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Lake City physician assistant returns from medical mission in Ukraine

KVNF - Mountain Grown Community Radio | By Laura Palmisano
Published April 4, 2024 at 9:01 PM MDT
Physician assistant Bob Downs with a five-year-old patient at a medical clinic in Ukraine.
Global Care Force
Physician assistant Bob Downs with a five-year-old patient at a medical clinic in Ukraine.

Bob Downs has worked as a physician assistant in the tiny mountain town of Lake City for the past decade. The 66-year-old retired from full-time practice in February. Then in March, he went to Ukraine on a medical mission with Global Care Force, a nonprofit organization. Downs needed to raise $6,500.00 to go on the trip. He surpassed that goal in a matter of days with a majority of his funding coming from the Lake City community. For KVNF, Laura Palmisano interviewed Downs about his experiences in war-torn Ukraine.

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KVNF Stories Lake CityUkraineHealthcare
Laura Palmisano
Laura joined KVNF in 2014. She was the news director for two years and now works as a freelance reporter covering Colorado's Western Slope. Laura is an award-winning journalist with work recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, Colorado Broadcasters Association, and RTDNA. In 2015, she was a fellow for the Institute for Justice & Journalism. Her fellowship project, a three-part series on the Karen refugee community in Delta, Colorado, received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
See stories by Laura Palmisano
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