Melissa Macias earned her PhD from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where she also went on to complete her residency. In her leisure time, Melissa Macias gives to a variety of charitable and philanthropic organizations. Previously, she traveled to Honduras as a medical student volunteer with MEDICO, seeking to improve the lives of those in Central America through comprehensive health care. Since 1990, MEDICO, a non-denominational and non-profit service organization, has offered medical, dental, and eye care to those in need throughout Central America, by way of volunteer mission trips, projects, and partnerships with humanitarian organizations.Volunteering with MEDICO involves a week-long trip to Honduras or Nicaragua with both medical and non-medical participants. Often, volunteers will be in very small towns helping those who are underprivileged with both medical care and health education. Monetary donations can also be made to help fund this incredible foundation, which provides services to those in very remote areas with little or no access to proper health care.
An established Wisconsin neurosurgeon, Dr. Melissa Macias handles a wide range of conditions of the brain and spinal cord and emphasizes individualized treatment modalities. A world traveler, Dr. Melissa Macias has volunteered with the secular nonprofit MEDICO, Mission to Honduras, which offers people in Nicaragua and Honduras a combination of medical, optometric, and dental care. The volunteering process with MEDICO is simple for those with skills needed to meet humanitarian goals. Spanish fluency is not a requirement, as interpreters are on hand, and special medicines and immunizations are not required. That said, the Zika virus is endemic to the region and spread by mosquitos. With no approved vaccines in place yet, participants are encouraged to work closely with medical care providers in ensuring the best possible combination of travel medicines prior to travel. MEDICO volunteers sometimes offer to bring medical supplies for distribution to communities in need. While the nonprofit encourages donations of supplies, it is important to contact the organization first and discuss whether the specific supplies are relevant to actual community needs. Participants are encouraged to bring small gifts, from pencils to toothbrushes, that children encountered within villages and a clinical setting will enthusiastically accept.
