About Us

What We Do
LMV is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that helps improve the health and well-being of the peoples of Mexico and Central America through the provision of no-cost, high-quality healthcare and health education clinics in rural villages in northern Mexico (northern Sonora and Baja), El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; and among migrant labor populations in the Coachella Valley of the southwestern United States (southern California). Since 1975 LMV has offered more than 230 short-term medical, dental, optometry, and other healthcare clinics, treating over 7,000 patients per year.

More than 400 members offer their time and expertise to make our mission a reality. Volunteer pilots fly our teams to Mexico on four- to five-day monthly trips, and provide additional assistance flying teams to our biannual one-day Oasis clinic in the Coachella Valley in tandem with volunteers who drive. LMV volunteers reach Central America clinic locations by commercial airliner and ground transportation for seven- to ten-day trips several times a year, as well.

LMV clinics are open to anyone who can reach the clinic during open hours in the areas we serve. And we help improve villagers' lives not only by treating their immediate health problems, but also by providing lasting tools that empower people to help themselves – including health education, especially for women and children, and clinic equipment for ongoing use by local healthcare professionals. LMV also runs a number of non-clinic projects that strengthen the villages we support through initiatives like education sponsorship, wheeled mobility and other equipment donations, and so on. We are proud to work closely with a broad range of partner organizations, including Rotary, Airline Ambassadors, and local medical and dental schools.

History
Founder Milt Camp launched LMV's work in the early 1970s when he was an employee of Hewlett Packard, whose generous employee philanthropy policy permitted Milt to spend a considerable amount of his time helping the peoples of northern Mexico by running volunteer healthcare clinics. He registered Los Médicos Voladores, Inc., as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the state of California in 1975. Known as "The Flying Doctors," the group quickly grew from a few members to over 50 in half a year, and from a single group to four chapters over subsequent years.

Structure
LMV is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization comprised of four chapters, all entirely volunteer-run and staffed. Three of our chapters are geographically based in northern California and Nevada and operate missions to Mexico: South Bay Chapter (San Jose, CA); Gold Country Chapter (Auburn, CA); and High Sierra Chapter (Truckee, CA and Reno, NV). A fourth, eponymous chapter focuses on Central America, although it is also based in San Jose, CA and has members from across the United States. Our umbrella "corporate" structure, headed by a part-time, paid executive director and a volunteer board of directors, oversees the chapters' work, supporting and guiding our 400-odd members as they organize, run, and evaluate the success of our missions.