Latvian Medical Foundation (LMF) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation devoted to improving the health care industry and health care standards in Latvia.
LMF was founded by Bertram Zarins, MD and Christopher K. Zarins, MD in 1990, after they organized the First World Congress of Latvian Physicians in Riga, Latvia in 1989. The Congress featured a march through the streets of Riga by 6,000 doctors and nurses, which marked the first large public demonstration in Latvia since its occupation by the Soviet Union during World War II. Since then, LMF has worked to bring Latvia's health care practices, which languished during the Soviet era, up to date with Western standards.
LMF contributions have included funding for Latvian physicians, nurses, and health care workers to pursue advanced medical education and training outside of Latvia, most notably through the Zarins-Knight Traveling Fellowship. LMF has sponsored programs to donate and/or purchase modern medical equipment for hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Latvia, including funding of the eMedicine Center at Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital together with Boston businessman and philanthropist Norman Knight. LMF has also worked with the international non-profit organization A Leg To Stand On to provide modern prosthetic devices to child amputees in Latvia.
The LMF has established an endowment fund to ensure continuity.