Miami, Florida " Internationally renowned hand to shoulder surgeon, Dr. Alejandro Badia will visit Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the first time on February 18th to attend the 4th Annual Swim for Haiti event, an annual open water swim to promote the beauty and adventure of Haiti.

This years swim is scheduled for Sunday, February 19th, 2017, where participants have the option of either a short or longer swim. The short swim consists of 1.5 km, swimming along the shore and finishing at Wahoo Bay. The second, a 10 km swim from the largest Ile des Arcadins to Wahoo Bay Beach Resort. All of the proceeds will benefit a program that teaches Haitian children how to swim.

When asked about his contribution to the event, Dr. Badia replied, I am here to support this great cause and one of my former patients, Christine Chenet, who will be swimming again this year.

Christine Chenet was a victim of a home invasion back in 2012, where she was shot in her left arm. She underwent appropriate debridement and an application of a rigid external fixator on her humeral at the hospital in Haiti and a week later was transferred to the care of Dr. Badia for a more definitive treatment. After her evaluation in March of 2012, Dr. Badia applied an internal fixation with a posterior locking compression plate and restored Christines arm to full function. Five years later, Christine has become a symbol of perseverance and proud winner of the 4 km swim in 2016. This year, she has signed up for the 10 km race, a major achievement for her and one which she has been preparing for, for a long time.

We are here to show how the result of good orthopedic care can affect the life of a patient. We help people achieve their dreams and aspirations even through such tragic events such as Christines, affirmed Dr. Badia.

------------------------------------------------------------

Alejandro Badia, MD, FACS is a hand and upper extremity surgeon at Badia Hand to Shoulder Center, a fully integrated clinical facility for the upper limb, including Hand, Wrist, Shoulder and Elbow, located in Doral, Florida. Dr. Badia was educated at Cornell and NYU, trained in orthopedics at Bellevue Hospital/NYU Medical Center, followed with a hand/microsurgery fellowship in Pittsburgh and trauma fellowship in Germany. He has served as worldwide president of the International Society for Sport Traumatology of the Hand (ISSPORTH) and co-founded the Miami Anatomical Research and Training Center (M.A.R.C.), the worlds largest surgical cadaveric training lab and The Surgery Center at Doral, an elite state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center.

Dr. Badia has published numerous articles, written multiple book chapters, and has been an invited speaker or lecturer in nearly twenty-five countries. He is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH), American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) as well as numerous other international hand surgery and arthroscopy associations. Additionally, Dr. Badia served as honored professor at the prestigious Philadelphia Hand Course. For 10 consecutive years, Dr. Badia has been on the editorial review board of the Techniques in Upper Extremity Surgery, comprised of International key opinion leaders in upper limb surgery. Dr. Badia runs an active international hand fellowship, serves on the editorial board of two hand journals and for eight consecutive years, organized a two-day conference and learning symposium for surgeons/therapists devoted to upper limb arthroscopy and arthroplasty.

After years of a successful medical career and a renowned international speaking legacy, he saw a need for specialized orthopedic urgent care centers to immediately assess and treat a range of orthopedic and sports injuries and founded OrthoNOW, the only orthopedic urgent care center franchise in the country. He serves as Medical Director of the franchises flagship location in Doral, Florida which has a team of orthopedic specialists on staff that treat broken bones, sprains, torn ligaments and muscles, cuts, sports and workers compensation injuries.

Dr. Badia, a two-time South Florida Business Journal Top 100 Power Leaders in Healthcare and a Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive Leader by Diversity MBA Magazine, has also been honored with Legacy Awards from Today's Work Comp Professionals and The Doral Business Council. OrthoNOW was named a Top Ten Franchise Opportunity in healthcare by Entrepreneur Magazine and featured in the following media: Franchise Times, Orthopedics This Week, South Florida Business Journal, Franchise USA Magazine and The Miami Herald.