Dr. Matthew Geck has served in the roles of founder, board member, and medical director of SpineHope since its inception in 2008.
SpineHope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing advanced medical treatment to children around the world. We assemble volunteer teams of qualified surgeons and medical staff to provide state-of-the-art medical treatment to children who otherwise may not receive modern treatments for their spinal deformities or other complex spine conditions. Our goals are to help correct spinal deformities to improve quality of life, alleviate pain and, when possible, prevent paralysis. We also strongly believe that in order to provide sustainable local care to these children, it is part of our mission to help educate and train local hospital staff on advanced procedures and post-op care. SpineHope programs include our Global Outreach Programs, focused on coordinating medical mission trips to under-resourced countries to perform pediatric spine surgery and provide both education and training to host surgeons and local medical staff. Additionally, we offer a U.S. Hub Program that brings children to the United States for surgery and treatment.
Mission
SpineHope transforms the lives of children worldwide through surgery, education, and research.
Vision
Every child with spinal deformity has an opportunity at a normal life.
Goals
Surgery-Based:
Provide life-transforming surgical care to children around the world in need of treatment for spine deformities.
Bring select children that are unable to be treated in their home countries to the USA for surgical treatment.
Education-Based:
Provide on-going training with partnering spine surgeons and hospital staff abroad in advanced techniques and safety protocols.
Research-Based:
Gather clinical information to formulate a registry and database of information to better study the complex spine disorders prevalent in our patients.
History
Although SpineHope was officially formed in 2008, the mission work of the foundation has origins that go back to 2001. During the earlier years the Colombia program was headed by Dr. Steve Mardjetko through Chicago’s Shriner’s Hospital. In 2008, Dr. Matthew Geck initiated steps to formalize the program in Colombia and founded SpineHope.
Since 2008, SpineHope has performed hundreds of surgeries in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Ukraine, and at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.
For more information and updates consult:
SpineHope.org
@spinehope on Instagram
SpineHope on Facebook
For more up to date news click here.
Message from SpineHope Chairman from SpineHope on Vimeo.
For more information or to donate to SpineHope, go to SpineHope.org.
