An important transition in medical missions is when local healthcare professionals provide the care that is offered at a medical ministry. Traditionally, medical care was provided by North American missionaries. Increasingly, missionaries are investing in the education and support of national doctors and nurses who meet the needs of patients in their countries. GPHN has had the privilege of helping Ventor Mapanza work towards an advanced pharmacy degree from Apex University in Lusaka, Zambia. Ventor is one of many national healthcare professionals serving at Wesleyan medical ministries around the world.

Dr. Bob and Marcia Vermaire have been Global Partners missionaries since 2014.  Bob, a family medicine doctor, and Marcia, a registered nurse, had their first experience working with the staff at La Gonave Wesleyan Hospital in 1981 and moved back to serve full time on the island in 2014.  Their main focus has been investing in the lives of the Haitian doctors and nurses that work at the hospital.  After leaving Haiti in 2021 due to the increasing violence and instability in the country, they started spending time at Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital in Sierra Leone. Going forward they plan to stay involved in both countries, working remotely with the hospital staff and returning on short-term trips, while mentoring, teaching and learning with doctors, nurses and community health officers that serve at the hospitals.  They also hope to connect North Americans to the hospitals in order to better resource and support the critical work of these ministries.