02-05-2025
San Diego County doctor's passion leads her to treat patients nearly 8,000 miles away
(FOX 5/KUSI) — Dr. Hyun Kim, a gastroenterologist at Palomar Health in Poway, has dedicated her career to helping others, both locally and globally.
Originally aspiring to be a classical pianist, Dr. Kim's path changed when her family emigrated from Seoul, South Korea, to the United States in the 1970s.
She pursued a medical career and eventually founded a nonprofit organization that raises funds for medical and educational supplies in a place thousands of miles away.
'I really wanted to help people; I thought it was my calling,' said Dr. Kim, who spent time in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego County.
She eventually found a second calling during a trip to Chile with her colleagues. That's where she met Ming Ma, a Sherpa from Nepal.
'Once he found out that we were doctors and nurses, he said, 'come and help us in Nepal,' and I said, 'sure'… I didn't really think of it,' Dr. Kim recalled.
In 2016, Dr. Kim's father passed away, strengthening her passion for helping others in new ways. This led to the establishment of the Kim Volunteer Foundation.
In 2019, Dr. Kim and her colleagues embarked on their first trip to Nepal, a challenging journey that included long hikes and flights to reach Hillary Hospital, located 13,000 feet above sea level, the highest in the world.
The hospital is named after Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.
This May, Dr. Kim and her colleagues will visit the hospital and perform gastrointestinal procedures for local patients.
Dr. Kim's foundation aims to improve conditions at the hospital by raising $500,000 for medical equipment upgrades.
She hopes that her and her colleagues' work there, along with new supplies, will address common health issues such as stomach cancer and intestinal parasites.
Although Dr. Kim regularly makes the nearly 8,000-mile trip to the Himalayas to help at Hillary Hospital, when asked if she had a goal of one day reaching Everest's summit, she replied, laughing, 'No…I'm not that crazy.'
All facts from this article were gathered by FOX 5/KUSI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by FOX 5/KUSI staff.
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