.Allan Mayer (second from right) on his last trip to Bolivia, with a member of his team and a local woman, with her husband, whom he helped.

Last spring, Dr. Allan Mayer of West Hartford, a gynecologic oncologist with Hartford’s St. Francis Hospital, traveled to Bolivia to donate his services to help the women of the rural town north of Sante Cruz. For a week, Mayer and his team of 15 medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, surgeons and support staff, cared for more than 25 women – performing more than 30 gynecological surgeries, which were life-altering and, in some cases, lifesaving. The team brings its own supplies, medications and instruments to help the women, who would otherwise not receive care. The physicians cover their travel expenses and the other staff fund a minimum of 25 percent of their expenses, with the remainder of the costs covered by donations. Mayer, who has led such trips before, is planning to return to Bolivia in March with a team of 20.