He hadn't planned to conduct a medical clinic while visiting the small village of Prampram.

But when Atlanta neurosurgeon Paul King saw the paucity of medical care available in the small fishing community located on the coast of the West African nation of Ghana, he went to work. Though he had brought no supplies and no medicines, Dr. King saw dozens of patients in the village's sole clinic, a basic structure that offered only rudimentary medical instruments. Dr. King, founder of the Metro Atlanta Neurosurgery Foundation, had done medical work - even surgeries - in Ghana previously. But he had done so at hospitals in larger cities. Prampram was markedly different.

"There is medical care there, but it's very suboptimal," said Dr. King, who had traveled to Prampram to visit his brother-in-law, one of the village chiefs. "Medical expertise and resources are both very limited."

After returning to Atlanta, Dr. King immediately began planning another visit to the village. This time he would bring medical supplies and an additional team member. He would also bring medicines provided by the relief and development agency Medical Assistance Programs (MAP) International.

Gayle King, executive director of the Metro Atlanta Neurosurgery Foundation and Dr. King's sister, said medicines are desperately needed in the area.

"These communities just don't have medicines," said Ms. King, who has traveled to Ghana with Dr. King. "So anything we can provide is especially helpful."

Dr. King has now launched a program called "Adopt A Village" in Prampram to help the community develop its medical resources. Through Adopt A Village, Dr. King plans to help complete a new medical facility and wants to staff it with a Ghanaian doctor. Dr. King also hopes to enhance the clinic's medical resources through Telemedicine, an internet-based technology that would give local doctors and nurses access to helpful medical information from around the world.

The existing clinic, which operates daily, is currently staffed with four public health nurses and two midwives. But with minimal supplies and training, they can only do so much. Many villagers don't seek treatment until Dr. King and his medical team arrives. The patients assemble in lengthy lines, long before sunrise, some coming from as far away as 30 miles. The waiting room remains packed until dark. And if people can't be seen, they come back the next day.

Inside the clinic, Dr. King and his team members work despite oppressive heat and in conditions he describes as "less than basic." There are no lights, no electricity, no running water. Even so, the team will typically see as many as 100 people per day.

"The healthcare challenge is just immense," Ms. King said. "Many people are dying of preventable diseases. Were it not for the work we are doing with MAP's help, these people simply would not get the care they need."