Upstate doctor helps his native Nepal to heal, rebuild after disastrous earthquake

A young girl who received treatment for a broken leg at Civil Service Hospital, where most of the orthopedic supplies were donated in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake. (PHOTO COURTESY OF DINESH SUBEDI, MD)

After dispensing medical care and supplies in the aftermath of the April 25 earthquake in his native Nepal, Upstate hospitalist Dinesh Subedi, MD, is focusing on rebuilding.

A family assesses the damage to their home in Sindhupalchowk, a district hit hard by the Nepal earthquake.(PHOTO COURTESY OF DINESH SUBEDI, MD)

The disaster killed more than 9,000 people and left nearly 3 million homeless.

Subedi traveled with locally donated supplies and joined Nepali doctors from the United States to treat 25 or 30 people in each of several villages. They mostly hiked amid flattened buildings and landslides to get to patients requiring care.

Subedi shared these photographs of his experiences.

The first house to be rebuilt by the nonprofit campaign Mission Rebuild Nepal, in the village of SipaPokhare. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSION REBUILD NEPAL)

His group supports the nonprofit campaign called Mission Rebuild Nepal, which intends to rebuild 800 houses. Already, 75 like the one at left are near completion. He and his colleagues concluded that “people‘s health will only be better once they have a good place to live. So until we can fix that, we can‘t make them healthy,” said Subedi, an assistant professor of medicine. summer cover

This article appears in the summer 2015 issue of Upstate Health magazine.

Hear Subedi's radio interview about his efforts after the Nepal earthquake on "HealthLink on Air."

Subedi helps survivors in Majhigaun, a village in northwestern Nepal. The Upstate doctor said he hopes to return to Nepal to help with the rebuilding effort. (PHOTO COURTESY OF DINESH SUBEDI, MD)