A doctor at Akron Children’s Hospital recently received a humanitarian award for his child advocacy work abroad and in the United States.
Dr. Jeff Kempf, DO, director of the Office of Pediatric Global Health at Akron Children’s Hospital, received the M. Bridget Wagner, DO, Humanitarian Award at the Ohio Osteopathic Association’s annual medical convention April 24.
Dr. Kempf, who is also an attending physician in Akron Children’s Emergency Department, was recognized for his work in treating patients and improving pediatric medical care in many underserved areas at home and abroad, such as Belize, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Native American reservations in Montana.
Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Dr. Kempf helped expand medical services there, including the creation of a collaborative to improve pediatric health care at St. Damien’s Hospital, near Port-au-Prince.
Through his leadership and partnership, a heart program was developed at Akron Children’s to provide cardiothoracic surgical care for Haitian children with congenital heart defects. He has been working with Rotary International to develop a pediatric cardio-vascular surgery program at St. Damien’s. After members of the St. Damien’s staff spent several weeks observing pediatric surgeries and post-surgical care at Akron Children in the fall, they were able to provide care for the first children to undergo heart surgery at St. Damien’s this past March.
After graduating from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri and from his pediatric residency in Des Moines, Iowa, Dr. Kempf started his career in southwest Florida and the Public Health Corps. There, he worked in a pediatric clinic that provided care to the children of migrant farm workers, as well as other indigent children. The experience inspired him to advocate for children who lacked access to healthcare.
Initially, Dr. Kempf thought it was “silly” he was being awarded “for the acts my parents taught me to live — as we all should live,” Kempf told Matt & Tina in the Morning Friday. “Each of us in small ways can do wonderful things if we commit ourselves to doing it.”
“I am honored to receive this award,” said Dr. Kempf. “The world is full of children who continue to lack access to adequate health care, not only in Haiti or Africa but here at home as well. We should strive to insure that every child has health care and is provided the opportunity to grow and reach his or her full potential.”
