Founder
MedWish was founded in 1993 by Dr. Lee Ponsky. In the summer of 1991 Lee spent time on a medical compound in Ogbomosho, Nigeria, where he served as a surgical assistant and spent time with the World Health Organization. It was there he witnessed first-hand the obvious lack of medical supplies in developing countries, Lee was determined to help resolve this need. Prior to beginning medical school in 1993, he created an organization that would collect unused medical supplies and donate them to people in need: therefore repurposing medical surplus that would otherwise be discarded. MedWish was born.
Lee attended University of Rochester as an undergraduate and then Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He began his training at the Cleveland Clinic and completed his residency and extended his training to do a research fellowship in urologic oncology, followed by an additional fellowship in Advanced Urologic Laparoscopy and Endourology.
In 2005 Lee joined the faculty at University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and is currently the Chairman of the department of Urology and Director of the Urology Institute.
Lee has received numerous accolades for his medical contributions as well as his role as the founder of MedWish International in 1993. Recognitions include; U.S. Congressional Recognition, Crains Forty under Forty, as one of Northeast Ohio’s most influential people under the age of 40, Cleveland Upstander: Portraits of Courage, the recipient of the Golden Doc Award, from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and received the Rescuer of Humanity Award from Project Love, which recognizes and honors an individual or an organization of national or international stature, which has chosen to use their leadership beyond professional or institutional requirements to positively change the course of humanity. He has also been recognized by the Manhattan Institute in New York with the The Richard Cornuelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship, for originating and effectively implemented a new nonprofit organization providing direct services to those in need. In 2011, he was recognized by Smart Business as the nonprofit board executive of the year and also received the University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Urology Institute Faculty Teaching Award from his students and residents, for recognition of outstanding commitment and efforts to student and resident teaching. In 2019 he received the Champion of Integrity Award by the Better Business Bureau for consistently displaying an aggressive commitment to ethical, honest and fair business practices.
About Us
What Our Volunteers Say
In Action
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MedWish awards Volunteer of the Year to Donna Kramer
The MedWish team is excited to announce Donna Kramer as 2021 Volunteer of the Year! In her time
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2020 Beirut Disaster Relief Response Report
The catastrophic explosion that devastated Lebanon’s capital on August 4, 2020 left its healthcare system in disarray. Immediately
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Local doctor donates PPE amid COVID-19 outbreak
Michael Chen, a physician at University Hospital Portage Medical Center, has helped make a huge difference in the
