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Our Story

Egatha Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, began with a lifelong friendship and a shared belief that healthcare should never depend on a person’s ability to pay.

When Lilian Youssef reconnected with her childhood friend, Dr. Afaf Minari, they saw an opportunity to connect compassionate donors with trusted physicians to provide life-changing medical care for financially vulnerable patients in Lebanon.

Today, that shared vision continues to restore hope – one patient at a time.

What Does Egatha Mean?

Eee-Gaaa-TH-A

Egatha means to RESCUE

Who We Help

Lebanese patients visiting clinics, dispensaries, or emergency rooms where our team doctors and their connected doctors work.

Lebanese patients visiting the Karm El Zeitoun (KEZ) dispensary located within a very poor area in Beirut, are majority elderly patients with chronic diseases. These patients will be evaluated by a team of Lebanese medical professionals who work in governmental and private hospitals and/or volunteer as consultants at the KEZ dispensary.

Commitment of a Hospital

Sacré Coeur Hospital (HSC) is a private hospital located 3 km from Beirut, owned by the “Nuns of Charity”. They provide emergency, regular and intensive medical and surgical care of all specialties. Unlike many other hospitals in Lebanon, HSC is highly equipped for laboratory and radiological studies. They also have a contract with the Ministry of Health.

Sacré Coeur Hospital has agreed to allocate five beds per month for the mission's patients. These patients will be hospitalized and billed in accordance to the Ministry of Health costs.

What We Do

Inpatient Medical Care Coverage

At HSC: Our mission covers medical care excluding hemodialysis, chemotherapy, and surgical interventions. Patients who need to be admitted or transferred to an intensive or cardiac care unit will be covered for up to 72 hours unless the budget of the mission allows for longer coverage. In other private or Governmental Hospitals, EGATHA will cover part or full admission, cash down payment and discharge bill, non-available or non-covered medications or laboratory tests.

Trusted Team of Professionals

Our mission's trusted medical team on the ground provides primary care and consultations for our patients. The team consists of two doctors who work at HSC for each of the following specialties: Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine and an endocrinologist providing consultations at KZ dispensary.

Outpatient Medication & Paraclinical Test Coverage

Outpatient medications, laboratory and imaging studies for KZ patients will be bought and done respectively from a pharmacy and a medical center dealing with KEZ dispensaries, for other patients according to patients’ location.