turned to the people he knows best: his patients. And the contributions flowed in. Small checks for $25, $50, $75 from hundreds of patients. And medical and pharmaceutical companies, which donated supplies to receive a tax write-off. And clubs, such as the Mount Vernon Rotary Club, which donated crutches and walkers for the team’s most recent trip to Ecuador. And then there’s the question of how to get the items from here to there inexpensively. The answer: the U.S. military, which flew those supplies to Quito, which were packed by members of the Mount Vernon Rotary Club.

"BASICALLY, we’re a bunch of doctors and nurses who want to give back," said Julia Warner, who is the patient care director at the Joint Replacement Center at Mount Vernon-Inova Hospital in Alexandria. She also coordinates the team’s missions, which have also included two visits to Nicaragua. Another had been planned to Costa Rica, but fell through due to logistics.
This team — a total of 40, half of which come from Mount Vernon-Inova — spend 12 to 14 hours a day in a hospital performing surgeries and other necessary medical tasks which eventually lead to giving patients the ability to walk and walk painlessly.
But how do you choose a patient when there are so many who need help?
First, Engh and his team make a proposal to a hospital that is willing to give up two, sometimes three operating rooms, and willing to help with the advance work before the team from Operation Walk arrives. Patients are made aware of their pending visit. Doctors there send Engh and his colleagues the medical files of 100 potential patients. Engh pars them down to 60.
He is looking for patients who don’t have access to the type of care he can provide, according to Warner.
Upon arrival, Engh and the team interview and evaluate each of those 60 proposed patients in person. From there, about 40 patients are selected. "The hardest thing to do is turn someone away," he said.
Last Wednesday as Engh and Warner presented a slideshow of the Quito trip to members of the Mount Vernon Rotary Club, internist David Gehring called the experience "religious."
This was Gehring’s first mission with the team. "I went down to do God’s work but came back with a better understanding. Thirty-eight [patients] were walking within 24 hours. Prior to that time, they hadn’t been able to do it. Some were as young as 40, others as old as 80."

THE TEAM’S PRESENCE in Quito gained the attention of the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador, who sent translators.
One day while there, Engh pulled Gehring aside and said: "God brought you here." Gehring can’t remember what he said but it was a polite, non-committal comment.
Engh pressed on.
"No, really, He did," Engh told Gehring. And then he asked Gehring to add one more item to his volunteer list. He asked him to become the team’s medical director.
"I’ll think about it," Gehring said.
"Well, you have to think fast, because the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador is coming and I want to introduce you as the medical director of Operation Walk," Engh told him.
In a country where the land is lush and green and roses cost $1.25 a dozen, this team gave back to 38 people what Engh calls fundamental: the ability to walk.
And he did it through the help and cooperation of hundreds. But there’s one more thing Engh and his team accomplished: a change in attitude toward Americans, he said.
"Americans are seen as arrogant, rich, and uncaring. This changes the image of us in many of their eyes. This changes their perspective of who we are," he said.
"When you’ve had a successful career, as a Christian, you want to give back," said Patricia Engh, who has accompanied her husband on every mission. "It’s simple, but it’s our spirituality."