It was good to read about International Mission Board medical missions (“IMB’s shift in medical missions has led to broader influence,” Jan. 17). Let me update what you printed regarding the Baptist Medical Center in Nalerigu, Ghana. The picture accompanying the story, captioned “Dr. George Faile,” is quite dated. Dr. Faile retired from the IMB in October 2009. My wife and I were at the hospital during the summer of 2009 as he and Elizabeth were preparing for retirement. They now live in Rome, Ga.
With Dr. Faile’s retirement, only one IMB-appointed doctor is currently at BMC, Dr. Earl Howell (from Alabama). When he retires, there will be no IMB-appointed medical staff there. Ever since the IMB stopped appointing doctors, they have relied on volunteer doctors, many of whom are retired, and medical students seeking to learn more about tropical medicine. They pay their own way, spend a few weeks at BMC, and return to their former place of work. The situation is the same for other formerly owned the IMB medical facilities, including Dr. Rebekah Naylor’s hospital in Bangalore, India.
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