Dr. Chuck Wright spent his career abroad, helping underserved communities whenever he could. Now, he volunteers with International Medical Corps.
by Elizabeth Austin Levoy, Senior Communications Specialist
Photos by International Medical Corps
First published July 31, 2024 by International Medical Corps
As we reflect on International Medical Corps’ 40-year history, we’re highlighting some of the courageous volunteers and staff members who have dedicated their lives over the years to helping others. This profile of Dr. Chuck Wright is the second in that series.
Indonesia is a beautiful country with more than 17,000 islands stretching across the Indian Ocean. It’s also highly vulnerable when an earthquake hits, as it did in 2004. Nearly 20 years ago, on December 26, 2004, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, causing a record-breaking tsunami—the largest ever recorded in Asia—which brought mass death and destruction.
Dr. Chuck Wright was one of the health workers helping survivors in the first few hours after the disaster struck.
“The tsunami in Indonesia was the first time I responded to a natural disaster,” says Dr. Wright, reflecting on that time from his home in Southern California. “Looking back, it was a turning point in my career and my introduction to disaster medicine—which I now practice as a volunteer with International Medical Corps.”
Dr. Wright began volunteering with International Medical Corps in 2018. Since then, he has responded to hurricanes in Florida and the Bahamas, provided COVID-19 vaccinations in Los Angeles and taken several trips to Ukraine to train first responders—service recognized when he was awarded International Medical Corps’ Henry H. Hood Distinguished Service Award at the 2023 Annual Awards Celebration.
In 2004, though, he was a Regional Medical Officer stationed in Indonesia with the US State Department.
“I was working at the US embassy in Jakarta, and the tsunami hit about eight hours north of us,” Dr. Wright explains. “I knew I had to go right away. It would take time for aid organizations to reach that area. So I told my boss I needed to go immediately, and I called local doctors I knew and asked if they wanted to go with me. There were about eight of us: six doctors, including me, and two support staff members.”
Before leaving his office, Dr. Wright asked his secretary to gather as many cell phone batteries as possible, because communication would be vital to rescue efforts. Then, he and the volunteer team drove from Jakarta to the Sumatra area.
“When we arrived, collapsed buildings were everywhere,” he says. “People were wandering the streets. They didn’t want to be inside or even near the buildings if another aftershock hit. We searched for the people who needed help, and did our best to stabilize them before more help arrived and the survivors could be transported to hospitals.”
Soon, they came upon a woman whose home had collapsed on her. She was trapped, paralyzed from the waist down.
“We didn’t have any splints or anything, but we needed to remove the pressure on her spine. We found a door in the debris. We were able to safely remove her from the rubble, stabilize her and secure her to the door. That’s an example of when the cell phone batteries came into play. We were constantly making calls to find out which hospitals were open and who could come and help. We finally reached a UN helicopter, and they came to get her. We helped them get her into the helicopter. That was the last time I saw her.”
After this dramatic rescue, Dr. Wright and his team continued to move through the area, helping those who they could and coordinating efforts with local NGOs and medical teams.
“I learned very quickly that in those situations, you do the best you can,” says Dr. Wright. “You improvise. You work with what you have.”
Seeing the world through different eyes
Growing up, Dr. Wright felt drawn to learning about other cultures and helping people. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Costa Rica. His father worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and his work took him abroad. The Wright family lived in Costa Rica for five years.
“I got to learn Spanish and see the world through different eyes,” Dr. Wright explains. “When we came back to California, I could see the differences in our cultures and the medical care that was available to people here. I knew that eventually, I wanted to live abroad again, to be around that kind of diversity and help those who don’t have the opportunities we do here.”
Dr. Wright attended the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology. While an undergraduate, he volunteered at the UCSD Medical Center, where he learned more about the work of a psychologist.
“At first, I thought I wanted to help people by talking to them about their problems,” Dr. Wright explains. “Then I learned that as a psychiatrist, I could also prescribe medication and provide comprehensive treatment.”
Dr. Wright then attended medical school at the University of North Texas, initially planning to go into psychiatry, but the more he studied, the more he realized that family medicine was his calling.
“With family medicine, you’re expected to help your patients with whatever they need and handle a variety of things, and that really appealed to me,” he says.
After graduating from medical school, he completed his residency in family medicine in Los Angeles. By this point, he was married with two children, which was a significant factor in his decision to pursue work overseas.
“My wife and I wanted our children to have that experience, to become citizens of the world,” he says. “At home, people too often get siloed—they come to think that the opportunities they have are universal, and they are not.”
After joining the US State Department, Dr. Wright deployed to Kenya, where his job was to treat embassy employees. During his free time, he also volunteered in community clinics.
“I went to the Kibera settlement in Nairobi, where aid organizations were doing voluntary testing for HIV and counseling, and I volunteered with them,” says Dr. Wright. “I saw patients and met the organizations helping there. Working in Africa opened my eyes to the impact you can have as a volunteer.”
His work in Nairobi was followed by deployments to Indonesia, Colombia, India, Singapore and Australia, his last before he retired. While in Australia, a doctor stationed in Afghanistan wanted to take some time off. Dr. Wright was asked to cover for the doctor, and he agreed.
“While I was in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber filled a milk truck with fuel, drove it close to the American Embassy and blew up the truck,” Dr. Wright recalls. “The blast killed more than 100 people. The Marines covered the area, keeping us safe, while the medical team and I treated the wounded.”
Finding work in retirement
When Dr. Wright retired in 2018, he wanted to take the skills he had learned throughout his career and volunteer with a global humanitarian organization—he chose International Medical Corps. Over the past six years, Dr. Wright has responded to several emergencies, including the war in Ukraine, where he provided comprehensive emergency- and trauma-care training to healthcare workers, public safety professionals and the Ukrainian community. He also trained Ukrainians to teach the courses themselves—a train-the-trainer approach that International Medical Corps specializes in.
“When we provide resources and training, people are then able to provide their own care, and our work is more efficient and sustainable,” explains Dr. Wright. “When I teach a course in Ukraine, I need an interpreter. The class then takes twice as long than if a Ukrainian were to teach the course. So, for me, providing not only medical care but also training is the right way to go. And that’s one of the things I admire most about International Medical Corps.”
Though not everyone can hop on a plane at a moment’s notice, Dr. Wright emphasizes that there are many ways to contribute, including volunteering locally and supporting organizations like International Medical Corps.
If someone does volunteer after a disaster, Dr. Wright has a unique way of categorizing the difficulty of the deployment: the water scale.
“So the first category is hot, running water. That’s the best,” he explains. “You can take a hot shower at the end of the day and easily sterilize equipment. The second category is cold water, which is not great—but at least you have water. The third is having no running water. You’re relying on bottled water for everything. Those are the toughest deployments, which is what we faced when I volunteered with International Medical Corps after Hurricane Dorian in 2019.”
Whether someone volunteers with International Medical Corps or not, Dr. Wright believes the greatest thing we can all contribute is empathy, and helping others in their time of need.
“Even though we speak different languages and come from different environments, I think it boils down to family,” he says. “We all have parents, some people have brothers and sisters, some have kids and significant others, and some have friends that have become family. When disasters happen, we look for those people who can help. And when someone can help us, help our families and those closest to us, and alleviate their suffering, that means the world. That’s how we can all make a difference.”