Wilson Rehabilitation Foundation
Dr. Stan Topple and Reverend Clarence Durham founded Wilson Rehabilitation Foundation (WRF) in 1984 after having served as missionaries to South Korea for more than 20 years. WRF was initially established to hold and channel U.S. funds to the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital in South Korea.
As the Wilson Leprosy Center became self-sustaining and even gained a national reputation as a surgery and rehabilitation center, WRF expanded its reach to help other mission hospitals, including the Kikuyu Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Center (KORC) in Kenya, which Stan and Mia Topple began developing in 1990. With US AID grants, and other Presbyterian assistance, KORC was dedicated and opened in July 1998.
Since 1984, WRF has distributed more than $4 million to benefit orthopedic care. Administrative costs have amounted to just over 10% of that figure. We now serve hospitals in Maua, Kenya, Cameroon, and the DR Congo and have plans to continue.
Leadership at a glance.
Dr. Douglas Kerr
President
President of Wilson Rehabilitation Foundation since 2009, Dr. Kerr is a retired orthopedic surgeon with specialties in sports medicine and shoulder surgery. His first trip to the Kikuyu Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Center was in 2007, and he has made numerous trips to hospitals in developing countries to teach physicians about orthopedic techniques. He evaluates mission hospitals to determine how the foundation can best help to improve their orthopedic services and help pay for care for the most indigent patients. Dr. Kerr’s vision for WRF is to start full-service departments of orthopedic surgery in other mission hospitals and help many more patients return to fully functioning, productive lives.
Dr. Stanley Topple
Vice President
In 1959 Dr. Topple left his post as a surgery resident and began work in the Wilson Leprosy Center. Along with Rev. Clarence Durham, rehabilitation and reconstructive surgery for leprosy expanded to the care of many crippling third world diseases. Wilson Rehabilitation Center has grown beyond independency to supporting other medical mission efforts around the world. After some time in the U.S, Dr. Topple was called to Kenya, where he established the Kikuyu Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Centre. Dr. Topple and his wife, Dr. Mia Topple, currently reside in Montreat, NC.
Robert P. Jewell
Secretary/Treasurer
Robert is recently retired as a senior trust officer with Community Bank in Elmira, New York, with 40 years of valuable experience in banking and financial services. His goal with WRF is to continue blending the need for the physical rehabilitation of patients with the presentation of the message of healing found in faithfully following Jesus Christ.
Nancy Bertram
Nancy became involved with WRF after traveling numerous times to Kikuyu Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center (KORC) with her husband, an orthopedic surgeon who has served at the hospital numerous times since 1998. They reside in Lakeland, Florida, where she serves as the missions coordinator at the First Presbyterian Church.
Fredrick Gituku
Fredrick was born and raised in Kikuyu, and worked with Dr. Topple as one of the first employees of Kikuyu Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center (KORC). He currently works with IBM in Atlanta, Ga, where he lives with his wife and three children. He is passionate about making Christ known in the midst of treatment, both among patients and hospital staff.
Stuart Ross
After retiring from Ciba-Corning, Stu volunteered numerous times at Kikuyu Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center (KORC). He served as a volunteer project manager during construction and lived on the KORC compound for several years. He now lives part of the year in Kenya where he is East Africa Mission Director for the Outreach Foundation.
Gary Farley, MD
Gary has been serving at Maua Methodist Hospital where he works with the local disability outreach organization to evaluate and treat children with significant orthopedic problems.
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