OVERSEAS MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TEAM
History/Profile:
15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
In a bygone era doctors made house calls to their ailing patients. Armed with that familiar little black bag, the doctor would journey to the sick to provide care that would result in some form of healing. Today, Dr. Stephen S. Carryl, Guyana native and the current Chairman of Surgery at The Brooklyn Hospital, carries on that tradition on a much larger scale. As President of the Overseas Medical Assistance Team (OMAT), Dr. Carryl makes “house calls” of a different kind. He goes to various nations in the Caribbean and has made one trip to Africa to provide care to impoverished communities. His “little black bag” contains medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, equipment and many other necessities to help the health care facilities or individuals function better.
The Overseas Medical Assistance Team had a humble but focused beginning. In 1991, Dr. Carryl led a group of nurses, physicians and other volunteers on a humanitarian mission to the Linden Hospital Complex in Guyana. There, the group responded to the needs of the community by conducting surgeries, medical clinics, health fairs, non-invasive screenings and wellness lectures. The response was so positive, that Dr. Carryl, with the assistance and blessing of his late father and other supporters, decided to organize the group.
A year later, the Overseas Medical Assistance Team was officially founded as a non-profit organization with the mission to enhance the quality of medical care in developing countries by:
§ Providing medical assistance through volunteer physicians, nurses and other health care professionals;
§ Donating medical equipment and supplies to health care organizations in the Caribbean and Africa;
§ Conducting in-service training and health education seminars for health care providers in these countries;
§ Raising funds for related activities and projects; and,
§ Arranging for severely ill patients from the Caribbean to be brought to the United States for treatment
OMAT’s success in fulfilling that mission was due to a core group of dedicated volunteers. Even today, these physicians, nurses and other health care providers pay their airfare and lodging costs and donate their particular expertise on each trip overseas.
Due to demands for additional services, in 2004 OMAT appointed it first executive director, Beryl R. Williams, to reconfigure its operations. OMAT also opened its first office in Brooklyn New York. Under her direction, OMAT expanded its mission to begin providing assistance to vulnerable and at-risk populations in developing countries and in the United States through dedicated volunteers. With the donation of office space by the Central Brooklyn Medical Group in January 2007 and a solid organizational structure, OMAT is now a fully-run volunteer operation.
In order to better fulfill its mission, OMAT hosts an annual gala to raise funds for its humanitarian ventures. The 15th Anniversary Gala is scheduled for Thursday October 18th, 2007, 6:00 p.m., at Terrace On The Park, 5211 111th Street, Flushing Meadow Park, New York 11367. The honorees for the event are Olga Chicester, RN, President of Guyana United Mission, Inc. (GUM); Bishop & Mrs Sidley Mullings of the Rugby Deliverance Tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York and Ouderk Collie, MD, President of Health and Educational Relief for Guyana (HERG). These individuals are involved in medical humanitarian work and have made a tremendous difference in the lives of many individuals and institutions in the Caribbean.
In this its 15th year, OMAT remains poised to continue providing aid at home and abroad. Please check the details of OMAT’s 15th Anniversary missions and events on this website. Thank you for your support.
Humanitarian Missions:
TBA, 2008 Hopital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
TBA, 2008 Africa Redemption Alliance, NIGERIA, AFRICA
June 2007 GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 2007 Hopital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
October 2006 GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 2006 Hopital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
July 2005 GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 2005 Hospital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
July 2004 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA, Davis Memorial Hospital, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 2004 San Pedro, DOMINICAN PEPUBLIC
April 2003 Hospital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
July 2003 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA, Davis Memorial Hospital, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
January 2003 Ministry of Health. ROSEAU, DOMINICA, WEST INDIES
July 2002 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
Davis Memorial Hospital, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 2002 Hopital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
July 2001 Hopital Sacre Coeur, MILOT, HAITI
October 2000 PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
August 1999 Hopital Lumiere, BONNE FIN, HAITI
August 1998 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 1996 Local Hospital in Castries, ST. LUCIA, WEST INDIES
August 1995 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
November 1994 St. Georges General Hospital, GRENADA, WEST INDIES
June 1994 Princess Margaret Hospital, DOMINICA, WEST INDIES
November 1993 St. Georges General Hospital, GRENADA, WEST INDIES
April 1993 Kanye Medical Center, BOTSWANA, SOUTH AFRICA
June 1992 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA Davis Memorial Hospital, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
April 1991 Linden Hospital Complex, GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA
To Volunteer or support OMAT, contact:
Stephen S. Carryl, MD, President
Overseas Medical Assistance Team
c/o CBMG- Bedford Williamsburg Center
233 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
E-mail: OMATmission@verizon.net / OMATmission@aol.com
