Featured St. James Physician: Carlos Albrecht, MD
By Patricia Billinger, Internal Communications Director, Intermountain Health Peaks Region
Cardiologist Carlos Albrecht, MD, recently returned from his 15th journey to Peru to provide cardiac care to Peruvians facing terminal heart conditions who can’t afford or access even the most basic medical care. His dedication to delivering charity care is driven by a deep debt of gratitude.
In 2011, Dr. Albrecht’s mother suffered a heart attack at her home in Lima, Peru. With the next ambulance nearly 2 hours away due to traffic, she was taken by taxi to a hospital that had recently received critical supplies that made it possible to save her life. Practicing in South Carolina at that time, Dr. Albrecht took four flights and 26 hours to arrive at his mother’s bedside. Grateful for their work saving her life, he asked her care team if there was any way he could repay them.
They responded that they were fortunate to have the resources they needed but pointed him to a public hospital in Lima that had a new cath lab – and almost none of the tools needed for that lab.
It happened to be the hospital where Dr. Albrecht was a medical student at the start of his career.
Dr. Albrect and his surgical team.
Dr. Albrecht grew up in Peru and completed pre-med and med school in Lima in the 1980s, a period marked by warfare and social, economic, and political turmoil.
“The decade of my education happened to coincide with the worst turmoil in Peruvian history,” Dr. Albrecht said. “My wife and I lived and studied a full decade in curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. There was no future beyond surviving the next day and we, fresh MD degree in hand, left the country exactly the day after we finished our mandatory Peruvian medical internship.”
Decades later, Dr. Albrecht wanted to find a way to give back to the community that had given so much to him. Despite being poor in resources, the Lima medical community had given him a free medical education and later saved his mother’s life.
Upon his return to the U.S., he set out to alleviate some of the “massive and endless need” in Peru. He started by contacting the Medtronic Foundation with a modest request for five pacemakers and their respective tools. Within a day he had the supplies and began organizing his first trip for Lifebeat Peru, an organization he founded with his two daughters to provide cardiovascular care to poor and medically underserved residents in Lima.
Dr. Albrecht made his first Lifebeat Peru trip in 2012 and has continued to deliver lifesaving care twice annually to indigent patients at Hospital Dos de Mayo, Lima's first and largest public hospital. The patients have an average income under $300 per month and most lack running water.
Today, Dr. Albrecht practices cardiology full-time for Intermountain Health in Butte, Montana.
“My mission work has shaped my perspective on caring for people in Butte, Montana, by reminding me that every person deserves the best care possible,” Dr. Albrecht said.
His most recent trip included a new element: two Intermountain Health cath lab techs joined Dr. Albrecht thanks to the sponsorship of the St. James Hospital Foundation. Noelle Coates and Kelli Bush helped Dr. Albrecht and his Peruvian hospital counterparts implant pacemakers or defibrillators in 11 patients.
“I will never be able to repay my debt to a third world country, who gave me an MD degree for free,” Dr. Albrecht said. “I will do this beautiful mission as long as my hands and brains work and are able to serve. This is ultimately why I became a doctor.”
Participating in a medical mission is not only a meaningful way to serve communities—it’s also a great opportunity to earn volunteer hours and receive community cash through Intermountain’s iAct volunteer match program. If you've already taken part in a mission, reach out to iact@imail.org to share your story and get help logging your hours. You can also explore the iAct program and choose an organization to receive your community cash here.
If you're passionate about international service, curious about upcoming volunteer projects abroad, or eager to connect with others who share your interest, consider joining iAct International—a virtual club that meets quarterly. To learn more and become a member, simply complete complete this form.