Elizabeth Pettit has saved and nourished entire communities. And she didn't even begin this work until the time when many people consider retiring.

Pettit headed a successful design and construction company in Tucson, but evidently she was not quite satisfied with her life. At the age of 50, she decided to become a doctor. A fluent Spanish speaker, she enrolled in a Mexican medical school and earned her MD.

That's when her real work began—revolutionizing the health care system in part of rural Mexico. She established and directs the Clinica Almas, assembling a team to help people who can't afford help—people who live in remote and dangerous regions of the Sierra Mountains north and east of the municipality of Alamos. Pettit goes into the mountains to deliver medical services, often spending much of her day on the back of a mule.

Have you ever had to wait for a doctor's appointment? Have you ever had second thoughts about the cost of your medical care? If you lived in or near Alamos, you'd have to contend with the fact that in 319 widely dispersed communities, there are only 11 health care centers. Even if you were able to get to a clinic, you wouldn't be guaranteed service because at any one time, many of the clinics have neither doctors nor supplies. And if you did get lucky and find a doctor, you might not be able to afford that doctor's services, to say nothing of the medicine you might need.

Pettit's Clinica Almas has been revolutionary for the people of the region. Consider:

It partners with indigenous communities, local health departments and other organizations to deliver and improve medical care.

It has formed youth groups and holds study sessions and workshops to educate young people about their health and about their lives in general.

It has helped communities to grow fruit and vegetable gardens and presented cooking workshops to teach people about cultivating and eating healthy foods. It has also provided storage areas for seeds and grains.

It has improved people's access to financial, educational, medical, and employment resources, as well as food, clothing, and shelter.

Elizabeth Pettit left her financially successful career to start work whose success is measured not in profits but in improved lives—a woman who once helped people of means build houses, now helps people with scarce resources build homes and caring communities.