Q & A with CURE’s New Chief Medical Officer

News | 6 Nov 2024

A Conversation with Dr. Giorgio Lastroni

Sometimes the most life-changing journeys begin with a simple yes.

When Dr. Giorgio Lastroni first walked through the doors of CURE Zambia during a family vacation in 2008, the hospital was at a pivotal moment—they were about to lose their only orthopedic surgeon. For Dr. Lastroni, an accomplished surgeon from Italy seeking to serve in Africa with his family, the timing was providential. He offered to volunteer his services, never imagining this yes would transform into a 15-year calling.

That pivotal decision launched Dr. Lastroni’s remarkable journey from volunteer surgeon to Medical Director, and now to his new role as CURE International’s Chief Medical Officer. With his extensive experience in pediatric orthopedics and deep commitment to our mission of healing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom of God, Dr. Lastroni is uniquely positioned to help lead CURE’s medical operations into the future.

Q: What drew you to CURE initially, and what has kept you committed to this ministry?

When I married my wife, we really wanted to experience living in a different context. When she got a contract to do development work in Zambia, we assumed I’d work in the Zambian Italian Orthopedic Hospital in Lusaka. But from the moment I arrived at CURE, I fell completely in love with everything—the place, the people, the mission, the patients. 

Medical Degree – Milan University

Residency, Orthopedics and Trauma – University Hospital for Orthopaedics (Milan)

Pediatric Orthopedic Intern – Mengo Hospital (Uganda)

Visiting Fellow, Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction (Baltimore)

Orthopedic Consultant – Bolognini Hospital (Italy)

Medical Director – CURE Zambia

Q: As Chief Medical Officer, what will be your focus?

I see myself as a servant-leader to my colleagues. My role is fundamentally about supporting local leadership, particularly the medical directors of the eight hospitals in CURE’s network. Having served as a medical director myself, I understand the needs and daily challenges of these capable leaders. I’ll be helping to optimize resource utilization, standardize processes across our network, and ensure we maintain the highest standards of care while respecting each hospital’s unique context. 

For the past three years, CURE has been focused on doubling the number of children we can serve from our existing hospitals. As we continue to expand our surgical capacity, we want to increase the quality and efficiency of our service. 

Even today, I’m still absolutely blown away by our work. The sense of purpose, of being directly involved in making significant changes in children’s lives, is hugely addictive. We see these sweet kids, we work with fantastic, committed people, and there’s such a powerful sense of doing something truly meaningful.

Q. What makes CURE unique in the global healthcare landscape?

Our hospital network treats an unprecedented volume of pediatric orthopedic patients, creating unique opportunities for research and collaboration with leading medical centers worldwide. But what truly sets us apart is our commitment to elevating healthcare standards in the countries we serve through both excellent patient care and training national medical professionals.

The spiritual aspect of our ministry is really amazing. In the country where I’m from, it’s pretty much illegal to bring this aspect into your daily work. At CURE, it’s a principle. We practice what it means to feel the love of the Lord in our lives. When families enter our hospitals, they discover they’re not alone. The transformation begins before any medical treatment—in the care shown by every team member, from security guards to surgeons. This combination of medical excellence and Christ-centered care creates an environment where both physical and spiritual healing flourish.

Q: CURE continues to expand our surgical capacity at our hospitals around the world so we can treat more kids every year. Why is growth important to the CURE network?

In many countries where we serve, there are simply no pediatric surgical services available for kids living with treatable disabilities. The few medical facilities they have are totally overwhelmed with more urgent cases, so the available capacity to treat kids with conditions like knock knees or broken bones is minimal.

There are countries where we’re seeing a growing group of orthopedic surgeons, which is fantastic, but we are still very much needed to set an example of high-quality care and teach specialized skills. 

Q: What excites you about CURE’s future?

We’re in a unique position to continue expanding our impact. In many of our hospitals, we’re performing simple surgeries because patients have nowhere else to go, while also handling highly technical, complex cases. As we help train more skilled surgeons to handle the more routine cases, we can focus more on those complex cases. Our commitment to both basic and complex care, coupled with our ministry to patients and families, positions us to make an even greater difference in the years ahead.