Name: Scott Nelson, MD
Marni Nelson
Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine
College: Pacific Union College
Major: Business Administration
Years In Service: 10+
Service Locations: Nepal, Dominican Republic, Haiti
See Full Curriculum Vitae: CVScottNelson.doc
Medical Missionaries
Scott and Marni Nelson
Dr. Scott Nelson attended Loma Linda University School of Medicine, graduating in 1996. He then did an Internship in general surgery and residency in Orthopedic Surgery until 2001. At that time, he already knew he wanted to go into mission work as as surgeon, but his plans to work in Nepal, India did not materialize, and he was left wondering where God wanted him to go. During a presentation by Terry Dietrich on his mission work in the Dominican Republic, Scott was moved to talk to Terry directly afterwards. Scott was interested in the Dominican project, and after traveling with Terry and Jeannie on a mission trip, decided this was where he and his wife Marni wanted to spend the next phase of their lives.
During his three years as an attending physician in Riverside, CA, Scott did a condensed Pediatric Orthopedic fellowship to prepare him for his work in the DR. Shortly after completing that, Scott and Marni loaded their earthly belongings into a shipping container, packed up their young sons, Chad and Alex, and moved to Santo Domingo, where Scott would spend the next five years of his career as Medical Director of CURE International Hospital in Santo Domingo. It was here that Scott would hone his skills in pediatric orthopedic reconstructive surgery while partnering with the best surgeons in the world, and changed countless lives while performing state of the art, world class surgery on the underserved. Marni homeschooled their sons and was Scott’s main supporter, joyfully sacrificing her comfort in the US to make a difference for the children in the Caribbean. During this time, Scott also began travelling with CURE to Cap Haitien, Haiti, up to four times a year, working around the clock to help Haitian children with severe limb deformities. Little did he know how these years were preparing him for the unknown future.
On January 12, 2010, the 7.0 Haiti earthquake struck. After feeling the quake all the way in Santo Domingo, Scott mobilized a team and was on the ground in Port Au Prince in less than 48 hours after the main quake stopped. Scott was one of the first volunteer surgeons on the ground and soon began operating at Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti. He laid the groundwork at HAH to become the center of Orthopedic excellence for all of Haiti, and after 6 months of earthquake relief and recovery, he began preparations to turn over the orthopedic program to Terry. Scott remains actively involved at HAH and continues to dedicate his time and expertise to the Haitian people multiple weeks a year. Read more of Scott’s Earthquake Response Story here.
Before the earthquake struck, Scott and Marni were already in transition back to the United States for a few years, having taken a full time clinical faculty position at LLU in the department of Orthopedic Surgery. This was put on hold for 6 months while he headed the the earthquake relief effort at HAH. In August of 2010, Scott returned to the US and began his new position with LLU, with the long term goal of establishing a center for excellence with pediatric orthopedic reconstructive surgery. He and Marni plan to return to Haiti full time in the future, and they continue their mission work there with regular trips to HAH.