Chicago-based sales professional Michael J. Mangano possesses an extensive background in medical diagnostics, especially in the field of joint and spine surgery. Having worked at several Chicago medical technology companies, Michael Mangano maintains an interest in facilitating access to life-changing spinal procedures through his involvement with the Straight Caribbean Spine Foundation, which provides children in Jamaica with no-cost surgeries.
While spinal deformities, like congenital scoliosis, affect people all over the world, many low-resource countries lack the expensive medical infrastructure to carry out corrective procedures. Additionally, people from impoverished nations are often unable to access the medical resources that are available in their country. These medical systems are also often underfunded and operate using outdated equipment and methods.
Patients served in low-resource hospital systems are susceptible to complications as they may not be able to obtain adequate follow-up care. Collaborations between governments, private practice doctors, and international charitable organizations have addressed this inequity by establishing medical mission programs to educate local providers, raise funds for local hospitals, and deliver surgical care to the most severe cases.
