“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. posed this challenge in Montgomery, Alabama in 1957, he called for dedicated service to humanity. This spirit of service would find powerful expression at MEDEX Northwest through founder Dr. Richard Smith, who expanded the program globally from Hawaii, and Civil Rights activist Dr. Rodney Powell, his former Peace Corps colleague whom he recruited as Deputy Director in 1975. Their combined dedication to equity and justice transformed healthcare delivery across the globe. 

The MEDEX story began in 1969 when Dr. Smith launched a revolutionary program built on the concept of “multiplying hands”—training mid-level healthcare providers to serve underserved communities. While MEDEX Northwest established its roots serving rural Pacific Northwest communities, Dr. Smith envisioned a broader scope. In 1972, he made a pivotal decision to establish a base in Hawaii, strategically positioning MEDEX to address healthcare challenges across Asia, the Pacific, and beyond. 

The program’s global expansion gained additional momentum when Powell joined MEDEX in 1975. His background in the Civil Rights Movement brought a deeper dimension to MEDEX’s mission of equity. As a medical student at Meharry Medical College in the 1960s, Powell had trained under Rev. James Lawson in nonviolent resistance and participated in the Nashville sit-ins that successfully desegregated the city’s lunch counters. Powell helped organize the Freedom Rides, integrated bus trips across the South that challenged segregation. Following Dr. King’s advice, though, he focused on completing medical school instead of joining the rides himself. 

From its strategic base in Hawaii, MEDEX emerged as a “laboratory” for healthcare innovation on an international scale. The program’s adaptability proved particularly valuable in Micronesia, where healthcare workers were trained to make independent clinical decisions while maintaining vital connections with remote supervisors across vast ocean distances. In Guyana, MEDEX-trained providers became essential pillars of the national healthcare system, bridging critical gaps in medical care. The program also gained valuable hands-on experience in Thailand, Pakistan, and Lesotho, each country offering unique insights into delivering healthcare in diverse cultural and geographic settings. 

The crown jewel of this international expansion was the MEDEX Primary Health Care Series. This comprehensive 35-volume resource, containing over 7,000 pages of practical medical knowledge, was translated into more than 20 languages and became a cornerstone for healthcare systems worldwide. Dr. Smith’s insistence on cultural adaptability and practical application ensured these materials would serve as more than just textbooks. The resources drew from MEDEX’s direct experience in these five countries—Micronesia, Guyana, Thailand, Pakistan, and Lesotho—and incorporated insights from primary healthcare programs across seventeen other developing nations. This rich collection of global knowledge became the blueprint for sustainable healthcare delivery in diverse settings around the world. 

 The Hawaii initiative demonstrated how bold vision could transform local innovation into global impact. While MEDEX Northwest continued its vital work in the United States, the international program operated from Hawaii showed how healthcare equity principles could be adapted and scaled across different cultural and geographical settings. 

Dr. Smith and Dr. Powell’s collaboration exemplified Dr. King’s vision of justice through action. By empowering healthcare providers to serve their own communities, they created a model of sustainable change that went beyond traditional medical education. Their work demonstrated that healthcare equity requires not just educating providers but building systems that can adapt and thrive in diverse cultural contexts. 

As we commemorate MLK Day, MEDEX’s evolution from a regional program to a global force for healthcare equity reminds us of the power of bold action guided by moral vision. The program continues to demonstrate how innovative thinking, cultural sensitivity, and unwavering commitment to justice can transform healthcare delivery around the world. 

Dr. King’s enduring question—”What are you doing for others?”—remains our call to action. The legacies of Dr. Smith and Dr. Powell challenge us to envision healthcare not as a privilege, but as a fundamental right, and to work tirelessly until this vision becomes reality for all.