Every day, people are living in pain because they can't afford routine outpatient surgeries that could be done safely and efficiently. For people without health insurance or the means to pay, even the simplest surgery can remain forever out of reach.
Dr. Andrew Moore, a Lexington surgeon, knew that if medical professionals worked together and donated their time and skills, they could make a meaningful dent in this gap. He gathered a small group of colleagues—surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and administrative helpers—and posed the question that would change thousands of lives: “What if we gave one Sunday a month to the people who need us most?”
From that question, Surgery on Sunday was born.
One Sunday a month, the operating rooms come alive with activity. Between 50 and 60 volunteers arrive early in the morning. They check patients in, translate for families, run recovery areas, and handle the dozens of behind-the-scenes tasks that make surgical care safe and seamless.
What makes the program extraordinary is not only what it does—but how it does it. Surgery on Sunday operates with just one full-time employee. Everything else—the medical expertise, the clinical care, the administrative support, even meals for volunteers—is powered by the generosity of the community. Hospitals and medical partners donate space, equipment, and supplies. Donors and grant makers keep the organization’s operating budget afloat.
To date, Surgery on Sunday has provided more than 10,000 surgeries. But the real story isn’t in the numbers—it’s in the lives behind them. It’s in the grandmother who can now read to her grandchildren after cataract surgery. The father who can return to work after years of living with a painful hernia. The cancer patient whose skin lesion is removed before it progresses.
Surgery on Sunday represents the best of what a community can be. When you help one person, you often help an entire family. When you restore someone’s health, you restore their dignity, stability, and future.
Dr. Andrew Moore, a Lexington surgeon, knew that if medical professionals worked together and donated their time and skills, they could make a meaningful dent in this gap. He gathered a small group of colleagues—surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and administrative helpers—and posed the question that would change thousands of lives: “What if we gave one Sunday a month to the people who need us most?”
From that question, Surgery on Sunday was born.
One Sunday a month, the operating rooms come alive with activity. Between 50 and 60 volunteers arrive early in the morning. They check patients in, translate for families, run recovery areas, and handle the dozens of behind-the-scenes tasks that make surgical care safe and seamless.
What makes the program extraordinary is not only what it does—but how it does it. Surgery on Sunday operates with just one full-time employee. Everything else—the medical expertise, the clinical care, the administrative support, even meals for volunteers—is powered by the generosity of the community. Hospitals and medical partners donate space, equipment, and supplies. Donors and grant makers keep the organization’s operating budget afloat.
To date, Surgery on Sunday has provided more than 10,000 surgeries. But the real story isn’t in the numbers—it’s in the lives behind them. It’s in the grandmother who can now read to her grandchildren after cataract surgery. The father who can return to work after years of living with a painful hernia. The cancer patient whose skin lesion is removed before it progresses.
Surgery on Sunday represents the best of what a community can be. When you help one person, you often help an entire family. When you restore someone’s health, you restore their dignity, stability, and future.
