Member Bio
Dr. John Fankhauser is Director of Medical Missions for SIM Liberia. He joined SIM’s ELWA hospital in November 2013 and was practicing there when the Ebola outbreak began. He continued to serve patients throughout the crisis, pausing for two short breaks with his family. During the first two months of the outbreak, Dr. Fankhauser cared for multiple Ebola patients, including missionaries Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. After a brief time in August with his family, he returned to Liberia to help treat Dr. Rick Sacra and assist with his evacuation. He then assumed the duties of hospital administrator and worked to keep ELWA Hospital open and operating when very few hospitals in Liberia were functioning.
Prior to moving to Liberia, Dr. Fankhauser was the Medical Director at Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, California where he had received his training in Family Medicine. He was a member of the full time teaching faculty in Ventura for six years. He is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine.
Dr. Fankhauser has been involved in global missions for many years. He is the founder and former president of Venture Family Medicine Education Fund, a non-profit that supports the training of family medicine residents in global health and disaster relief. He is on the board of directors of the Ventura Global Health Project. He has also provided volunteer medical care in Guatemala, China, Darfur and South Sudan.