Houghton alumni Dr. Myron Glick and Dr. Joe Harvey received Alumni of the Year awards on Wednesday October 2, 2013. Glick was honored for his work with refugees in Buffalo, NY and Harvey for his medical work in the Republic of Congo.
The Alumnus of the Year award is an annual honor that highlights graduates who have taken the knowledge and wisdom gained from their time at Houghton and used it to better the world in a significant way.
Dr. Myron Glick is a 1988 graduate of the college. He founded Jericho Road Family Practice in 1998 and now operates as its CEO. Jericho Road works to provide medical care to a wide range of Buffalo residents including, as its website states, “[the] medically underserved, people in poverty, refugees and immigrants.” It seeks to treat patients without regard to their insurance status or ability to pay. It supports this endeavor through donations from the community.
Since its inception, the outreach has provided health care to over 35,500 patients. It currently employs 3 physicians, 4 nurse practitioners and 1 physician assistant at 2 sites in the city.
Beyond medical care, Jericho Road also values the education of the refugee community in order to better its health and well-being as a whole. It believes that helping the community by providing services now will allow the residents to grow self-sufficient and independent in the future.
The practice spurred the founding of a sister organization, Jericho Road Ministries, as a counterpart devoted to fulfilling the spiritual needs of the refugee community. This organization was also founded by Dr. Glick, inspired by a need for spiritual healing for refugee residents.
In 2012, Dr. Glick also received the Community Leader Award from Houghton for his significant contributions to the diverse community he serves in Buffalo.
Dr. Joe Harvey is also a 1988 graduate of the college. He is the founder and medical director of Pioneer Christian Hospital. The hospital is located in the heart of the Congo River Basin Rainforest. It has 60-beds for providing general care to locals. The local Congolese it serves number about 300,000 individuals.
According to its website, the hospital most commonly provides treatment for, “malaria, sexually-transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, HIV/AIDS, leprosy, meningitis, monkey pox, and other infectious diseases.” Aside from these, pregnancy, hernia, hypertension, gastritis, diabetes, and trauma are also common.
In addition to its medical services, Pioneer also benefits the community by employing paid Congolese staff in obstetrics, pediatrics, surgery, consultation, laboratory, medical imaging, pharmacy, chaplaincy, administration, maintenance, and security. The paid staff work alongside missionary volunteers. To cover the costs of materials and staff, the hospital itself relies on funding from its partners as well as from donations.
Pioneer is also making an impact in the religious culture of the region by providing spiritual services to those it treats. Through these actions, it has reduced the number of preventable deaths and diseases as well as allowed for an inflow of Christian philosophy and doctrine into the region.