Los Angeles-based Surgeon Donates Medical Imaging Equipment to Aid Hospital in Africa.

(I-Newswire) January 15, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA � January 15, 2008 � Los Angeles surgeon, Michael F. Richman, MD, FACS, FCCP has donated over $250,000 of medical imaging equipment to support "Project Liberia", a centralized program in Liberia, Africa that supports education and awareness of Sickle Cell Disease.

Project Liberia is an education and awareness initiative that focuses on reaching the populations that are the hardest-hit by Sickle Cell Disease. Focusing primarily in Liberia, EFE International's goal is to extend their successful centralized program, which includes health screenings of children and parents of child-bearing age. Because Sickle Cell is an inherited genetic disease, adults who are carriers of this genetic trait are educated and children who test positive are channeled to physicians for appropriate treatment.

A philanthropist at heart, Dr. Richman's work extends beyond the operating room. He is currently a member of the board of directors for the non-profit, Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research in Los Angeles, California. He serves as a voluntary medical expert providing consumer health information for WebMD. Making the call to EFE International was a natural choice. Says Richman, "I have always kept an eye towards medical care in third-world countries. When an associate introduced me to EFE International, I knew immediately what I needed to do."

The donation of medical imaging equipment will be shipped from Los Angeles to Liberia, where EFE International will oversee its implementation into a local clinic or hospital. EFE International's focus is the education and treatment of endemic diseases, including Sickle Cell Anemia and Leukemia.

Dr. Michael. F. Richman, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.P, is a board certified surgeon and cardiothoracic surgeon with a specialty focus in complex lipid management and venous disease. He is President and Head of Surgery for The Elite Laser Vein Centers in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and The Center for Cholesterol Management in Los Angeles, California.

EFE International is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on health and awareness issues about life-threatening endemic diseases, such as sickle cell disease in Africa and other third-world countries.


###

Contact: Cheryl A. Cross, MPH
Phone 310-406-1035
Toll Free 866-900-1035
ccrossmph@yahoo.com

Company Contact Information
Michael F. Richman, MD, FACS, FCCP