Ask any doctor to describe inner-city communities from a medical standpoint and they’ll tell you there are a lot of chronic health issues and poverty-related illnesses. There’s also a lack of mental and prenatal healthcare.
But three doctors are honoring a promise they made in high school to serve those communities.
Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt, and George Jenkins attended high school in New Jersey. They lived in communities plagued by crime, addiction, and violence. They also had the first-hand experience of that world. Each of them had friends and family members who’d become addicted to drugs or imprisoned.
So, the three teens promised one another they would become doctors.
They vowed to help those who lived in underprivileged communities, especially children.
It was a long and difficult path. The men attended Seton Hall University’s Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dental Plus program. The program’s geared toward minority students to help them into the medical field.
Now, they’ve all fulfilled their promise.
Davis is an emergency medicine physician, Hunt is an internist, and Jenkins is the assistant professor of clinical dentistry at Columbia University. Working in an emergency room is difficult, especially in poor neighborhoods. Davis said his patients exemplify the wider needs of underprivileged communities.
“I see a lot of unfortunate outcomes,” he said. “I see a lot of trauma cases, gunshot wounds, stabbings, car accidents, blunt trauma, you know, I see a lot of lack of prenatal care. Just situations that are very dire.”
He’s also passionate about serving those with mental illnesses.
“I see mental health as another big issue that we all face and that’s not in relationship to any particular community, substance abuse, I see it all,” he said. “I see a lack of access to quality health care and health equity and these are the areas we need to close the gaps.”
The Three Doctors, as they’ve come to be known, have established the Three Doctors Foundation.
It aims to help children by providing examples and education.
“Being in the inner city, it’s important to see the diversity in medicine, and in all professions that matter so that the community and the professions represent each other,” said Davis. “But being on the front lines and saving lives is really an exciting sort of process to be a part of and to think that I have an opportunity to do it especially where I came from is a blessing.”
The Three Doctors Foundation also teamed up with other organizations.
One of them is the Turn 2 Foundation, founded by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. It helps children find healthy activities and mentors as alternatives to drug use.
Since 1996, the Turn 2 Foundation has raised more than $27 million for youth programs.
The Three Doctors Foundation has the motto “Our children cannot aspire to be what they cannot see.” These three men are helping kids see a brighter future.
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