Our Journey

StethoHope was inspired by the personal experiences of its founders, Ken Jackson, alongside his cousin Dr Jeffrey Asphall. Dr Asphall is a known advocate for healthcare; both Ken and Dr Asphall are second-generation Jamaican Americans who witnessed the overwhelming lack of health care resources in impoverished communities around the globe.

As a young boy, Ken was brought to a Jamaican hospital for stitches and was in awe of the poor conditions surrounding him. “I was terrified,” Ken remembers. “No patient should ever feel that way in a hospital.”

Later, as a student of healthcare administration, Ken learned about the difficulties medical providers with extremely limited resources face--and the illnesses that go undiagnosed and untreated as a result. This learning hit home when his grandfather passed away in a hospital in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 2015.

Ken came to understand the lack of hope that exists in medical facilities in need of such essential equipment. Essential supplies were being reused. There was only one stethoscope per floor. There weren’t enough beds. The loss of his grandfather drove Ken. He had to do something—and so, StethoHope was born.

In the first year alone, StethoHope donated 300 stethoscopes to medical providers in seven developing countries, including Jamaica, Cuba, Vietnam, Haiti, and Ghana. Since then, StethoHope has been hard at work to expand its sales here in the U.S. and link with other organizations with similar goals.

Ken and his team envision a world where all healthcare providers have the necessary resources to provide adequate care, and they are dedicated to bringing hope to these countries and their communities.

Ken brings a unique combination of healthcare business expertise and extensive experience abroad to StethoHope. After earning his B.A. in Health Management from Howard University, he was accepted into the Leadership Development Program at Cardinal Health, where he gained knowledge of the wide-range of aspects in the business of healthcare, from legal and financial to manufacturing and distribution. Ken also has eight years of sales and marketing experience, including positions as a brand ambassador and a medical sales representative. With a background of personal experience and expertise in the professional side of health management, Ken is conscious of both sides of this story. StethoHope’s mission is to fulfill the promise of healthcare using one tool at a time.