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CEENTA ENT and facial plastic surgeon Jewel Greywoode, MD, appeared on WCNC's Charlotte Today on December 20th, 2023, to discuss humanitarian patient care in countries such as Kenya and Cameroon as well as Wake Forest's upcoming medical school. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Greywoode at our Uptown office today by using our online scheduling platform or through your myCEENTAchart account.
Eugene Robinson: Today in our Health Spotlight, we are focusing on the care and humanitarian work many of our doctors base here in Charlotte are involved in around the world. And joining us today is Dr. Jewel Greywoode, an ENT and facial plastic surgeon at CEENTA's Uptown office. Let's talk about this because this is fascinating, you work abroad too. So how did you get involved in this stuff and what was your passion to go ahead and do your work abroad?
Dr. Jewel Greywoode: Yes, so back in 2015, I had the opportunity to join a team through Samaritan's Purse out in Kenya, Kijabe, Kenya, and we were doing cleft work. And so the idea is you go to these hospitals and provide care for these children who otherwise wouldn't be able to have their clefts fixed. Well that fired and ignited a passion in me, and so I've been to Kenya three times, been to Liberia about four or five times, South Sudan, as well as most recently Cameroon, and then future trips planned include the DRC coming up again later on this year.
Eugene: Okay when you're there, how long are you there to go ahead and do this this vital work that you guys are doing?
Dr. Greywoode: So these are more short-term trips. So we're usually there about a week, and so there's a team on the ground that's already there that lines these patients up. And when we get there, we set up shop.
Eugene: Is this non-stop once you get there?
Dr. Greywoode: Non-stop, we get there and there's a whole team of people and we're able to get and take care of these patients within that week. And so this is a rhythmic thing and these patients know that we're coming.
Eugene: So tell me about Cameroon. You said that's the next stop that you about to go do?
Dr. Greywoode: Yeah, so I've been to Cameroon twice this year, and that's a little bit different from the cleft trips that I've done.
So Cameroon - there's a hospital there called Mbingo, spelled m-b-i-n-g-o. Well, it's a mission hospital, and they have a residency program there that teaches African surgeons general surgery, and those surgeons are then able to stay in Africa and become surgeons giving back to their community instead of going abroad. But one of my passions is giving to the least of these, whether it's the patients, themselves, or even the doctors who are in these low resource settings and being able to provide not only knowledge but then also care.
Eugene: So you're teaching other physicians to do the work that you are doing in your own community?
Dr. Greywoode: Correct, and so one of the places - you mentioned Cameroon - so Cameroon, I went there to see how this is already being done in various aspects. There's a surgeon I've partnered with, he's from Johns Hopkins. He started a training fellowship at the hospital in Cameroon. Well I happened to go there with him the first time I was there. Wasn't expecting to do much, ended up doing a jaw construction. And then he invited me back again. And so a couple weeks ago, I was able to go back and we did four jaw reconstructions in four days.
Eugene: Wow, this community is really underserved. So when you go there, this is some vital work that you're doing that's going to really change lives.
Dr. Greywoode: Yes, and it's not just about going and doing the work myself. The goal really is to teach these surgeons who are very capable to be able to do the work themselves. And I think we - and me personally - have been given a gift that I hope to be able to steward well.
Eugene: Okay, let's talk about Wake Forest because there's a medical center opening up in 2025. How was CEENTA involved in that?
Dr. Greywoode: So CEENTA, being one of the largest or the largest ENT group here in town, we're going to be involved in many aspects with medical education. Already involved with one of the other medical schools here in town. And so medical students and getting them, mentoring them at this stage in life is a unique opportunity because they are and we have been given a gift as healthcare providers. And so being able to steward that well and being able to give back is something that I want to be able to provide.
Eugene: So Jewel, where are you located that people can go ahead and find you?
Dr. Greywoode: So my office is at the Uptown office. We're at 400 East Brooklyn Village Avenue, and so we have comprehensive ENT and then my focus as well is facial plastic surgery.
Eugene: CEENTA.com is the website that you can go ahead and get a little bit more information. Jewel thank you very much - Dr. Jewel, thank you very much for being here today.
Dr. Greywoode: Thank you so much.
