Staff report

Physicians For Peace (PFP) volunteer team leader and board trustee

Juan M. Montero II, M.D., will receive Obici Hospital’s 40th annual award for outstanding contributions to the medical profession at the hospital’s clinical conference March 30 at King’s Fork Middle School.

&uot;The Obici Hospital medical staff created this award in 1965 to recognize noteworthy physicians,&uot; said conference chairman Dr. Robert F. Brewer. &uot;We are pleased to honor Dr. Montero for his many accomplishments and contributions to his profession and to our community.&uot;

A fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a general and thoracic surgeon, Montero has always been a strong advocate for volunteerism. His volunteer spirit was birthed on a rural level in the late 1970s, when he created a free mobile clinic and spent five years helping the underprivileged migrant workers on the Eastern Shore.

Growing his altruistic spirit of volunteerism at an urban level, Montero opened the Chesapeake Care Free Clinic in October 1992, providing free medical services to the uninsured working poor in Hampton Roads. The clinic continues to thrive today.

Montero’s volunteer work extends internationally to his homeland of the Philippines, where he has been leading medical missions since 1981. He joined PFP in 1995, helping to further the cause of world peace and international goodwill by providing quality medical care to those in need.

&uot;I am humbled and honored to receive this most unexpected honor,&uot; Montero said. &uot;My hope is that through my association with Physicians For Peace, my colleagues will give more

credence to volunteerism on an international level.&uot;

&uot;Dr. Montero’s tireless work as a physician and in the community continues to set a very high standard for others to reach for,&uot; said U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-4).

&uot;On behalf of the 4th Congressional District of Virginia, I applaud Dr. Montero for his continued dedication and congratulate him on this great achievement.&uot;

PFP, founded by internationally recognized humanitarian Dr. Charles E. Horton Sr., is a not-for-profit, medical education and service organization headquartered in Norfolk.

With nearly 350 medical education programs in more than 40

countries since its founding in 1984, PFP has provided medical education in a variety of specialties to health care professionals and their patients in geographic areas of profound need and scarce resources.