FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jeff Crider

IMAHelps

(760) 567-9775

IMAHELPS TO TREAT 100,000TH PATIENT DURING ITS UPCOMING MEDICAL MISSION TO MATAGALPA, NICARAGUA

A small team of Coachella Valley volunteers traveled to Nicaragua in late February to finalize preparations for the July 28 to Aug. 7 mission

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif., March 2016 — At some point during its July 28 to Aug. 7 medical humanitarian mission to Matagalpa, Nicaragua, IMAHelps volunteers will likely complete their 100,000th patient consultation.

“This is going to be a major milestone for us,” said Ines Allen, a native of Ecuador who founded Rancho Mirage-based IMAHelps 16 years ago as a way to provide critical healthcare and hope to some of the poorest people in Central and South America.

IMAHelps volunteers have seen 93,915 patients during the past 16 years, which means they only have to see another 6,085 during their upcoming mission to Matagalpa to break the 100,000 mark.

“I never dreamed we would come as far as we have come or that we would help as many people as we have helped,” Allen said. “But thanks to the generosity of our donors and volunteers, we are continuing to make a positive difference in the world.”

Allen started with a team of fewer than a dozen volunteers. But she eventually developed a national network of more than 130 volunteers from every major medical speciality. IMAHelps now organizes some of the largest medical and dental humanitarian missions in Central and South America.

What’s even more extraordinary is the ongoing commitment of Allen and her volunteers, none of whom receive any compensation for their humanitarian work. In fact, IMAHelps has no paid staff.

Volunteers donate their time and pay for their own travel costs, while IMAHelps fundraises for donations to pay for purchasing and shipping medicines as well as surgical, dental and prosthetic supplies to the countries where the humanitarian missions take place. Some of the funds are also used to pay for in-country transportation and other miscellaneous mission costs.

“We need donations to make these missions successful,” Allen said. “But because we have no paid staff, we offer donors a much higher return on investment than most other non profit organizations that provide medical, dental and surgical care. ”

IMAHelps typically delivers a return on investment of $28 to over $100 in medical, dental and prosthetic services for each dollar donated through its website at The figures vary depending on the number of patients treated and the types of surgeries performed.

“We often treat 5,000 or more patients on a single weeklong medical mission, and many of those patients will receive not only medical examinations and treatments, but life-changing surgeries as well as dental and prosthetic care,” said Allen, who plans to travel to Nicaragua in late February to finalize preparations for the upcoming IMAHelps mission to Matagalpa.

Allen grew up in poverty in Ecuador, but her family emigrated to the U.S. when she was nine after the death of her older brother, Eduardo, who died at age 15 of complications from a heart condition which her family was unable to address because they could not afford to send him to a cardiologist.

“We lost my brother as a direct result of our poverty,” Allen said. “And every time we return to Central and South America, I see families just like mine who simply cannot afford the medical, dental, surgical or prosthetic care they need.”

Allen said the IMAHelps team typically includes cardiologists; maxillofacial, orthopedic, obstetrics and gynecological and general surgeons as well as doctors of internal medicine, pediatricians, pharmacists and support staff, including nurses, surgical techs, anesthesiologists and interpreters. Working together, they change lives.

“Some people say there is too much poverty in the world and that it’s not possible to make a difference. I beg to differ,” Allen said. “On every mission, our volunteers make a difference and sometimes we change people’s lives.”

Recent IMAHelps patients include a seven-month-old baby named Michelle, who was born in El Salvador with a cleft lip ( and an 11-month-old baby named Genesis, who was born with two thumbs on the same hand ( The IMAHelps team surgically corrected their deformities as their parents fought back tears of joy.

Other recent patients include 59-year-old Juana Martinez Caceres ( ), whose life was saved by IMAHelps volunteers who provided her with a Pacemaker, which was donated to IMAHelps by Medtronic and installed by Dr. Melvyn Gonzalez of Eisenhower Medical Center.

IMAHelps volunteers, for their part, give the organization positive reviews. In fact, for the past three years, IMAHelps has received the prestigious Top-Rated Award by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations.
Allen said IMAHelps needs to raise $66,863 for its upcoming humanitarian mission to Matagalpa, Nicaragua. This money will be allocated as follows:

— Shipping$4,800

— Pharmaceutical Supplies$16,635

—Surgical Supplies$21,100

— Prosthetic Supplies$6,418

— Dental Supplies$5,725

— Shelves / Containers$880

—Packing Supplies$485

— Triage Supplies$320

— Buses / Transportation$4,500

— Narcotics, lab costs $6,000

(in country)

—Total$66,863

If you would like to support IMAHelps and learn more about the organization, please visit