Access to specialist knowledge
Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live.
Medical CONSULTATIONS
Access to Specialist Knowledge Inc. (ASK) is an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We envision a globe where healthcare is a basic human right and easily available to all irrespective of where they live.
Our mission is to provide access to United States-based medical specialists for doctors in underserved and underprivileged areas of the world, teach and inspire the next generation to pursue a sustainable career in healthcare, spread awareness of health promotion and disease prevention, and conduct meaningful research to foster health equity.
Our Projects
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Access to Specialist Knowledge
ASK is connecting medical specialist in the United States to doctors in Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, South Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, and Tanzania. Doctors in these areas send their cases to ASK, and the case is then presented accordingly to a member in our team of specialists. After the specialist evaluates the case, ASK communicates their expertise back to the doctors to ensure that even if there is no physical specialist present in that area, quality healthcare is still available.
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Remote Information for Sustainable Education
RISE is constructing sustainable careers in healthcare through global education and inspiration. RISE teaches online classes to schools in Sub-Saharan Africa in subjects ranging from the importance of cleanliness to cell biology. We have raised over $42,000 of technology that is connecting students in underserved areas to the world and opening their eyes to a sustainable future that can be attained with education and perseverance. .
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Arts For Healing and Growth
Arts for Healing and Growth combats loneliness, anxiety, and depression through the use of dance and music. Through the fusions of cultures, we aim to create a platform where people can freely express their unique stories and background, connecting with others through the arts.
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Veterans Mental Health
Through interviews, activity packs, thank you cards, and more, I aimed to shed light upon and help improve mental health in veteran populations.
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Blogs
Our blogs promotes health awareness in a multitude of topics, including mental health, healthy living, and disease prevention. We aim to harness the power of writing to educate, move, and connect people around the globe.
Our Story
We rushed her to the nearest community healthcare clinic; however, as I looked around the clinic, I realized it faced severe understaffing: there wasn’t a single doctor, and her treatment was single-handedly performed by one nurse, Nurse Florence. Furthermore, when my sister needed an X-ray to be performed on her ankle, we discovered that despite having the equipment, there were no radiologists to interpret the image. Luckily, growing up and traveling with my family of doctors, we were able to help in the diagnosis of her fracture and assist in her treatment by contacting their radiologist colleagues in the U.S. As the proper care was provided during the unplanned, extra day spent at this clinic, I was also able to get close to Nurse Florence and learn about the less discussed yet prevalent problems clinics like hers battled with.
Despite being thankful for how lucky my sister was to receive this kind of specialized care, I recognized that this luck wouldn’t extend to any other patients arriving at the clinic. This heart-clenching incident sparked questions and a burning curiosity within me—how does the healthcare system truly work in Uganda? How many more clinics and hospitals are plagued by understaffing and lack of supply? How many patients have suffered and endured the consequences of not having access to proper healthcare, to a basic human right?
The gentle rustle of lush, mahogany trees encompassed us, as my family and I trekked through Katanguru, a stunning yet remote area of Uganda. Accompanied by the sounds of our muddy shoes rhythmically crunching against the steep, jagged forest floor, my sister and I tried to catch a glimpse of the myriad of wildlife thriving just within the cracks of the trees, the drapes of the leaves, and with each breath of the wind. Appropriately nicknamed the “Pearl of Africa,” this forest brimmed with life and beauty so captivating I almost feared to blink. That is, until the rhythm of my exploring companion’s boots abruptly stopped. My eyes drifted away from the forest and to my sister, whose palms pressed into the ground. She tried to calmly stand back up on her feet and feign a smile, but her efforts were in vain; the furrow of her eyebrows revealed that the throbbing pain vehemently persisted.
My hands brushed across the keyboard, immersing myself in article after article uncovering the issues in healthcare while learning about each country’s history and culture. I found that Uganda has more than 6,900 healthcare facilities in a seven-tier system. Furthermore, though this region of Africa is a hot zone for communicable diseases, less than 5 percent of these facilities are properly staffed, most of which are clustered in Kampala, the capital-city of Uganda, while community care centers, like the one in Katanguru, constitute more than 95 percent of the total facilities. As a result, the majority of community care providers are not supported well and the people are marginalized.
This problem persistently churned through my mind, engraving itself to a point where I could not simply sit still and neglect this issue. Reflecting on the specialized care offered where I live, I sought to connect the clinics in rural Uganda to specialists in the US through the internet, so that quality medical care could be provided to all patients, leading to the commencement of Access to Specialist Knowledge (ASK).
When beginning to set this up, I found that though Uganda is adequately connected by wireless providers, many lacked the technology for consistent communication. Consequently, I reached out to schools and hospitals, designed flyers, and hosted a technology drive across San Antonio, collecting over $42,000 worth of ipads, computers, cellphones, vein finders, oximeters, and stethoscopes, helping to repurpose and recycle them. Moreover, I reached out to doctors throughout the U.S. requesting that they would donate their time to remotely help the healthcare systems in Uganda with their consultations and expertise.
I then returned to Uganda's central and southern areas, contacted community healthcare centers (ranging from level 1 to 4), and donated the equipment that provided the basic tools needed to bridge Sub-Saharan clinics to United States-based medical specialists. ASK started receiving and responding to cases from nurse Florence in Katanguru, but as the word of our organization diffused throughout the country, we quickly expanded to helping primary care doctors in areas such as Buhoma, Rushaga, and Mabara. From there, I took the initiative to expand ASK to more clinics in need of specialty care, and today, ASK is helping healthcare workers in over 27 clinics with over 6000 cases in Uganda, Rwanda, the DR of Congo, Burundi, South Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, and Tanzania.
When first taking the steps to start ASK, I could not have imagined the rate it has grown, the places we have expanded to, and most importantly, the difference our team has made. Every day, I gain more and more knowledge not only in the field of medicine but also regarding different people—from their cultures to their hardships. Though this fight for healthcare equity still has a long, arduous path ahead, from the instances where community clinics were stretched thin to provide for each patient, I hope that now, due to the faith and perseverance needed to start ASK paired with the unwavering dedication from doctors on both sides of the globe, these healthcare providers are now bestowed with a new source of knowledge, confidence, empowerment.
So please come join us in this journey to help ASK connect, inspire, educate, and inform these underserved and underprivileged areas of Sub-Saharan Africa with the determination to create a world where healthcare is a basic human right and accessible to all people irrespective of where they live.