The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development is proud to announce the recent distinction awarded to our Vice-Chairman and Treasurer, Dr. Eid Mustafa, during the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2022 Clinical Congress. Dr. Mustafa received the American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Pfizer International Surgical Volunteerism Award on the eve of October 18th in recognition of his 30 years of service providing treatment to the people of Palestine and other underserved areas. The Jerusalem Fund/Palestine Center Board of Directors is a board that gives back to the community. Thus, the stellar contributions made by Dr. Mustafa in providing our brothers and sisters in Palestine with medical attention is an invaluable and constant strive of our entire mission.
The American College of Surgeons released the following press release, which we are happy to share with you.
Eid B. Mustafa, MD, FACS, receives International Surgical Volunteerism Award for
leading transformative surgical efforts in the West Bank, other Middle Eastern areas.
American College of Surgeons/Pfizer International Surgical Volunteerism Award recognizes Dr.
Mustafa’s commitment to advancing surgical infrastructure, education.
CHICAGO (November 8, 2022): Eid B. Mustafa, MD, FACS, a plastic and reconstructive
surgeon who practices in Wichita Falls, Texas, recently received the American College of
Surgeons (ACS)/Pfizer International Surgical Volunteerism Award for his 30 years of volunteer
work providing medical services to the people of the Palestinian West Bank, in addition to other
underserved areas of the Middle East. The award was presented to Dr. Mustafa at the ACS Board
of Governors Dinner on October 18 during the ACS 2022 Clinical Congress in San Diego. The
Clinical Congress is one of the largest educational meetings of surgeons in the world.
The International ACS/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism Award is given to surgeons who are
committed to giving back to society by making significant contributions to surgical care through
organized volunteer activities abroad. During the dinner program, the ACS honored Dr.
Mustafa’s commitment to providing specialized surgical care and resources to the West Bank
and other regions of the Middle East that are vastly underserved.
“Each one of us has the ability to give back,” Dr. Mustafa said. “And I believe volunteering
overseas or domestically is a great way for one to have a purpose in this life.”
Dr. Mustafa was born in the West Bank and received his medical education in Egypt. He then
moved to the United States to complete his residency and fellowship training. He completed his
residency in general surgery at Howard University, Washington, DC, and his residency in plastic
and reconstructive surgery at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, Providence, Rhode
Island.
After his training, he relocated to the medically underserved area of Wichita Falls where he was
the only practicing plastic and reconstructive surgeon for many years. His international
volunteerism began in earnest in 1987, when he met Charles Horton, MD, the founder of
Physicians for Peace, who worked with Dr. Mustafa to initiate medical missions to the West
Bank the following year.
“It is very hard to forget our first trip to the West Bank because that was the beginning of the
Palestinian intifada against the occupation. There were a lot of injuries,” he remembered. “It was
very intense, but we managed to do a lot of work. We started early in the morning and stayed
well into the night, performing cleft palate repairs and treating burn injuries as well as other
traumatic injuries. Ever since then, I’ve been going back to the West Bank once or twice a year
with few interruptions.”
Most years, Dr. Mustafa traveled to the West Bank between 10 and 21 days. His initial efforts
focused on congenital defects, burn care, and reconstruction procedures following injury. As his
missionary work evolved, he recruited a multidisciplinary team aimed at the needs of each
individual community, including specialists in urology, orthopedics, peripheral vascular
surgery, off-pump cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, and physical therapy. With the advent of
minimally invasive surgery during this period, he arranged for equipment and education to be
provided in the West Bank to accommodate the growing interest in this approach.
The teams developed by Dr. Mustafa have provided more than 2,000 procedures to date. Dr.
Mustafa has been responsible for all logistics, including planning with the host country, setting
up patient visits, acquiring visas, and making travel and lodging arrangements for his team and
educational venues.
Dr. Mustafa’s efforts have now expanded beyond surgical services. Recognizing the burgeoning
need for care of the increasing diabetic population in the West Bank, Dr. Mustafa founded
diabetes care centers in the cities of Al Bireh, Nablus, and Hebron. These three centers provide
comprehensive state-of-the-art diabetes care, including retina screening, foot care, dietary
services, weight control, nurse educators, and a complete laboratory. These centers also serve as
resources for public education, as well as places for nursing and medical education. In addition,
burn centers were established in Nablus and in Hebron due to war-time thermal injuries seen in
these areas. These centers were not only equipped to take care of burn injuries but also to provide
education and training to the surgical staff, nurses, and therapists.
In addition to educating US medical students on the need for and realities of international
surgical volunteerism, medical education is included in each of his mission trips and is open and
free to all who wish to attend. These missionary conferences are coordinated with the Ministry of
Health and often one of the local medical schools. Dr. Mustafa also has been a diligent advocate
and fundraiser for his medical services, gathering funds and resources from countries including
the US, Germany, Kuwait, and beyond.
Dr. Mustafa has been an international ambassador for the ACS, taking pride in his fellowship
and advancing the ideals of the ACS. He began teaching the principles of the Advanced Trauma
Life Support (ATLS) curriculum on the West Bank years ago with colleagues from Howard
University, at a time when political divisions prevented formal recognition and certification of
the course. The ATLS curriculum provided local medical personnel who may not have surgical
experience with more specialized training in how to treat traumatic injuries.
Upon his retirement, Dr. Mustafa plans to continue volunteering as much as possible, focusing
on institutional building – such as the diabetes centers in the West Bank – that provide
specialized services in underserved areas of the Middle East. He calls on other surgeons to
consider doing what they can to give back to their community.
“Do something that you can afford to give,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there who are
in need.
