ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

SEPTEMBER 27 - OCTOBER 4, 2025

Operation Walk Pittsburgh is pleased to return to Antigua, Guatemala, for our 10th mission at Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital. Our team is expanding our impact and planning to provide more patients than ever before the life-changing gift of mobility.

This year, Dr. Michael Guthrie of Wexford Family Dentistry will again travel with our team for our 4th-annual, no-cost dental clinic for low-income Guatemalans. This is an important service, as we know that surgical risks and outcomes can be impacted by dental health.

On the orthopaedic side, we hope to provide up to 65 patients with over 80 hip and knee replacement surgeries.

During the mission, the team will also offer non-operative checkups and injections for patients who have already had surgery or who are not yet surgical candidates. We’ll also reconnect with many of our surgical patients from 2023 and 2024 during our clinic and meet many new patients who will come hoping for joint injections rather than surgery.

Given our increased surgical volume, we we expect to recruit a large number of clinical and nonclinical travel team members. Many will join us from the Pittsburgh region. However, we’re proud to recruit team members from hospital systems in Los Angeles, Hartford, Philadelphia, Fargo, Orlando, and New York City…just to name a few. Anyone interested in joining our travel team, no matter where you live, should complete our travel team application.

Additionally, this will be the second year the Carole Kerr DiGioia and Anthony M. DiGioia Jr. Scholarship Program will be available for students pursuing careers in healthcare or students interested in healthcare the opportunity to join and travel with the team at no cost. Scholars will have the opportunity to learn how patients are selected for surgery, shadow physicians, scrub in on surgeries, and gain special skills and training. Click below to learn more about this one-of-a-kind opportunity.

Witnessing patients walking and enjoying a quality of life that they hadn’t realized in decades is a gift to our team. Patients come from far and wide to show their gratitude, and the team is always happy to reciprocate, as so many of our patients leave us with lasting memories, stories, and smiles year after year.

We couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues at Obras later this year and to get back to doing what we do best: providing eager patients a fresh start through renewed mobility.

Applying to the travel team

Are you interested on joining the Operation Walk Pittsburgh travel team next year as a clinical or non-clinical volunteer? Slots are available for surgeons, nurses, physical therapists, Spanish interpreters, general hospital volunteers, and many other roles. As a travel team member, you’ll serve an important role in changing the lives of patients in need during mission 2025.

Note that all travel team members must agree to a fundraising commitment to help defray the cost of critically needed surgical supplies and equipment needed for the mission. Fundraising commitments vary by role and average expected salary, and the vast majority of team members engage in informal fundraising efforts such as appeals to their family, friends and co-workers for donations to meet their fundraising goal. We make a number of resources available to team members to make this process as easy as possible. If you’d like more information about the fundraising commitment or have specific questions about the fundraising commitment for a specific role, you’re welcome to contact nick@amd3.org.

The application will remain open until February 1st. You must apply to be considered for the travel team, even those who have travelled with us in the past. You’re always welcome to reach out to us with questions about the mission or the application process, too! Again, please reach out to nick@amd3.org with questions.

Planning for an OpWalk mission and making it all happen takes a tremendous amount of financial and in-kind support. As always, all donations made to Operation Walk Pittsburgh directly support patient care during the mission. We thank all of our donors and corporate sponsors for their support. To make a donation or explore corporate sponsorship opportunities, please email info@amd3.org or click the button below.

If you have a gently used walker or set of crutches you’d like to donate to the mission, please reach out.

JOIN THE JOURNEY

As this year’s mission unfolds, our communications team will be sharing news and updates.

 To join the experience, subscribe to our email list, follow us on Instagram, and like us on Facebook.