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Pinnacle Doctor Performs Mission Work in Mongolia

Crown Point, Indiana – November 7, 2008 – Dr. Brent Jacobus, physician-owner and medical staff president of Pinnacle Hospital and physician-owner of Winfield Family Practice, recently traveled to Darkhan, Mongolia with a team of twelve healthcare professionals. They set up a medical clinic to treat malnutrition, respiratory disorders, skin disorders, hypertension, arthritis, asthma and other third world illnesses. Dr. Jacobus’s organization named Vital Injection is dedicated to offering medical care, food, clothes and the advancement of the Christian mission to developing areas of the world.

During the two-week missionary trip, Vital Injection treated approximately 350 patients living in unsanitary conditions with access to poor medical care. “With a shortage of supplies, patients often must bring their own to the hospital to be used. And physicians need to be bribed to render care to patients,” says Dr. Jacobus. “Even if there is a willing physician on staff, it doesn’t mean the patient will receive adequate care. In one instance a child needing immediate attention at the ER was met by an intoxicated physician.”

The team also brought Beanie Babies donated by Ty on their mission to Mongolia. “Something like that, when you show a child love, when you show people you care, they listen,” says Dr. Jacobus. “It’s like at Christmas when you give a gift—you get more joy by giving the gift to someone and seeing them receive it and seeing their joy than by receiving any gifts.”

Vital Injection organizes a yearly mission, usually in the summer months when it’s easier for volunteers to get off work and travel. Vital Injection has taken its mission and medical care to India, Africa, Russia in addition to Mongolia. “We plan to go back to Mongolia next summer,” says Dr. Jacobus. “We’ll go through China and stop at an orphanage in northern China that we know needs some help.” Dr. Jacobus, along with his partner, Dr. Brett Brechner, were recently presented with the 2008 Volunteer Service Award on behalf of President George W. Bush.

You can get more information on Vital Injection by visiting their website at http://www.vitalinjection.com .