LEMOYNE, Penn., April 16, 2008 – A stint in Vietnam and a short-term medical trip years later inspired retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Harrison to devote his “second life” to healing the world’s disabled children, both inside and out.

Twelve years ago, Harrison founded CURE International, a nonprofit dedicated to providing medical care for poor children suffering from common but treatable congenital disorders and disabilities. Yet, from CURE’s very inception, it has been more than a medical outreach charity. Rooted in Harrison’s Christian faith, CURE is committed to healing not only the sickness, but also the soul.

“I view this organization as a ministry meeting the medical needs of children rather than a medical charity doing ministry work,” said Harrison, who serves as CURE’s president and CEO. “We seek to cure children from their physical ailments, but all the while showing them an example of godly love – healing them wholly.”

Harrison’s vision for CURE began in 1998 after he and his wife Sally traveled to Malawi on a medical mission trip and realized they could make a difference for poor, disabled children in countries suffering from a lack of skilled medical care.

“My wife and I saw first-hand the devastating need for specialized children’s medical care in Africa,” said Harrison. “We knew that if we pooled our knowledge and resources, along with our faith in God, we could play a part in the life transformation for so many children and their families.”

Before establishing CURE, Harrison worked as an orthopedic surgeon for 26 years, providing him with the medical expertise to start such an organization. He later served as president and CEO of Kirschner Medical Corporation, where he gained the administrative experience and funding necessary to run CURE. Harrison admits that his year of medical service in Vietnam first inspired the desire to help suffering people in Third World countries.

Harrison is exceedingly thankful for the support he has received from his wife, who he first met at a Methodist youth group function in high school and later married during college. Sally, a former nurse, has played an intricate part in CURE’s spiritual emphasis.

“I do not think I could have stayed the course without Sally being by my side,” said Harrison. “She is the reason behind CURE’s devotion to the medical and spiritual healing of children.”

While CURE has grown to become the largest provider of specialty surgical care in the developing world, treating more than 650,000 children, it has not lost sight of its spiritual charge. CURE has seen almost as many faith conversions as medical operations, which now number more than 46,000.

CURE has opened medical facilities or provided outreach treatment in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, United Arab Emirates, Uganda and Zambia. The ministry plans to open four more hospitals in the next two years in Ethiopia (2008), Egypt, Niger and Palestine (by the end of 2009).

Although Harrison no longer performs surgeries, his role as CEO is to make sure CURE continues to stay on track and live out its mission. Harrison has an ambitious vision for CURE – to keep establishing medical facilities and teaching hospitals at the rate of one a year and to eradicate the deformity clubfoot from the planet. He believes it can be done.

“Every morning I wake up and realize the totality of CURE’s work and the impact we are making around the world. I am doing exactly what God created me to do,” said Harrison. “Of course I can take credit for none of CURE’s accomplishments because they are all God’s doing.”

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