Blog

Medical

Our commitment to providing ongoing care to the communities we serve sets us apart from traditional medical missions. In Panama, we maintain detailed records of our patients’ health and treatment in more than 25 remote communities. The impact of a single brigade clinic in a remote region can be very high even if they don’t […]

Our Boats

While in the past we based our entire operation from a sailing vessel; at present, our model is to deploy our teams in small open boats called ‘pangas’ or in traditional Ngabe-Bugle indigenous dugout canoes called ‘cayucos’ to reach the target communities scattered across 10,000+ miles of archipelago and coastal mountains we serve. These smaller […]

How It All Began

“Always strive for the far shore. Don’t save anything for the swim back.” by Dr. Ben One of the most common questions I am asked (aside from “where are we?” and “can you come look at this weird rash?”) is how this all started. I’m never quite sure how to answer that—the true origin of […]

Our ED Reflects on 2021

This year marks the end of a year like we have never had before. After all of the 2020 COVID-19 devastation, we were eager to get back to work with a full team and volunteers, but also hesitant of the safety risk this imposed on our patients. With the support of the Ministry of Health, […]

A Solstice Message from Dr. Ben

For most modern urban folks, weather plays a minimal role. Sure, if it’s raining you might cancel taking your child to the park, but it takes pretty severe weather to stop most people going to work, going out to dinner, or doing most of the other activities that we have on our calendars. But this […]

Floating Doctors Volunteer Program 2021

“If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.” — Kofi Annan Since March 2020 we have put a temporary hold on our volunteer program in response to the pandemic, and have been caring for our patients […]

August: Immunization Awareness Month

As we close out August and what feels like the millionth month of quarantine from a novel virus, we’re looking toward what this season typically brings for most people: back to school and sporting events that either put us all in packed stadiums or crowded bars watching a screen. For those of us in the […]

Sailing Through the COVID Storm

How is it the middle of August? With the way the past few months has played out for the world, it feels like time has stood still for months but at the same time a million years have passed. So little seems to be happening and yet SO MUCH is happening. It’s like botany–all the plants look like they are just sitting there but speed up the camera and you can see them growing, competing, striving furiously all the time, as though the world were frozen but with all the moving parts pushing against each other under incredible strain.

We’re Not Washing Our Hands…

…of our mission, that is! Rest assured, we’re washing hands, surfaces, and just about everything else. 😉 With the need to put a hold on all volunteers at least through April, our operations are scaled back dramatically, but we are still committed to ensuring quality care for the people in our region and all over […]