Zimmer Biomet Partners With Faith In Practice to Improve Musculoskeletal Care Access in Guatemala

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc., a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, has entered into a partnership agreement with Faith In Practice, a non-profit organization that provides surgical, medical, dental and educational programs in Guatemala. Under the partnership, Zimmer Biomet will donate instrument sets and provide implants for Faith In Practice to place in inventory with the goal of improving access to total knee arthroplasty procedures for patients in underserved communities.
 
Through the partnership’s model, Faith In Practice will use Zimmer Biomet implants at the Las Obras Hospital in Antigua and Hilario Galindo Hospital in San Felipe, Retalhuleu, Guatemala.
 
“This is an outstanding partnership of two organizations that are focused on the health of those in need in developing countries such as Guatemala,” said Brian S. Parsley, M.D., lead orthopedic surgeon and member of Faith In Practice’s board of directors. “Zimmer Biomet has been supportive of our medical mission work for many years, and this agreement will further our capacity to treat those patients in need and offer them an opportunity to walk comfortably, remain active and provide for their families. This partnership will allow our surgeons to reach out and help even more patients due to the availability of implants and equipment. Our surgeons are ecstatic about this relationship.”
 
“We are delighted to partner with Faith In Practice,” said Dan Williamson, Zimmer Biomet’s group president of Joint Reconstruction. “This opportunity enables us to continue to provide our products and solutions in a socially impactful manner and further expands our ongoing efforts to help improve the lives of people in underserved communities who typically do not have access to healthcare advancements.”
 
“We are incredibly grateful to Zimmer Biomet for making this commitment to serve those in great need in Guatemala. While Zimmer Biomet has always been generous in supporting medical volunteers who wish to serve those in need in developing nations, this new way of providing implants will leverage and expand its impact significantly. We applaud Zimmer Biomet’s efforts and are honored to be its first partner in this new way of providing care to those who otherwise would have no access,” said the Rev. Linda McCarty, president and CEO of Faith In Practice.
 
The mission of Faith In Practice is to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical, and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. Faith In Practice’s medical mission is to minister to the poor, while providing a spiritually enriching experience for its volunteers. Each year, more than 1,300 U.S. volunteers serve through Faith In Practice, covering their own costs, taking vacation time, to serve. They are joined by more than 1,000 Guatemalan volunteers and two non-profit Guatemalan hospitals to provide care to the poor of Guatemala.
 

Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Ind., Zimmer Biomet designs, manufactures and markets orthopedic reconstructive products; sports medicine, biologics, extremities and trauma products; office based technologies; spine, craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products; dental implants; and related surgical products. The company’s products and solutions help treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints or supporting soft tissues. Zimmer Biomet has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries.