In partnership with Cathay Pacific Airways, we’re highlighting how our work together is helping solve for the patient and deliver dignified healthcare to the world’s poor.
We talked with our CEO, Mark Arnoldy, to ask him about his frequent travel to Nepal, and what a #LifeWellTravelled means to him.
How often do you travel to Nepal?
About 4–6 times a year. But after the earthquakes, the need to travel has increased and become less predictable.
How has that travel plan changed since the earthquakes?
The need for short trips on shorter notice has risen considerably. Soon after the earthquakes, our team committed to expanding our work into one of the worst-hit regions—Dolakha District. In the six months since the earthquakes, life in Nepal has been challenging and unpredictable for those affected. So our team has had to be extremely nimble and move fast to rebuild the health system and get critical services working again.
What was your experience like visiting Dolakha District for the first time?
In visiting the epicenter of the May 12th earthquake, I was reminded of how fragile Nepal’s infrastructure — especially the healthcare infrastructure — was before the earthquake. One moment that stuck out to me was when we saw the “best” clinic (as described by locals in the region) reduced to rubble.
Traveling to the earthquake-impacted regions has been, like much of our work, emotionally difficult and overwhelmingly humbling.
The majority of people in these earthquake impacted areas have been left to manage on their own. There’s a repetition to this theme after natural disasters that is unnerving, but we push on, inspired by the patients who need care, by the health workers who are advocating for new, safe facilities to be built with an urgency that matches the need they see on their doorstep, and by villagers who are rebuilding their roads, homes, and communities with the scraps left from Nepal’s quakes.
One of the most inspiring parts of my time in these places was repeatedly seeing young Nepali healthcare leaders who have left comfortable lives in the city to serve their country and be an antidote to despair.
Cathay Pacific Airways’ mission is a #lifewelltravelled. How does that translate to Possible’s mission of “solving for the patient?”
I share this idea with everyone who joins our team:
In the end, no matter where you work or what passport you carry, it’s pretty simple: We have one team, one culture, and one goal — to get remarkable results for our patients.
Traveling well is an essential part of our quest to constantly be bringing the best global innovations and ideas in medical science, management, and technology to bear for our patients. Without the ability to travel, we truly cannot solve for our patients.
Finish this sentence: “A life well travelled, for me, means ________”
…shrinking the empathy gap in the world, putting our patients first, and aiming to see in them the possibilities we see in those we love.
Cathay Pacific Airways’ support of our integrated healthcare model means we can build Nepal’s healthcare system back better.
