Surgical Duo Traveled to Ghana, Served More than 100 Patients

Jessica Giese and Maria Novy, operating room surgical team leads at ThedaCare, had each long desired to travel abroad on a medical mission trip. A gift from a ThedaCare Family of Foundations fund supporting such endeavors helped the duo’s dream come true.

Giese and Novy traveled to Ghana, a country in West Africa, earlier this year as part of a medical mission trip to help provide care to those with limited access to health services. Their trip was made possible with support from the Jodie Kacer Mission Trip Award at ThedaCare.

Kacer, who passed away in 2012 after retiring from ThedaCare in 2010, embarked on regular mission trips abroad during her career in health care. Upon her death, her family established a fund that would be used to help carry on the core values of human kindness and goodwill that Kacer showed others.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of an international medical mission trip,” Giese said. “I was close to fulfilling that wish a few years ago but those plans were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Her interest piqued again after the pandemic subsided. While scrolling on social media, she came across a medical mission trip opportunity called Ghana Make a Difference. After thoroughly researching the organization, she applied to take part in the trip.

“I had an interview with them the following week,” she said. “Not long after that, I was accepted.”

ThedaCare Family of Foundations

It was a surgical mission trip, right up Giese’s alley. She shared the news with her friend and colleague, Novy, who had no intention of missing out on a medical mission trip with Giese.

“I jumped at the opportunity,” she said. “I followed Jess’s lead and was approved, too.”

Both sought and received financial support from the Jodie Kacer Mission Trip Award.

“It was very helpful,” Giese said. “We are so appreciative. It was an amazing opportunity to improve ourselves personally and professionally.”

The ThedaCare Family of Foundations is proud to help create such growth opportunities for team members, said Barbara Beuscher, CFRE, ThedaCare Chief Philanthropy Officer and Senior Vice President.

“We remain ever grateful for the Jodie Kacer Mission Trip Award, a generous gift through which we have been able to provide this recent medical mission experience to our team members, Jessica and Maria,” Beuscher said. “We are happy to support ThedaCare team members who seek to improve themselves to better demonstrate care, empathy and professionalism when treating our patients.”

Giese and Novy spent 10 days in Ghana at the Ghana Make a Difference compound which initially formed to help children rescued from forced labor trafficking, abandonment or with special needs. The compound now has a free surgical center among other amenities. Teams of visiting medical experts, mostly from the United States, make regular visits to provide care.

The ThedaCare teammates said when they arrived for duty each morning, throngs of people were already lined up at the compound, waiting for their turn to see a doctor.

“They’d be out there for hours and hours singing church hymns,” Novy said. “Some of them would stop us and thank us for helping them. It was really moving.”

Many Hernia Surgeries

The duo helped perform more than 100 surgical procedures in four and a half days.

“We did a lot of hernias, they actually were pretty much all hernias,” Novy said. “I assisted a plastic surgeon with a cleft lip procedure on a little girl. Most of the procedures were hernias that would have been very difficult to live with had they not been fixed. We were told they’re related to all the manual labor the patients we treated do for a living.”

The duo said the Ghana Make a Difference trip was a life-changing experience.

“This trip really put things into perspective for me,” Novy said. “We compare ourselves to other people, like, ‘why is my house so small’ and ‘we don’t have much.’ Looking at the little that these people had, you see how thankful they still are. It makes you realize we’re very fortunate with what we do have.”

Giese agreed.

“Just hearing the stories from the kids and the people who work there and seeing how thankful they are, it’s inspiring,” she said. “They are some of the happiest people I’ve ever met.”

Both say the trip has affected them professionally – in a positive way.

“You don’t immediately know everyone’s story,” Giese said. “Some people come in with certain attitudes that may make it challenging to aid them. I realize that it’s just understanding that they’re scared and they’re out of their element so it’s a tough situation for them. Empathy goes a long way to providing the quality care our patients need.”

These are the experiences The ThedaCare Family of Foundations hopes the health system’s team members can relate to after such a sponsored trip, Beuscher said.

“These educational enrichment experiences represent some of the most impactful ways the ThedaCare Family of Foundations empowers donors to advance health care excellence,” she said. “Improving community health extends beyond providing medical services – it means supporting our nursing and clinical teams as they deepen their expertise and bring the latest innovations to patients’ bedsides. This kind of community partnership delivers lasting benefits for everyone to live their unique, best lives.” 

Heart of a Donor Series

This article is part of a planned series featuring generous donors who support the ThedaCare Family of Foundations. Donations to the ThedaCare Family of Foundations help fund projects and programs on many levels across the system. If you know a donor, or community organization, who has a connection to the ThedaCare Family of Foundations, and believe should be featured in the “Heart of a Donor” series, please email [email protected].

To learn more about the ThedaCare Family of Foundations and the impact of donor support, please visit ThedaCare.org/Foundations.

Jessica Giese and Maria Novy, operating room surgical team leads at ThedaCare, visited Ghana, West Africa, as part of a medical mission trip earlier this year. The trip was made possible with support from the ThedaCare Family of Foundations and the Jodie Kacer Mission Trip Award.

Jessica Giese and Maria Novy, operating room surgical team leads at ThedaCare, visited Ghana, West Africa, as part of a medical mission trip earlier this year. The trip was made possible with support from the ThedaCare Family of Foundations and the Jodie Kacer Mission Trip Award.

Jessica Giese and Maria Novy, team members at ThedaCare, helped treat more than 100 surgical patients in four and a half days during a medical mission trip to Ghana earlier this year. Both said the experience was inspiring.

Jessica Giese and Maria Novy, team members at ThedaCare, helped treat more than 100 surgical patients in four and a half days during a medical mission trip to Ghana earlier this year. Both said the experience was inspiring.

About ThedaCare

For more than 115 years, ThedaCare® has been improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves in Northeast and Central Wisconsin. The organization delivers care to more than 650,000 residents in 17 counties, and employs approximately 7,000 providers and team members at 180 points of care, including nine hospitals. As an organization committed to being a leader in Population Health, team members are dedicated to empowering people to live their unique, best lives. ThedaCare is a not-for-profit health system with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs, as well as primary care. ThedaCare also partners with communities to understand needs, find solutions together, and encourage health awareness and action. In 2024, ThedaCare and Froedtert Health combined to form one system to strengthen local health care and provide high-quality services for treatment and prevention in a coordinated manner.