LMF History

During the first phase of LMF’s work, from 1991 to 1992, LMF helped bring donations, medicaments and devices worth $435 000 into Latvia by the People’s Front of Chicago. LMF sent 648 boxes in six shipments to Latvia. In those steps, LMF issued more than $75,000. LMF partnered with Project Hope to deliver a large cargo plane from the U.S., full of medical goods. It was imported into Latvia by US Vice-President Dan Quale in February 1992. Bertram Zarins imported $350,000 worth of arthroscopy devices, and Kristaps Zarins introduced new techniques and imported vessel devices worth $260. The Boston meacenas Norman Knight donated $30,000 to the fund, which was used to provide new Internet facilities to Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, a forward-looking step at that time.

Starting in 1993, the medical crisis in Latvia had abated and Latvia began to recover. In the second phase, LMF was supported by a variety of hospitals and professional medical organizations, such as the Latvian Diabetes Association and Children’s Hospital Gaiļezers, with $25,000 in donations. LMF sent $3,000 to the Latvian Physician Association for the purchase of computers and $5,000 for the second and also the third Congress of Latvian Physicians. DD Ilze Lakstīgala donated $100,000 through LMF to modernise the Stomatology Institute of the Riga Stradiņš University. Later, the fund provided $10,000 in material support for the rehabilitation center “Vaivari” and a $5,000 donation to the Proteising Laboratory of P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital.

In order to improve health care in Latvia, LMF considered it important to complement the knowledge of Latvian doctors. The fund hoped to do this with travel scholarships to provide young doctors with opportunities to study abroad and bring new knowledge back to Latvia. The first fellows were orthopedic surgeon Valdis Zatlers and vascular surgeon Dainis Krievins. Scholarships became the main activity of LMF in 2002, when LMF founded a Zarins-Knight study travel scholarship program. Over the next 17 years, LMF has awarded 52 scholarships, totaling more than $274 (each scholarship — more than $6,000).

Currently, LMF travel grants are divided into four categories:

• Latvian residents and young doctors – for professional development to learn new, unapplied or minor methods of applying medical treatment;
• Latvian medical students to supplement their knowledge in foreign universities and scientific laboratories;
• For medical students, to spend the summer in Latvia at one of the major hospitals.

• Regional hospitals and university clinics – “academic development and excellence”, so that their leaders can learn new, advanced methods of the organization of medicine and work.

In recent years, several young Latvian doctors have emigrated from Latvia, and in some cases the travel scholarship may have helped them with it. Therefore, in the future, in order to receive this scholarship, it will be preferable to doctors who plan to work in Latvia and for whom work has already been provided in Latvia.

In 2022, due to the hostilities launched by Russia in Ukraine, the Board of LMF decided that it would provide support for Ukrainian war refugees. Now, new needs have arisen and we are re-directing the LMF to provide emergency assistance to Ukrainian refugees. The Latvian Medical Foundation will assist Ukrainian medical personnel who have come to Latvia and will work to help more resettle in Latvia. The LMF will help the refugees with their medical care expenses and other needs.