It takes only one person to abuse a child but it takes an entiremedical village to heal the physical and psychologicaldamage. Fortunately Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives has an entireteam of medical experts who generously donate their time,energy and expertise to helping these children in need.

Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives is a private nonprofit organizationthat has served abused, neglected, homeless and runawayyouth since 1976. They provide these children that societyforgot with services including emergency residential care,long term residential care and free counseling services. Evenmore importantly, they provide the children with somethingmany of us take for grantedâ€â€�quality medical care.

Although RMYA presently has dozens ofdoctors and specialists who gladly welcomethese children as patients, that wasn’t always thecase. There was a time when the city of Boernehad no one to serve children on Medicaid. Thatall changed with a phone call from Dr. MaxineSurber, a Boerne physician who had heard aboutthe program and wanted to help.

This grandmotherly–figure in her 70s wasconsidered a pioneer in the medical field andwas one of the first women to graduate frommedical school in the state of Texas.

Dr. Surber donated her services, driving overto the RMYA MeadowLand campus to treatresidents, often bringing fresh eggs from herfarm.

“She made our lives so much simpler by comingto us,” remembers Bart Kelly, Child Placement Directorof RMYA.

Dr. Surber continued to serve the MeadowLand campus foralmost 20 years, even through her bouts with cancer, whichfinally took her life. Following her death, the staff at Meadow–Land named the “Get–Well” room in Dr. Surber’s honor as atribute to her generosity and kindness.

Although she may be gone, the tradition begun by Dr.Surber has not been forgotten. Dozens of Boerne and San Antoniomedical professionals continue to exhibit kindness andcare to these children who have been abused by the peoplethey trusted the most.

“Abused children, or any child who doesn’t have any placeto go to, really moves me,” says Dr. Eugene O’Brien, a retiredorthopedic surgeon who donates his services to RMYA.

No stranger to philanthropy, this Air Force retiree used totake time from his busy schedule of teaching and maintaining athriving practice to travel to Honduras and donate his servicesto helping the people in underprivileged areas.

“I want to help people who need it and these people reallyneed it,” he says.

This father of nine, and grandfather, of 15 has a fondnessfor children and is committed to doing whatever he can toimprove their young lives. When children are brought in toRMYA, at any hour day or night, they are required to have amedical screening within the first 24–48 hours. Dr. O’Briensteps in to give the children a physical (the first one for somechildren) and examine them for signs of abuse and neglect.

“Dr. O’Brien sees all the children at the Bridge, even thosewho have no insurance coverage, and he works with Youth Alternativesto make sure all of the child’s needs are met,” saysBart Kelly, RYMA Child Placement Director. “His concern andcare for the children is always so evident.”

Dr. O’Brien is quick to point out that he does not prescribemedications or treat physical symptoms. Instead he checksto make sure that children who are on medicationare receiving it and he inspects them forbroken bones and other physical ailments. If hedeems something suspicious, Dr. O’Brien refersthe child to the appropriate clinic for x–rays ortreatment. He recently referred a child for a dentalfollow–up due to the fact that the child hadnot seen a dentist since he had braces put on histeeth more than a year ago.

When additional care is needed, there is anentire team in place who can help with almostevery type of mental or physical problem. Severalgeneral physicians, dentists, orthodontists,psychiatrists, ophthalmologists, endocrinologists,allergists, ENT specialists, and orthopedistsare all dedicated to devoting whatever ittakes to give these children the medical servicesand care they so desperately need. Specialists inother fields, including dermatology, gynecology,nephrology, cardiology and many more, join these generouscaregivers.

Having access to so many different medical professionals iscritical to the long–term physical and emotional healing for somany of the children at RMYA.

“Physical and sexual abuse isn’t something that you treatonce and it’s over,” explains RMYA CEO Gloria Kelly. “Thedamage done to the child’s body, even after only one incident,can last a lifetime. The first three years are critical in a child’sdevelopment and if they are abused during that time it effectsall areas of their emotional, physical and intellectual growthand development.”

“It is critical for our doctors to treat the whole child in orderto make a difference in their future,” agrees Bart Kelly.

Even the best medical care, however, can’t take the place oflove, and that is a medicine that Dr. O’Brien and the other physiciansprescribe and provide in large doses.

“The main thing that you can give these children is love,”O’Brien says. “That’s what they need to heal.”