Through their church in Kansas City, Ted began annual trips to the Dominican Republic where teams provided healthcare to sugar cane cutters and their families in the bateys. Seeing surgical needs of all kinds, Ted began operating in a borrowed clinic in 1992, when the Good Samaritan Hospital was a dream under construction. It’s now a busy hospital with Dominican surgeons on staff; Ted trained the Dominican surgeons to perform both laparoscopic abdominal procedures as well as vascular access procedures for patients with end stage renal disease.

In 2015, the construction of the Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope was begun.  The Higgins Brothers name honors Ted's father, Edward, and uncle, Paul. Both surgeon brothers were inspired by their father and grandfather to carry on a busy surgical practice in Cortland, NY. Dr. Edward trained in ENT at Syracuse Upstate Medical Center under Dr. Gordon Hoople, and Dr. Paul trained in general surgery at Johns Hopkins Mdical Center under Dr Alfred Blaylock. They both served in World War ll as physicians, Edward in Europe and Paul in the Pacific, and embraced the international work of medicine. They shared a 36 year practice, and were role models for medical students, physicians, and the wider community  for their exemplary patient care and civic involvement.