Medical Mission Trip More Than Just Geography for Orthotics and Prosthetics Faculty Member 

Allison Bressler, MS, CPO/L, a faculty member in the Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program, Salus at Drexel University was in grade school when USA for Africa released the song, “We Are The World,” to benefit starvation in Africa. The song begins with the words, “There comes a time, when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one…”  

In 2018, Bressler received and accepted a call to participate in a medical mission podiatry team traveling to El Salvador to improve the lives of children afflicted with foot abnormalities. The team returned in 2019 and hoped to travel there again in 2020 but COVID-19 derailed them until this year.  

In September 2024, Bressler was one of two orthotists who participated in the Small Steps/Healing the Children podiatry mission trip. The team of 25 hailed from different countries and, in addition to orthotists, included podiatrists, anesthesiologists, nurses, and residents. “ I just love it,” Bressler said, “because it affords each of us an opportunity to work with others, who, on the surface, look and speak differently than we do, but who share the common goal to benefit these children and their families.”  

During this year’s weeklong trip, 39 podiatry surgeries were performed on children from six months of age to 18-years-old which included clubfoot deformity corrections, ankle fusions, Achilles tendon lengthening (ATL), and the removal of extra digits, to name a few. Simultaneously, Bressler and her fellow orthotist worked with approximately 175 children to fit ankle foot orthoses (AFO’s) and shoes to patients in need.  

According to Bressler, the severity of many of the clubfoot cases seen in Third World Countries is unlike anything a practitioner would see in the United States. She said that if a child is born with a clubfoot in America, it sometimes requires multiple surgeries before the age of two. But if it is addressed quickly, it usually does not progress to the point where the child can barely walk.  

Following her return, Bressler delivered a presentation to the Salus at Drexel O&P students, which included photos and videos of the surgeries performed. She encouraged the students to, if presented with an opportunity, take part in a medical mission trip and added that although each participant pays his/her own way, the trips are life-changing for both the patient and the clinician.  

Lucky for her current and future students, AccessAbility UnLimbited was founded in May 2024 by O&P students, Tori Page ‘25O&P, Reagan Thompson ‘26O&P, Kayla Connelly ‘26 O&P and fellow faculty member, Julie Quinlan, MPO, MS, CPO, ATC, FAAOP. The non-profit held their first “Wonderland” event in September and raised enough money to offer three scholarships to support students interested in participating in international orthotics and prosthetics trips. The rewards of seeing and being a part of such a life-changing event are immeasurable and an experience I very much look forward to sharing with my students,” said Bressler.