SOUTHBRDIGE, Mass. - A doctor from Ghana is helping Central Massachusetts in the fight against COVID-19.
As the sun comes up, Bright Ohene is already on his way to volunteer at the Southbridge COVID-19 vaccination site.
“You want to be a volunteer and help. You don’t need to have a car to drive there," said Bright Ohene.
Bright lives in Worcester. He takes two buses then walks, or in some cases runs, to get to the clinic on time. When Bright gets to the Community Center, it’s straight to work, cleaning and preparing vaccination cards.
“I need to be involved in this very important thing," said Ohene.
As the patients roll in, Bright makes sure they’re okay after getting their shots. After all he is a biomedical scientist, cardiovascular surgeon and cardiologist who practiced in China. He’s here on a visitor visa.
“I can’t work, but I can still do something to help people," said Ohene.
Bright says he’ll have to leave the U.S. in a few months, before he can come back, so it makes it tough finding a place to stay.
“Somebody said, 'We have a basement. You wanna stay there for a while?' I was living in Boston, but who can afford Boston's accommodations sometimes," said Ohene.
He was taking classes at Harvard University, but they're on hold for the time being. Bright is hoping he can take his medical boards and get a visa to allow him to stay and work in the U.S.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to really learn here," said Ohene.
One day he'd like to open his own medical clinic in the U.S. and in his native country, Ghana. But for now he’ll keep volunteering from sunrise to sunset.