Local doctor saddened by inequalities in health care
By Shelly Webb
August 8, 2011
370
Most of the time, you can find local physician Dr. Eric Miller M.D. in his Holmes County office, treating his patients and practicing great health care. However, that was not the case earlier this summer. Miller and his family decided to take the gift of health care to the small country of Kenya and were there for three months, sharing their medical knowledge and help.
I went with my wife, Jodi, and our 6-year-old twins to work at a mission hospital in rural Kenya for three months, Dr. Miller shared. This is something that we have done before and plan to continue doing every three years.
Miller said that leaving home for a three-month period of time is not easy personally or professionally, as his coworkers must carry his patient load while he is gone. But despite the difficulty, for Miller and his family, sharing health care with those in Kenya is more than an option, it is a necessity.
It is a necessity for us, Miller said. You may wonder why its a necessity. Well, the reasons have changed over the years. When we first went to Kenya 10 years ago it was because we needed to go help people. And although that still is a big part of why we go, I cannot truly justify spending the money we spend to fly a family of four to Kenya in the name of helping people. For the cost of our three-month trip, we could have hired a well-trained Kenyan doctor for much longer than the three short months we were there. Short-term missions generally dont make financial sense when it comes to helping others.
Miller actually receives as much as he gives on these trips, although what he and his family receive is not measured in material worth. They gain more perspective and life-changing knowledge than money could every purchase. In the end, the trips he and his family make are to see and learn how others live and the challenges they face in conditions as foreign to the Miller family as the country itself.
We live in a wonderful community in Holmes County, Miller explained. Our kids grow up assuming that everyone looks and lives like we do. We hope that these trips will, over the years, help us to understand that, indeed, we are all the same but that we live quite differently. People have needs greater than toys and ice cream.
Miller wants his family to develop compassion and be concerned about the millions of people suffering due to lack of health care, political unrest and economic issues in all parts of the world. It is the inequalities in health care and everyday life that many people must live with that Miller finds so disheartening.
God is not happy about poverty and injustice, Miller said. We should not be either. I could give plenty of stories about how great our health care is compared to Kenya, which would make us all feel fortunate to live in such a wealthy nation. But we dont go to Kenya to make ourselves feel good, but rather to make ourselves aware of the inequalities in other countries.
If inequalities in health care and wealth go undetected by those with the means to make a difference then things will never change or improve. Change can come when others get a true burden deep within their soul to make a difference and bring the help and equality that everyone deserves regardless of where they are born.
According to Miller, we can remain quite happy when all we know is our own little section of the world, but by going to Kenya he hopes that over time his family will learn to gain perspective and realize there are things we should be saddened about and actively fight against.
Regardless of your position in life, whether you are a pastor, doctor, business owner, factor worker, waitress or teacher, Miller believes we all have the power to make a difference if we gain that perspective and belief that equality in health care and poverty must be addressed and not ignored.
For now, Miller and his family are back home enjoying the blessings of their Holmes County life, but their hearts and minds will often wander across the ocean to that dry, hot land where they gain more insight and knowledge than any medical school could provide.
