Orthopaedic Relief Services International
ORSI is a global health 501(c)3 founded by prominent orthopedic surgeon and educator Dr. Ron Israelski. We are a dedicated humanitarian group offering international aid and working within the state hospital system in Haiti to break down systemic barriers inhibiting modern surgical advancement.
ORSI DELIVERING AID TO UKRAINE
ORSI is working with the Foundation of Trauma to deliver medical aid to civilian and military hospitals in Ukraine.
To ENHANCE ORTHOPEDIC access and capability IN UNDERSERVED GLOBAL COMMUNITIES by fortifying surgical infrastructure, enabling clinical advancement, and providing educational opportunity.
Our Mission
About us
Our programs were founded on a fundamental belief that the most effective form of aid is through local empowerment. This philosophy is a key motivator in our program methodology which measures success by our ability to transition beneficiary relationships from mentorships to partnerships.
Humanitarian Nonprofit Providing International Aid
Moved by photos and videos of the devastation after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Ronald Israelski, an orthopaedic surgeon from the Hudson Valley and President and Founder of the not-for-profit organization, Orthopaedic Relief Services International (ORSI), felt compelled to help.
How We’ve Helped So Far
We have sent over 30 didactic clinical teams, donated millions of dollars in life and limb-saving medical equipment, and arranged access to pivotal educational materials for Haitian surgical residents. Through these efforts, we have made a notable impact on the Haitian orthopedic landscape.
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”
Robert F. Kennedy
Our pilot project in Haiti was originally launched in direct response to the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake which devastated the island nation on January 12, 2010.
This single event, which lasted only about thirty seconds, killed between 250,000 and 300,000 people, left well over 1,000,000 homeless, and critically injured hundreds of thousands more. The massive human toll was further compounded by the simultaneous decimation of critical infrastructure necessary for an effective emergency and medical response.
This mass-scale destruction brought to light a glaring discrepancy between need and capability within the Haitian healthcare system with the largest capability gaps appearing in the field of orthopedic surgery. With only a few dozen orthopedic surgeons in all of Haiti, services before the earthquake were lacking at best. After the earthquake, their capabilities became virtually non-existent.
Our Mission
Learn more about how it all started and what prompted ORSI’s founder Ron Israelski to launch his original crisis response mission in Haiti.