Kim became involved in an ambitious initiative to establish the first American-standard hospital on the African continent, centered in Marrakech. The vision extended beyond acute care to include a wellness component designed to serve the growing health-conscious demographic across the Middle East and North Africa. Kim engaged with the team on the ground and worked to cultivate partnerships with American university medical programs. The project also carried deeper significance, offering Moroccan-trained physicians who had left for European education a place to return and practice medicine at the highest level, reuniting a diaspora of talent with their home country.
Juliet Holness, the First Lady of Jamaica and Speaker of the House of Representatives, is deeply committed to improving the lives of her citizens, dedicating tireless effort to their health and well-being. Recognizing the urgent need for accessible healthcare in underserved communities, she partnered with Kim to explore transformative solutions. Together, they investigated the feasibility of a mobile diagnostic unit equipped with ultrasound and X-ray technology to reach the island's most remote rural areas. Kim also researched connectivity infrastructure, including cellular towers and Wi-Fi solutions, to enable remote image transmission to radiologists worldwide, ensuring that geography would no longer stand as a barrier to diagnosis.
Kim led exploratory work to establish a partnership between the University of Minnesota Transplant Division and the Libyan government, traveling alongside transplant surgeons to assess the feasibility of bringing kidney transplant services to a country where they were desperately needed. Often the only woman at the table, she navigated complex diplomatic and medical discussions while building trust across cultural and gender boundaries. Though civil unrest ultimately prevented the program from taking root, the experience deepened her understanding of international healthcare development, cross-cultural negotiation, and the profound human stakes that make the effort worthwhile, even when outcomes fall short.