Empowering and Inspiring Around the World

Today the world unites in cel­e­bra­tion of Inter­na­tion­al Women’s Day. This day serves not only as a moment of recog­ni­tion, but also of reflec­tion, as we acknowl­edge the pro­found impact women have had – and con­tin­ue to have – in every facet of soci­ety. Here at Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG), we’re proud to stand along­side these incred­i­ble women, includ­ing Dr. Deb­o­rah Woodard, a gyne­col­o­gist whose ded­i­ca­tion to patient care extends far beyond our clinic’s walls.

In 2010, Dr. Woodard’s life took a piv­otal turn when she embarked on her first inter­na­tion­al mis­sion trip to Hon­duras. This expe­ri­ence, which she describes as ​“life-chang­ing,” proved to be a defin­ing moment, set­ting the stage for a future ded­i­cat­ed to serv­ing com­mu­ni­ties in need around the world.

The scope of Dr. Woodard’s work knows no bounds. From staffing rur­al med­ical clin­ics to con­duct­ing surg­eries, deliv­er­ing babies, and pro­vid­ing essen­tial edu­ca­tion on hygiene and first aid, her efforts encom­pass a diverse array of ser­vices aimed at address­ing the mul­ti­fac­eted needs of dis­ad­van­taged communities.

In Guatemala, her most recent mis­sion des­ti­na­tion, she enjoyed help­ing peo­ple with basic med­ical con­cerns or ill­ness­es and pro­vide con­sul­ta­tion for women, men, and chil­dren that had health questions.

“Being able to share with them what tests they should try to get and what ques­tions they should ask when they see a provider in their coun­try helps empow­er them to be good advo­cates for their care,” she said.

Dr. Woodard’s work abroad has exposed her to the harsh real­i­ties of health­care dis­par­i­ties, par­tic­u­lar­ly for women in Guatemala and India. In these regions, access to basic care, includ­ing mam­mo­grams, pelvic and breast exams, and pap smears, is often lim­it­ed to emer­gency sit­u­a­tions, leav­ing many women with­out the ben­e­fit of pre­ven­tive care.

“Health­care in Guatemala and India for women is based on their abil­i­ty to pay and their loca­tion. Women are very unlike­ly to get pre­ven­tive health­care (mam­mo­gram, pelvic and breast exams or pap smears) with­out finan­cial resources or spe­cial pro­grams,” she shared. ​“They are usu­al­ly only access­ing health­care in emer­gen­cies and then some­times they can­not do that either. Rur­al com­mu­ni­ties are very iso­lat­ed from any ade­quate health­care. So many ill­ness­es and dis­eases could be caught ear­ly with pre­ven­tive care.”

Her expe­ri­ences abroad have deep­ened Dr. Woodard’s appre­ci­a­tion for the health­care avail­able here in the Unit­ed States.

“It has made me very grate­ful for the care that is avail­able in our coun­try. We have the abil­i­ty to diag­nose and treat things ear­ly through pre­ven­tive care and almost all peo­ple can access health­care through some pro­gram in our coun­try,” she expressed. ​“My heart breaks for those in oth­er coun­tries that can­not get basic care or any pre­ven­tive care.”

For her, the most pro­found moments occur beyond clin­i­cal set­tings dur­ing home vis­its, where she has the oppor­tu­ni­ty to con­nect with indi­vid­u­als on a deeply per­son­al level.

“Get­ting to see the peo­ple in their homes and pray with them is such a bless­ing. We also try to address any basic med­ical needs and often deliv­er food to them,” she said.

As she pre­pares for future mis­sions to Guatemala and India, Dr. Woodard remains com­mit­ted to mak­ing a mean­ing­ful dif­fer­ence in the lives of those she serves. Dr. Woodard’s sto­ry serve as a pow­er­ful reminder of the impact one indi­vid­ual can make in the lives of women and com­mu­ni­ties around the world.