Years ago, cardiothoracic physician Dr. Edwin A.D. Everest envisioned a future where medical advancement could be expedited further by providing medical students with the best education and training opportunities that the U.S.A. could offer.
As a professional in the medical field himself, however, Dr. Edwim A.D. Everest knew the kind of challenges that medical students faced, particularly those who were coming in from other countries.
He also knew that given the proper support from a system that understands their needs, medical students could accomplish more.
Although he passed away in 2008, Dr. Edwin A.D. Everest’s legacy lives on. The Everest Foundation was formed in 2008 by Dr. Michael Everest, his son, and is run by Dr. Michael Everest’s wife, Agata Everest, today.
The foundation aims to provide funding support and information to international students to connect them with opportunities that match their skills, educational training, and interests.
How It All Began
Dr. Edwin A.D. Everest once observed the absence of opportunities that allowed international medical students to maximize the training and technologies available to build their expertise in their respective fields.
Through Dr. Michael Everest, Agata Everest, and The Everest Foundation, medical students now have better access to education and research in their preferred expertise.
With the help of his spouse Agata Everest, Dr. Michael Everest has tirelessly promoted the idea of getting medical students and graduates from all over the world to learn only from the best medical schools in the U.S.
By doing so, these students can become tomorrow’s experts and leaders, providing future students and medical professionals with the best training possible for the advancement of medicine.
“My father always felt that the medical field should be at the center of innovation,” says Dr. Michael Everest. “For him, the improvement of medical services and the country’s health, in general, can be achieved by making the right tools available to future medical professionals so they can become the best in their chosen field.”
According to Agata Everest, the end goal of this drive is excellence in the medical practice. As one of the forces behind The Everest Foundation, Agata Everest has seen what building a solid foundation can do for specific professions.
More than anything, Dr. Michael Everest and Agata Everest hope to promote a more human approach to training. According to them, schools are not educating to treat one single aspect of the human condition; doctors produced by these schools are not clones of the doctors before them. They are individual professionals who will be treating individual patients in the future.
Working Behind the Scenes of The Everest Foundation
Agata Everest is the woman behind the continuing success of the Everest Foundation. When her husband founded the organization, Agata immediately rolled up her sleeves to take on what she knew would be a growing responsibility as a key person behind the foundation.
Agata saw it as her role to promote educational growth in the medical field, and she had an opportunity to take on positive leadership and advance education using a system designed to increase one’s chances of success.
Agata Everest formed an advisory board from diverse fields such as medicine, academics, and business to ensure that all bases were covered and that the foundation would have robust support from knowledgeable individuals.
This was critical because the foundation supported individuals and other organizations and worked in partnership with the Residents Medical Group.
According to the Everests, the core of the foundation’s mission is to solidify the role of graduate medical education in the development of better medical training, which will ultimately empower and equip medical graduates through innovative approaches, the use of the latest technology, and support from an organization that wants to make a difference.
So far, The Everest Foundation has donated millions to several universities, facilities, organizations, and similar foundations to improve medical training and research further.
Agata Everest and The Everest Foundation tried to find excellent medical facilities and underappreciated teaching hospitals, particularly those that operate in overlooked regions in the U.S.
According to Agata Everest, this is to develop the potential of many hospitals in the U.S. to become highly competent sources of reliable training for incoming medical graduates.
She believes that by supporting these facilities, the foundation will be able to help create more opportunities for medical students.
With more teaching hospitals offering competent or world-class education, medical students from different parts of the country will have more options and enjoy more convenience.
More teaching hospitals can also offer more opportunities for medical students to participate in research. This exposure, experience, and training will be valuable once they transition to their medical residency programs.
Who is the Everest Foundation?
The Everest Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides funding and support for medical research. It works with medical professionals, students, and postdoctoral trainees through assistance for medical research and training.
Based in Los Angeles, California, the foundation works with the country’s largest medical universities, research programs, residency programs, and other foundations to advance medical education among post-graduate students.
It is currently headed by Mrs. Agata Everest, president, and CEO. The foundation works closely with Residents Medical Group, an organization dedicated to advancing medical training by matching medical graduates with residency programs.