With sadness, we mourn the loss of Dr. Dave Dingman, ReSurge’s first Consulting Medical Officer, who lived a full life and passed away in December of 2021.
Dr. Dingman was an integral member of our ReSurge family. After meeting Dr. Shankar Rai in Nepal in the 1990s and seeing the incredible potential and invaluable skills of our partners, Dave conceived the ReSurge Surgical Outreach Program. Dave had the prescience to see that by focusing on training local partners, we could increase access to patients year-round. He also conceived of and pioneered ReSurge’s Visiting Educator Program. These two programs were pivotal in our evolution as an organization, allowing us to create pipelines of localized care through training and capacity building. Dr. Digman’s leadership was pivotal to who we are today and to the impact that we now achieve.
“Dr. Dingman is a real visionary. He not only understood our needs, he knew how to meet them. Going the extra mile to help us was his norm.”
– Dr. Shankar Rai
Beyond his medical and humanitarian leadership, Dave was also an incredible person. He was on the first American team to climb Mt. Everest. As a member of this team, he is credited with rescuing four summiting climbers who had fallen into distress on their descent, and received the Hubbard medal from President Kennedy.
Dave was truly a leader on multiple fronts. We send our deepest condolences to Dave’s family. He will be greatly missed by all of us at ReSurge, but his legacy lives on through the lives of all.
Dr. James Chang, Current Consulting Medical Officer (right)
