Project HOPE In the Field

Project HOPE Volunteers Continue Continuing Promise '08 Mission

2008-10-06T12:16:00.006-04:00

Volunteers from Project HOPE are participating in their fourth humanitarian assistance mission with the United States Navy this year. Embarking the USS Kearsarge in Haiti, there are currently 10 volunteers from across the United States aboard to provide health care and health education as part of Continuing Promise 2008 to Central and South America. In all nearly 50 Project HOPE volunteers will join colleagues from non-governmental organizations and Navy medical personnel to provide basic health care, health education and humanitarian assistance to children and adults who often do not have access to care.
-Marisol

Meet the Project Hope Team Currently Aboard the USS Kearsarge

Julia Taylor, PACU RN
Residing in Tucson, AZ, Julia is a former teacher, and civilian computer scientist for the federal government. Julia enjoys reading, camping, and biking. She will remain on the ship most of the time in Dominican Republic, as cases are brought into the operating room.

Lydia Segal, MD
Lydia is a family practice doctor. She is a former journalist, who went into family practice, then integrative medicine, and is back to family practice. She grew up in the Bronx, attended college and medical school in Arizona, and now lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband.

Rena Rovere, MS, FNP-C
Residing in Altamont, NY, Rena is a family nurse practitioner who regularly volunteers with Compassion in Action. She has 25 years as a clinical nurse specialist in the emergency room and has seven years experience as a family nurse practitioner. She enjoys biking, swimming, walking, reading, and is practicing her Spanish. She and her husband have three grown children.

Sharon Weintraub, MD
Sharon is a general surgeon at a hospital-based trauma/critical care/acute care practice in Baltimore. Born and raised in New York, she moved last year from New Orleans where she studied public health at Tulane University. She also worked with Doctors Without Borders last year at a project in West Africa. Sharon was able to perform an emergency appendectomy on one of the crew members assigned to the USS Kearsarge.

Hilary Warren, MD
Raised in Kansas City, Hilary works in a large pediatric practice in Boise, Idaho. After training in the Midwest, she participated on medical missions in Peru and Honduras. The youngest member of our team at 33, Hilary enjoys the many outdoor activities of Idaho, and keeps fit in the USS Kearsarge gym while on board.

Linda Rothery, FNP
Linda has come a long way from being a high school dropout in Eastern Kentucky. A family nurse practitioner she now is enrolled in the doctorate program at the University of Florida and is using her Project HOPE experience as an elective independent study course. A breast cancer survivor, she worked in post-Katrina clean-ups and was a volunteer at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. She plans international mission work after graduation.

Maria Morris, RN, MPH
Maria, who grew up in New York, was a nurse educator at UC-Berkeley “many years ago”. Now she is a student at the University of Texas-Houston in the nurse practitioner program, and has worked in women’s health in the Middle East and in Venezuela. Her husband is a petroleum engineer currently stationed in Saudi Arabia, where Maria spends six months of the year. She and her husband have two sons. Maria makes one of a kind character dolls for fun and speaks fluent Spanish “thanks to my Puerto Rican parents.”

Nancy Foote, MD
Nancy is the Medical Director, Operations Manager, Chief Education Officer, and everything in between for the Project HOPE team. With her great energy and enthusiasm, she makes everything easier. A family physician, she currently resides in the Seattle area. Her areas of service include over two years in Zimbabwe with the American Friends Service Committee, working with the migrant workers of the Northwest, and most recently a position as a Spanish medical interpreter for the University of Washington Medical Center. She has two grown children.

Enrique Abreu, DO
Enrique is an anesthesiologist who belongs to a large private practice in Portland, Oregon. Of Cuban descent, Enrique has cousins in both Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. In the last three years, he has been on eight medical missions, mostly with ROTOPLAST, traveling to Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who enjoys taking photos with his Nikon, listening to a large variety of music, and at home, kiteboarding.

Lillian Sanpere, LM, CPM
Lillian has a birthing center in Tallahassee, FL where she takes care of pregnant women, births babies and trains new licensed midwives. Born in Miami, she was raised in the Caribbean. While on liberty in Puerto Rico, she was able to visit with her two sisters who she hadn’t seen for several years. Lillian is a strong person who after her last chemo treatment for colon cancer, made plans to walk the Camino de Santiago in the Pyrinnes Mountains in Spain. She walked nearly 400 miles and the following year, walked another part of the trail for over 500 miles.

Inga Kimple, BSJ
Inga is the Public Affairs Officer for the trip. Now residing near Cincinnati, she has lived in eight states and is a semi-retired journalist and freelance writer. When not writing, she spends a good deal of time in the Yucatan, working with the Maya, and in Ohio works with the Hispanic population and as an English as a Second Language tutor. She was on four post-Katrina trips in Mississippi. She also enjoys living near her family, especially her two young grandchildren.

Project HOPE Volunteers Don't Slow Down Their Pace

2008-09-25T10:44:00.008-04:00

This is the last blog entry in the series "Snap Shots from the Field" written by Project HOPE volunteer Lynne S.

Lynne, a freelance writer from Oregon, was HOPE's volunteer Public Affairs Officer (PAO) on the USS Kearsarge while it was in Nicaragua. Thanks for your hard work Lynne!

Happy reading!

-Marisol

Snap Shots from the Field... "Everyone will be this day."

Project HOPE volunteer nurse Michelle Pena listens through a stethoscope, then tells another woman that her heart sounds good. Pena’s eyes lift when the woman hands her a foil packet of medications she was told to take. Pena and a military doctor carefully scrutinize the packet, trying to determine what kind of medication it is.

A cooling breeze flows through the open windows of the classrooms. Shadows disappear and the lines outside slowly dwindle to a few dozen people.

As the day winds down, medical providers are acutely aware of people still in line, many of whom have waited all night to see someone.

Most of the doctors and nurse practitioners see an average of 50 patients each day. They are exhausted, yet no one slows down their pace.

There are just too many people who need help. Fortunately, everyone will be seen this day.

Project HOPE Volunteers Dispense Education Not Just Medication

2008-09-22T13:43:00.007-04:00

In this excerpt from Lynne's notes she writes about the different ailments, sometimes uncommon in the US, Project HOPE volunteers see on these missions. She also writes how volunteers also try to dispense education to their patients while treating them.

Thanks for reading!
-Marisol

Snap Shots from the Field... "Every contact with a patient is an opportunity to educate."

The mother is clearly proud of her son. He’s a handsome boy with bright eyes and hair neatly brushed back from his forehead. Her hand drifts over his shoulder and her fingers gently alight on his back as Project HOPE volunteer MD Dale Rai quietly asks him questions. The boy, maybe about 12 years old, appears to be in good health.

The mission offers doctors like Rai the chance to tackle cases not normally seen in a standard practice, like malaria and dengue fever. But for the moment, another patient arrives and the man in front of him is complaining of a sore back. To the bemusement of his patient, Rai drops down to his hands and knees and slightly arches his back to demonstrate an exercise that will relieve back pain.

For many people, this is their only chance to see a doctor. The Project HOPE volunteer doctors and nurses who have descended on the school are some of the best in their field. But even so, health care this day comes in a bare bones classroom with rough cement floors, no private rooms and only the instruments carried on shore by doctors and nurses. People plagued by problems for months, even years, are hoping doctors can do something, anything to help them.

Inside another classroom, Christopher Truss listens as a translator tells him the woman in front of him is complaining of worms that have crawled up her GI tract. He’s seen it many times before. “They block your intestines and you pass worms in your stool,” the gastroenterologist says matter-of-factly. Worms are endemic within the local population and de-worming for parasites is one of the most common problems encountered by medical providers.

“Many people are the walking-well,” says Truss, “people with chronic problems but no access to care. He admits that not every problem can be dealt with, “but even some suggestions can make a huge difference,” he says. Every contact with a patient is an opportunity to educate; telling patients to frequently wash their hands or to clean food with boiled water is just as significant as dispensing medications.

All day a Navy combat photographer weaves in and out of the various clinics set-up in classrooms. One moment he’s assisting an injured man through a door, the next, snapping compelling photos of the people who have come here this day. “This is the best work I’ve ever done while in the military,” he says proudly.

And so it goes throughout the day. Teams of translators, medical providers and support staff work their way through a maze of problems hour after hour. They sit without complaint, listening, questioning, and utilizing the best of their expertise.

“Easy, easy, does it hurt?” Rai asks while scraping a benign tumor from one man’s scalp.

Project HOPE Volunteers Offer Care to Women and Children

2008-09-17T14:23:00.009-04:00

Lynne S. accompanied Project HOPE volunteers day in and day out as they headed back and forth from the USS Kearsarge to shore to provide care for the people of Puerto Cabezas. Below she recounts what she sees and hears in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.
-Marisol

Snap Shots from the field...Life in Puerto Cabezas

In Puerto Cabezas’s grinding poverty is awash in contradictions. One Nicaraguan woman familiar with Puerto Cabezas tells me how air conditioned taxis wait down by the docks for returning lobster fishermen whose pockets are loaded with cash. Lobster divers squander their hard-won cash on drugs, prostitutes, and air-conditioned taxis that drive them around all day. Little money reaches their families, she says.

Nonetheless, poverty is extreme and it’s the women and children who bear the brunt of it. Lack of working infrastructure means garbage is heaped everywhere you cast your eye: on sidewalks, streets, around the tiny wooden shacks that serve as unofficial stores. At the local hospital, buzzards feed on medical waste left on the ground. Piles of moldering garbage are scattered throughout the hospital’s boundaries, crowding the walkways that one worker swabs with a wet mop and some kind of disinfectant. Her efforts seem utterly useless.

What’s even more striking is that, despite the poverty, locals show up at the clinic in clean shirts and dresses, obviously their very best clothing. Little girls arrive in flouncy princess-style dresses that bring out the cameras. It could be a sign of respect for the volunteers at the clinic, or it’s simply customary to dress in your best when seeing a doctor.

Indeed, there is no mistaking the importance of the moment. People listen intently to the visiting U.S. medical personnel, leaning forward, absorbing every word spoken, whether it’s in Spanish, fluently spoken by many of the doctors and nurses, or through Miskito translators.

A Project HOPE T-Shirt is a Symbol of HOPE

2008-09-15T11:16:00.006-04:00

In the excerpt below Project HOPE volunteer public affairs officer Lynne S. recounts how the hundreds of patients waiting to be seen by the American doctors and Project HOPE volunteers mistake her for a health care provider as she walks around the clinic in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua and what a enlightening experience it is to realize that her Project HOPE t-shirt is much more than just a uniform to the people waiting in line.

-Marisol

Snap Shots from the Field...“Excuse me, miss, can you help me?”

Leaning over the wire fence and dressed in a white ball cap, open-neck shirt and jeans, Roy Fredrick, 27, has spotted me in my “Project HOPE” t-shirt. As I turn, a broad smile spreads out over his smooth-skinned face. “My grandmother needs help,” he says, gesturing to a nearby elderly woman sitting on a fold-up chair. Her eyes are blurry and in pain, he says, hoping that I will somehow fast-track her inside.

The screeners have heard every story possible from people who are desperate to get to the head of the line. Lines begin to form around 3 a.m. as locals wait for the Continuing Promise teams to arrive each morning. Many say they have walked 7 or 8 miles to get to the clinic.

I speak to one of the military screeners, asking if it’s possible to get her in early. He shoots me a weary look. It’s a request he’s probably heard not once but dozens of times this morning. Everyone is sick; everyone wants to get in first.

While we wait, Roy, born in the south near Bluefield, tells me that health care is almost impossible to get. People have come today because they know the U.S. has the “best people and the best pills. It’s a big opportunity to get help.”

While talking, we are rapidly surrounded by people pressing against the fence who mistake me for a doctor or nurse. Five or six people clamor to speak to me at once. One man pulls his eye lids down, gesturing at me to take a look. Another shoulders Roy aside and speaks to me in Miskito, the indigenous language, while he pleads for help.

It’s a sobering moment. Earlier that morning, I casually slid on my Project HOPE t-shirt while dressing, giving it little thought. Suddenly it’s no longer a garment worn for work, but a potent symbol of hope.

Project HOPE Volunteers Completed Important Work on the USNS Mercy

2008-09-12T14:04:00.005-04:00

David Eddy, Project HOPE's Operations Officer onboard the USNS Mercy Profiles Volunteer Lynne Bouffard

It was another rainy morning that turned hot and humid at the Waigani village, the primary care medical site in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The local population had lined up as early as 0230 in the morning with hopes of receiving free medical care provided by the USNS MERCY health care provider teams. These teams were comprised of Navy staff, partner nation medical staff, Project HOPE volunteers and other international groups.

Project HOPE has once again supported the U.S. Navy in the Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) mission, Pacific Partnership 08 to Vietnam, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Federated States of Micronesia aboard the USNS MERCY Hospital ship. As the Operations Officer for this HCA mission I was blessed to have such a devoted and dynamic team of health care providers with me. Physicians, Pharmacist, Pediatric and Family Nurse Practitioners, Midwifes, Medical-Surgical Nurses, PACU Nurses and Nursing Educators from all over the U.S. brought a plethora of skills and talent. In all, Project HOPE brought 34 volunteers to these missions.

One of Winchester’s own, Dr. Lynne Bouffard, a Family Nurse Practitioner gave up 40 days of employment to volunteer her services to Project HOPE for this worthy cause. Because of Lynne’s expertise, she was used extensively in both the Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Micronesia medical missions that covered over 18 different sites for one to three day intervals.

Lynne’s typical day was getting up at 0430, eating a very small and limited breakfast, and reporting to the rallying point called Casualty Receiving area to muster (Navy word for accountability formation), and picking up her MRE for her lunch meal. MREs or Meals Ready to Eat are a high calorie meal in a plastic bag used on a regular basis by our military. After muster the boarding of the band-aid boats (a small Navy boat used to transport up to 20 people) would commence to transport all to shore. Transferring from one moving ship to another in the open sea can be a tricky, and it’s always a wet experience. Once ashore, all providers are moved across land by local buses to their designated work site. Everyday regardless of the site location the scene was the same. A line of people waiting in the morning rain sometimes extended more than a mile long on the muddy paths leading to the work site. Very few of the people wore shoes, but those that did displayed sandals that for the most part had been worn out some time ago. Tired and wet by the time they reached the front of the line to be treated, they always provided the greeting of the day with a big smile. More times than I can count the people would say to me and the rest of the providers, “Thank you for what you are doing for our people. God bless America”.

Respiratory illnesses in all age groups ranging from mild upper respiratory infection to tuberculosis, asthma, and pneumonia are quite common. Malaria in PNG is an enormous issue. HIV rates are high, and leprosy a disease uncommon in the U.S. is also an issue.

The team by the end of each day had seen over a thousand people. At 4:30pm, all equipment would be packed up for the return to the port to be transported back to the USNS MERCY ship. Dinner, the Commodore’s daily update, and Project HOPE's daily review meant that Lynne and the rest of our volunteers were free to shower and go to bed after 8:30PM. A long day for anyone, and certainly a long day for a volunteer that has traveled so far from home to provide medical care to a people that seldom ever see a health care provider.

As long as the days were, Lynne never complained once. Every evening when I would ask her how her day was, she would always smile and indicate “I had a great day”. While her experience was great, she and the rest of us paid an emotional price for the suffering from illnesses and injuries that we witnessed on a continual basis. You can’t help but lose a piece of your heart to these very sick children and adults. While Lynne’s stories could be many, she was humbled just to be in their presence and to assist them in their time of need.

The people of Winchester can be very proud of what Lynne and many like her do out of the kindness of their own heart. We at Project HOPE are blessed to have such professionals represent us every single day in these endeavors. They give up their jobs, vacation, and retirement to support such a noble calling. Project HOPE's credibility and legacy are a direct reflection of their absolute professionalism and the spirit of American volunteerism.

Lynne is no stranger to volunteerism. she was the first nurse practitioner hired by the Northern Shenandoah Free Medical Clinic to provide care to the working poor. She continued to volunteer at the clinic for over 7 years while working at Selma Cardiovascular Associates in Winchester . In 2006 she was awarded the Free Medical Clinic Volunteer of the Year. she presently lives in Fredericksburg with her husband David and children Jennifer and Jonathan

David A. Eddy
Pacific Partnership Operations Officer
Project HOPE

Project HOPE Volunteers Offer Comfort in Nicaragua

2008-09-10T13:22:00.007-04:00

Snapshots from the field are notes and stories collected by Project HOPE volunteer and freelance writer Lynne. Lynne joined our medical volunteers as they worked along side the team from the USS Kearsarge for Continuing Promise '08--a humanitarian mission to Latin America involving non-governmental organizations, the U.S. Navy and government organizations. In the excerpt below volunteer Lynne recounts the story of a lobster fisherman from Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Lynne spoke to the fisherman as he waited be seen for his paralysis.

-Marisol

Snapshots from the field...Fishing for Lobster

They are visible everywhere. Men with weathered faces awkwardly hobble around with canes and walkers; others manipulate curious home-made wooden wheelchairs that look like carts with levers spun around to propel the cart forward.

Robert Gilberto Mendiola looks older than his 37 years. Laboring for every breath he takes, he shuffles along with the aid of a walker. He barely covers a foot before he stops, utterly exhausted.The lobster fisherman is paralyzed on his right side. Clad in a blue t-shirt and embroidered jeans, he swabs his face with a face cloth. There is no expression on his face, or hope in his eyes. He's come here this day expecting Project HOPE to cure his debilitating injury.

A lobster diver for 20 years, Mendiola is a casualty of an industry where untold numbers of men are paralyzed, maimed, or killed as they drop to ever greater depths in search of lobster. The more lobster grounds are over-fished, the deeper they dive. Safety standards appear to be non-existent and decompression sickness is rampant.

Through a translator, Mendiola claims he can hold his breath for 30 minutes; he says he plunged to 130 feet. The dangerous work left him with a decompression injury, paralysis and a wife and six kids to feed. Five hundred men have died where he works, Mendiola says.

He jiggles one knee in agitation as he speaks. "It's the only income they have; there is no other way to survive," the translator explains while Mendiola falls silent. "No jobs in the city (Puerto Cabezas)." Lobster divers are a major source of income for the town. The temptation to take such risks is great. I learn that a lobster diver can earn $500 US and more for 12 days of work.

Many now are making less as lobster grounds are depleted and divers plunge deeper and deeper in search of them. How will Mendiola feed his family?"Only God knows," he says. He needs help to stand. He looks down towards the pharmacy set up by Continuing Promise 2008. Anyone else can reach it in a swift few steps; it will take Mendiola a good five minutes even with the aid of an enlisted man. He can't afford painkillers, but today, they are free at the clinic. He knows nothing can be done for his paralysis, but he came anyway, desperately seeking answers.

Project HOPE Volunteer Lends an Ear in Nicaragua

2008-09-08T10:15:00.007-04:00

Below is another excerpt of notes and stories from the Nicaragua portion of the Continuing Promise mission. These notes and stories are of our volunteers and their encounters with local patients in the coastal town of Puerto Cabezas and were written and compiled by Project HOPE volunteer Lynne S. Enjoy!

-Marisol

Snapshots from the field..."It was important that someone listen to him."

Nearby in Medicina General # 2, Eddie drops his motorcycle helmet on a desk and slides into the cramped school desk in front of Project HOPE volunteer Maria Rivera, who is a family Nurse Practitioner (NP) and a certified nurse mid-wife.

Perspiring, hesitant, his face is lined with weariness. Five years ago, he slowly tells Rivera, he was robbed at gunpoint. Filled with anxiety, he can’t sleep at night. Rivera nods, listening carefully. She knows he can’t afford professional therapy, and it’s not part of the services offered by Continuing Promise this day. She gathers her thoughts, quickly debating what she can offer from the limited medications available at each site.

As she begins to speak, he leans forward, hanging on her every word. “I’ll give you Benedryl to help you sleep, but you need to seek out a family member, trusted friend, or a member of the clergy,” she urges. “Find someone you can talk to.”

Eddy looks down and away. Dozens of people wait outside for their turn, but Rivera is willing to give him the time he needs. “You were assaulted, yes, but you are here, alive and well, and that's a good thing.” He stands slowly, thanks her and leaves.

“For Eddy it was important that someone listen to him,” she later explains.

She speculates that it’s probably the first time Eddie has ever had a chance to talk about his ordeal without being criticized or questioned. The work of Project HOPE volunteers goes far beyond dispensing medicine; often, they may be the only safe place for someone to talk, especially in a culture where machismo is ingrained and feelings are kept hidden.

Not long afterwards, Rivera leads a young pregnant mother behind two white sheets draped over wire. “Can you hear that?” the maternal child health care specialist queries as she manipulates her field Doppler over the woman’s swollen abdomen. The entire room is filled with the echoes of a tiny thump thump, thump thump. The young woman smiles in disbelief. It’s the first time she’s ever heard the heartbeat of her 12-week-old baby.

Project HOPE Volunteer Provides Snap Shots from the Field in Nicaragua

2008-09-05T16:00:00.006-04:00

While our first set of medical volunteers were on the USS Kearsarge in Latin America as part of Continuing Promise '08, Project HOPE also had a volunteer public affairs officer on board to capture moments, pictures, and stories from the field. Lynne, was aboard the Kearsarge for two weeks. She really did a wonderful job of capturing the day in life of a Project HOPE volunteer. Below is the first snap shot of a series that will be posted to our blog. Thanks for your support!
-Marisol

Snap Shots from the field... "Someone mentions it’s 122 F outside."

Or maybe it just feels like it outside Juan Amos Comenius High School in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. It’s barely 9 a.m. and already shirts are soaked through. Sweat streams down faces. Puffs of red dust swirl about as dozens of feet pound back and forth.

Inside the broad courtyard ringed by classrooms, Project HOPE volunteers, military doctors, nurses---medical, dental and optical—along with support people, are scrambling to man stations set up inside various classrooms. Hammers pound and saws whine as Seabees build benches for the school library, repair ceilings and re-wire dilapidated classrooms. A CH-53 E Super Stallion helicopter clatters overhead.

Hundreds of locals, including many indigenous people, the Miskito, are lined up outside a decrepit chain link fence, waiting to be pre-screened for the clinics. Curious, patient, they watch the controlled chaos.

Babies squall. Scrawny, emaciated dogs dart underfoot searching for scraps of food. Life is hard here in this remote, difficult-to-reach town on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, 232 miles from Managua over barely passable roads. People...dogs...every living thing appears to face an uphill battle to survive in this environment. Women fan themselves and mop faces with face cloths brought from home. Others walk about with small towels draped over their heads to ward off the burning sun.

Project HOPE Volunteers and the U.S. Navy Work Together to Provide Care

2008-08-28T10:14:00.002-04:00

An Inspiring Story from the USNS Mercy

While the USNS Mercy has been in Papua New Guinea the Project HOPE volunteer health care providers have seen thousands of patients, most in need of the basic of health care. However, the volunteers also see patients whose health has been ailing for many years but they haven’t had any means of getting treatment. An example of such a patient was Mary.
About 5 years ago, 44 year old Mary noticed a small nodule near the nipple of her left breast. Because she and her family had no financial resources and extremely limited medical options, she stoically watched as the nodule grew and grew. Her breast became heavy and enlarged to at least the size of a cantaloupe. The skin became eroded and began to bleed. The resultant anemia left her little strength to care for her family, including her husband and four children. She never saw a doctor because she felt that she could never receive treatment.
Recently however, she finally did seek medical attention at a local hospital. The doctors there told her that the USNS Mercy was due to arrive in port shortly, and that she should see if the doctors on board could help her. She was seen in surgical screening clinic and was referred to the ship for admittance the next day. She was evaluated and other than having a blood count of 22 (normal being from 35 to 48), she was found to be in reasonably good health and able to tolerate surgery. She and her husband, who had come on board to assist with her care, agreed for her to undergo a mastectomy which was performed after several units of blood were transfused. Led by Project Hope surgeon Ivan Shulman, along with Indian Naval surgeon Amitabh Mohan and US Naval Hospital – San Diego surgical resident Matthew Tadlock operated together to safely remove her breast which weighed 1.5 kg in an uncomplicated and timely surgery. Her post-operative recovery has been dramatic and today she feels full of hope, literally with a lightness that she has not experienced for many years.
When asked if she was afraid or scared of what was going to happen to her, she simply smiled, took her surgeon’s hand, looked directly into his eyes, and said “No, I wasn’t.”

***First name of the patient has been changed and last name omitted to protect the patient’s privacy.

Special thanks to our Special Projects Team for sharing this story with us.

A Note from a Project HOPE Volunteer on the USNS Mercy

2008-08-21T10:02:00.004-04:00

Below is an email I received from a Project HOPE volunteer Faye Pyles. Here she gives a little insight into life aboard the USNS Mercy. -Marisol

___________________________________________________
Well it is our Monday. We are underway to Micronesia, tomorrow we cross the equator. We will be there in two more days, or so. So far the seas have not been bad, a little rolling but not significant. During the night it kicked up a little but not enough to make anyone ill, or at least not in my room. So, so far so good.

The mission to PNG finished with a little bang. We were quite busy the last day with small areas that were very needy. I went on a mission 45 minutes inland and got to see some of the countryside. It was more what I expected, palm trees, forest, mountains and small shacks and huts. We ended up on the coast with a beautiful beach.

Life on the Mercy is fine; I share a stateroom with four other PH staff and the Morale Welfare and Recreation coordinator. The staff is for the most part also good. Lots of reservist who are nice to work with, the partner nations (Aussies, New Zealand, India, Korea, Canada, Chile) are all interesting to talk with about their specialties and experiences.

Not much else, we are now finding things to do to occupy our time, it was trivial pursuit last night, and Pictionary is on for tonight. There are movies on the hanger deck tomorrow. The Mercy now travels with a helicopter detachment of two helos and crew. I am told some of us will be traveling by helo to the medical areas that we will visit in Micronesia, should be interesting.Well time to go to a steel beach cookout. The officers are cooking on the flight deck and there will be basketball and other games on the deck, the band was setting up earlier, should be a nice diversion.

Faye Pyles is a Project HOPE volunteer on the USNS Mercy currently on a humanitarian mission in Southeast Asia. This is Pyles second volunteer mission with Project HOPE. She previously participated in Africa Partnership Station in Ghana and Liberia. Faye is retired U.S. Navy Captain and a pediatric nurse practitioner from Norfolk, VA.

Faye sees one of her little patients at
JFK Hospital in Liberia in March

Project HOPE Volunteers Take Care of Children on USNS Mercy

2008-08-19T15:40:00.008-04:00

Diane Speranza, a nurse from Florida, recently returned from her third volunteer mission for Project HOPE, serving on the USNS Mercy as a medical surgical nurse. Here are a few excerpts from her emails while on her most recent mission in Timor Leste. --Melanie

We have been busy on the pediatrics ward...day 7 already and 7 more to go!! I am getting tired. Doing 14 days in a row of 12 plus hours a day is tough. But there is an end in sight!

We have seen a lot of hydrocephalic kids. Unfortunately we can not do any surgery on them as we do not have the capability on the ship. So all we do is CT's. It gives them a chance to spend a night or 2 on the ship, get some good food for themselves, sleep on a bed rather than floor or hammock, get their child some formula, pampers, toys and clothes. They all leave smiling and happy even if we could not' fix' their child. This goes for all the ones that we bring on the ship. I am amazed at how they all clean their plates at every meal except for Brussels sprouts. I have never seen chicken bones so cleaned off. It is sad to think that they don't have much money and there for not much food. They are all so skinny and short. I am so glad that I sent a head of time boxes of baby and kids clothes. I try to give everyone an outfit, as they seem to have nothing. When I give it to them they immediately put it on their baby or child.

I will try to describe how the process works here. Patients are screened on shore at the MedDenCaps (medical,dental civil action program) the clinics that we set up where they are seen for their problems. If those assigned to go ashore feel there is something we can do for them IE: surgery or diagnostics or PT etc then they get a hold of the ship and see if there is a bed, OR time and a physician able to take the patient Once given the ok they get them to the ship via boat or helo(copter). Each patient is allowed an escort to come with them. If it is a child both parents can come and sometimes it means bringing another of their children with them. Most families here have 6 or more kids and are young mothers......teens. So we try to encourage one parent to stay home.

We have 22 beds on each ward plus we put up cots if needed. There are the same number on top of the ones we use but because they are so high and you would need a ladder to get up we do not use them. If the children are small the escort usually sleeps with them. Otherwise we put a cot up or mattress on the floor next to them. The beds or 'racks' as they call them are only about 12 inches off the floor. That with the fact that they are very close together makes it hard to work on the patients. You either have to bend over, not good on the back or get on your knees.

The patients are usually admitted the day before their surgery and usually go home one or 2 days after depending on the type of procedure they had done. The children all get 'de-wormed' most all have worms and by doing this it gives them a few months of good nutrition. The shift I have is 0630 to 1900 but we always end up staying later. So when I get up it is dark and when I get done it is dark. When the patients are discharged they get copies of all their records, CT's etc. so that if they do get to follow up with a doctor or clinic they can pass them on.

The E. Timor people are very poor and we forget that all the comforts we are used to they have never heard of and it is all new to them. For example: All are amazed at TV, we play DVD's for them all the time. Even the parents love the children’s movies...Shrek, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones etc. I asked a translator once if the child wanted apple or grape juice and he said it doesn't matter they have never had it! When they come in we hand out toys usually stuffed animals which they seem to know what to do with them. But we have to explain and show them what to do with coloring books and crayons. It is touching to watch all the adults sit on the beds and color. In fact I think they seem to enjoy it more than the kids.
Some come with their own food, not knowing that we will feed them. They either wear Flip Flops or come barefoot. We have a playroom set up for the kids (adults have just as much fun) but you have to show them how a lot of them work. Everyone loves to have their picture taken and then you show them in the camera after and they all just giggle. Wish there was more I could do for them.

Early mornings, dire needs and other notes from Project HOPE Volunteers on the USNS Mercy

2008-08-14T16:48:00.003-04:00

It's 4:49 P.M. on Thursday on the east coast of the U.S. mean while it is Friday, 6:49 A.M. across the globe in Papau New Guinea and after sleeping in confined quarters aboard the USNS Mercy(we are taking bunked beds on a ship that could rock quite a bit, how many adults do you know would volunteer to sleep in a bunk bed for a month or two?) Project HOPE volunteers and their Navy counterparts are begining a new day of providing HOPE and healing to the local community. A HOPE volunteers day may begin early but it doesn't end early--the crew on the ship's day can usually go into the evening hours.

As the day begins volunteers will report to stations either working in the medical rooms aboard the ship or on shore at a local hospital. The folks who are taken ashore are shuttled there aboard a helicopter or boat. When they arrive at the hospital they are will be greeted by hundreds of people already waiting in line since about 2:30 A.M. A continous flow of people will come through the stations to be screened, vaccinated, and get other health care needs taken care of. Those who are in need of surgery, and can be helped by surgery, are then shuttled back to hospital ship.

There is a constant movement with upwards of 2,000 patients seen daily, many who are in need of the most basic health care we take for granted. The team is also providing another key component to these missions, education and training to local health care workers. Project HOPE believes in providing sustainable advances in health care. This means educating and training those can help their communities and encouring them to continue to teach others. The students who attend these training courses are like sponges, soaking up all the they can get because many of them don't have access to training and new techniques. In the U.S. we have continuing medical education, were health care professionals can stay on top of the newest advances in medicine. This is not the case in other parts of the world.

Even though the conditions for such missions can be very demanding many of these Project HOPE volunteers continue to volunteer time after time. They know it's hard work but also very rewarding. It is truly a humbling and inspiring experience.

Project HOPE Volunteers Teaching and Listening in Papua New Guinea

2008-08-12T11:18:00.010-04:00

Jan, a Project HOPE volunteer nurse from Dallas, TX, sent me an email yesterday with a wonderful story about teaching nurses in Papua New Guinea and the common stresses nurses across the world share. The story is below--enjoy!

-Marisol
___________________________________________________________

What a great privilege to participate in an educational exchange with the nursing staff at The Port Moresby General Hospital in Papua New Guinea. After being at sea for eight days I was ecstatic to learn that I would be setting my feet on solid ground, if only for a few hours. As the two U.S. Navy nurses and I arrived in the tiny open classroom, around nine in the morning, there were already five nurses that stayed over from the night shift eagerly waiting to hear what we had to say. Soon others joined, ranging from nursing students to very experienced nurses, representing a wide variety of specialties. By the looks of the crowds waiting outside the hospital gate to be seen in the emergency room alone when we arrived, I was not surprised to learn that most of our audience was cross trained to function in multiple areas of the hospital. What followed in that modest classroom will forever elicit fond memories of my new friends and colleagues in Papua New Guinea.

I have taught continuing education courses for nursing staff in the hospital where I work in Dallas, Texas, as well as formal nursing courses in the university. In stark contrast, I have never seen such enthusiasm for learning as I witnessed that morning. Every participant listened with intensity to lectures covering topics from patient assessment to triage during disasters. The hour that we were scheduled to speak soon turned into three as we began to talk about a common bond that nurses all over the world share—work related stress. Most nurses in the U.S. prefer to label this phenomenon as "overworked and underpaid." As almost all of the twenty or so nurses eagerly shared their personal work experiences, especially those related to patient deaths, the three of us soon realized that we were in a full blown critical stress debriefing session. Coping with the severity of nursing shortages, lack of equipment, supplies, and other resources in Papua New Guinea is beyond imagination to the average nurse at home. Even though we facilitated the discussion by offering healthy ways to deal with stress, I sensed that simply listening and validating their concerns was worth so much more. The session may have continued for hours had the charge nurse not reminded the staff that they must return to work.

Prior to departing back to the comfort of my temporary home on the USNS Mercy, a staff nurse by the name of Rose offered me a cup of tea. For a few moments we engaged in livelier talk of the effects of chewing beetle nut, a Papua New Guinea equivalent of a double shot espresso from Starbucks. Then she briefly disappeared, returning with something tucked under her arm. She proudly handed me a small shoulder strap bag made from a fibrous straw material with a distinct design. She went on to explain that this bag was not made in a factory, rather by hand, and the design was unique to her village only. How humbling that someone with so little was so willing to give what I suspect was her personal possession to a stranger. I did not find a beetle nut inside as I had hoped, but this simple gesture, along with warm smiles and hugs from my nursing colleagues in Papua New Guinea will be an experience I will forever cherish.

Jan

Project HOPE Volunteers hard at work in Southeast Asia

2008-08-11T15:57:00.014-04:00

These are photos of our volunteers hard at work in Southeast Asia aboard the USNS Mercy.

Update: HOPE Volunteers Across the Globe

2008-08-11T14:05:00.006-04:00

So far 2008 has been a very busy year for Project HOPE volunteers. Volunteers are an invaluable resource at Project HOPE. These folks donate their time and leave the comforts of their homes to work in places most people can't point to on a map working long hours under some of the most extreme heat conditions. They are flexible and handle any challenges that may come their way while on these missions with a smile on their faces. Below is a run down of the 2008 missions.

March-April - Project HOPE volunteers visited the West African countries of Ghana and Liberia as part of Africa Partnership Station. There they worked side-by-side West African health care providers seeing patients and also providing them with midwifery, emergency and basic health care education.

May-June- Project HOPE volunteers set off aboard the USS Boxer to deliver health care and health professional education to the communities along the western coasts of Latin America. Mission Continuing Promise '08 visited Guatemala, El Salvador, and Peru over 60 days.

June-September- Volunteers joined the crew of the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Mercy in Southeast Asia in June. The Pacific Partnership '08 mission is currently underway and has already stopped in Vietnam and Timor Leste providing health care and health professional education to communities in need. Pacific Partnership is now in Papua New Guinea and will then head to Micronesia before Project HOPE volunteers return home in September.

August-November- HOPE volunteers are now aboard the USS Kearsarge for a four month mission along the east coast Latin America (second half of Continuing Promise '08). These wonderful health care providers will be visiting the countries of Nicaragua, Panama, and Guyana.

A sincere thank you to all those Project HOPE volunteers past and present.

-Marisol Euceda

SocialVibe.com

2008-08-04T11:46:00.007-04:00

Someone recently sent me a link to a relatively new social networking site SocialVibe.com. I hadn't heard of it before so I decided to check it out. Project HOPE already has a Myspace page and a Facebook page and as new websites come along I hope to add Project HOPE to them. SocialVibe is a social media site that connects people to specific brands to raise money and awareness of the social causes they care about. Members select a charity or cause they care about and get sponsored brands to support them by adding a tag to their Myspace, Facebook and any other social site page.

It sounds like a good idea so I have signed Project HOPE up. However, for us to be added to general cause category and begin earning donations we need to invite 200 more people to join us on SocialVibe. To receive our charity page and receive direct donations from supporters we need to have 500 successful invites.

So here I am asking our blog readers out there to join us on SocialVibe.com. It's for a good cause and really simple. Just click on the link below!

Project HOPE invites you to SocialVibe.com

--Marisol Euceda

Project HOPE Update on Relief Efforts in China and Myanmar

2008-05-27T16:00:00.005-04:00

Project HOPE's President and CEO, John P. Howe, III, M.D. Now in China

Read His BLOG

Other Updates

Our long-term relationship with the people of China, where we have had staff and programs for 25 years makes us uniquely able to respond to the massive earthquake with both urgent humanitarian aid...and longer-term assistance, as warranted.

To date, Project HOPE has received cash donations and commitments for China relief efforts totaling nearly $1 million from our corporate partners, Abbott, Eli Lilly and Company, Baxter International Inc., Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hospira, and from foundations and individual donors.

We are currently, with help from our in-country contacts and staff, identifying appropriate medicines and supplies from our existing inventory to be shipped to China.

As I told you before, the Shanghai Children's Medical Center, our flagship program in China, has dispatched two of its surgeons and four nurses to the quake zone to help with the relief effort. Project HOPE has been engaged since before the hospital opened in 1998 in training SCMC's health and medical professionals, and this development illustrates the important ripple effect of our work. Our staff in China remains in contact with the Ministry of Health, the Sichuan Bureau of Health, and local hospitals in the quake region with which we have longstanding relationships, to determine the medical needs in Sichuan Province and the logistical arrangements for getting medicines into the right hands.

In Myanmar , we were relieved to learn from the United Nations that international relief workers would be permitted int he country to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. This news means the medical care, treatment, and recovery assistance that the survivors urgently need can now flow into the hardest hit areas. Project HOPE continues to explore all options to assist in relief efforts in Myanmar.

Please consider providing a cash gift to help us with the substantial relief and recovery work ahead, in both China and Myanmar. Project HOPE has a 50-year history as a conscientious steward of donated resources. We do not ship and deliver product to a disaster area until we can be assured that we are responding to priority needs, and that the medicines we send will be properly handled and stored and used. We are seeking support now so that we are prepared to handle the impending response in both countries.

Project HOPE Responds to Need in Myanmar and China

2008-05-20T11:14:00.000-04:00

At Project HOPE, we are using all available resources to respond to the demanding crises around the world. In China our efforts are already underway. With 25 years of experience working in-country, we are quickly evaluating the need for medical care and assistance. In the coming days and weeks, we will work to expedite the delivery of aid to the effected provinces. And in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, we are delivering medical supplies that will be used to answer immediate health care needs, as well as working to provide additional medical assistance that addresses the long-term impact of this disaster.

Read a message from John P. Howe, III, Presdient and CEO of Project HOPE

Project HOPE Volunteer Team Two Liberia Wrap-Up

2008-05-01T12:11:00.000-04:00

The second team of Project HOPE volunteers completed their work at the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, in April, but the results and reflections from the volunteers are still coming in. By the time Project HOPE volunteers left JFK, the 14 member medical team participated in a total of 645 patient encounters, serviced or repaired 13 pieces of medical equipment and presented health education seminars and workshops to 270 JFK health care workers. But more than numbers, they formed lasting friendships and bonds with the JFK staff and patients. And even on their long journey home most wanted to know, “When we can do this again?” Read some of their success stories…..

Cherri Dobson, a neonatal intensive care nurse from Brentwood, CA worked in the small, very hot neonatal unit while at JFK. Lacking all the advantages of technology that premature babies in the United States have, Cherri spent a lot of her time syringe feeding a 30 week, premature infant with his mother’s breast milk, one drop at a time. She also conducted several neonatal resuscitation and newborn baby care and assessment classes. After one class, she witnessed the meaning of health education on JFK staff. “There was an EKG tech who worked at the hospital for 20 years. She was not scheduled for one of our courses, but asked permission to attend. After all Project HOPE workshops participants were given certificates of participation, I found her out in the hallway with tears streaming down her face,” Cherri said. “After all the time I have been here and all the classes I have attended, I have never been recognized for my work,” she told Cherri. Cherri participated in hands-on care with 16 of the smallest patients at JFK.

Jo Doerr, a nurse educator from Six Lakes, MI worked in the medical ward of the hospital. After completing an interactive class with nurses aids, Jo received a compliment to HOPE when one of the aides asked, “When are you coming back to teach us more?” Jo participated in hands-on care with 36 medical ward patients and conducted several training course for nurses and nurses aides.

Jo and Cherri also participated in a book donation ceremony at the hospital. Volunteers donated nearly $1,000 worth of medical books from their personal collections. The text books, reference guides, ICU management books, pocket guides, drug manuals and CD ROMs were very much appreciated and timely according to the JFK nursing instructors who accepted the books. “The timing could not have been better,” Dr. McDonald, JFK administrator, told the volunteers. “Our next session of nursing school starts in May.”

Nabil Messiah, an ultrasound tech from Martinsburg, WV, with the help of volunteer David Meador made a lasting change at JFK by fixing an ultrasound machine, arranging a good space to keep machine and procuring an examination table. Still Nabil wanted to more. “The examination table was too high for patients to get up on,” he said. So Nabil had a wooden stool made for the patients while in Liberia and left the stool at the hospital for use long term. While at JFK, Nabil helped perform 115 ultrasounds.

Earl Rogers, a Pharmacist from Richmond, VA, was the mission’s longest serving alumni. Earl served on the SS HOPE in it’s 1972 mission to Natal Brazil and served two volunteer missions in the 1990s to Russian and Ukraine to help set up pharmaceutical systems for the newly independent states. After teaching a seminar to pharmacy students and pharmacy dispensers at JFK, Earl was asked loads of questions. At the completion of the workshop, one of the pharmacy students stood up and gave a formal thank you speech. The class also showed their appreciation with a clapping ceremony symbolizing Earl’s long lasting influence on the group. Chief of Pharmacy, Livinius Ujah explained, “When the wind first starts to blow through a tree, the leaves began to rustle slowly. But as the wind works its way through the trees, soon all the leaves are moving vigorously.” Together the class slowly started clapping their hands until they finished in a fast loud crescendo.

Marina Rivera, a radiology tech from Fountain, CO, probably had the hardest time saying goodbye to her group of counterparts, the eight X-ray techs at the JFK hospital. From day one, Marina was welcomed with eager enthusiasm. While the team conducted 268 x-rays in the time she was there, they never lost their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. A couple of hot afternoons, Marina treated the crew to a short break outside the hospital for cold sodas. On her last day, they showed their thanks by presenting Marina with a green African dress. “We remember everything you taught us,” they assured her. “But we want you to come back.”

Gabrielle Seibel, a nurse educator from Seattle, WA, who worked in the Pediatric ward, was also presented with a hand made African outfit and formal ceremony on her last day at JFK. The staff also proudly showed her the growth charts they had ordered after Gabrielle's presentation on the importance of growth monitoring of children. They also laminated and posted the childhood vital signs chart Gabrielle donated to the department. Gabrielle worked with 42 pediatric patients at JFK.

Nurse Midwives Margaret Canter, from Tallahassee, FL, and Nancy Ward, from Huntingtown, MD, had a week to remember, delivering nearly a dozen babies and working with 63 labor and delivery patients. The first baby Margaret delivered was actually the grandchild of one of the midwives at JFK. Together, the two worked side by side with the labor and delivery staff, modeling compassionate care of laboring women in less than ideal birthing circumstance. In addition to hands-on mentoring, Margaret and Nancy participated in a workshop teaching midwives better techniques for gathering patient information and more accurate pregnancy dating techniques.

Amy Bream, an ER nurse from Denver, CO, and Mary Kennedy, a nurse educator from East Bridgewater, MA, spent two tough weeks in the emergency room of the hospital, helping with severe trauma cases. “I have been a trauma coordinator in the ER for many years in city hospitals, and I have seen a lot of trauma,” Mary said. “But this is one of the poorest places I have been so far. People only come in here with serious stuff.” One patient Amy and Mary will not forget is Darius. After helping the boy obtain the treatment he needed, Amy and Diane posed for a picture with their young patient. “Like everyone else here, he asked to see the photograph after we took it,” Mary said. “But instead of just looking at it, he pulled the camera screen to his face and kissed it and thanked us. The work here we have done has been overwhelming at times,” she added. “And while sometimes you can’t change much, you can see that change can happen with just one person.” Together with Dr. Allen Webb, Amy and Mary worked with 69 ER patients and conducted several important trauma training sessions.

David Meador, a biomedical tech from Wheaton, IL, also had a challenging week in one of the hottest sections of the JFK Hospital. “This has been such a humbling experience,” he said. “At home I’m used to fixing things and I have resources to fix things and get it fixed. It’s just a matter of going through the process. Here they start in the hole, with a broken piece of equipment. They don’t have service literature, parts, supplies or even the Internet or telephone. Still they are expected to keep the equipment running.” Despite the challenges, David was able to make progress repairing an Ultrasound machine, that was put to use immediately, a portable x-ray printer, several pulse oximeters, a fetal doppler machine and several Blood Pressure monitors and crib. David also left behind some of the batteries, fuses and other parts and equipment he brought with him in three 70 pound suitcases. “These are some of the most patient people I have every worked with they manage to keep a positive attitude in technically crushing circumstances,” David said of the biomed staff he worked with at the JFK Hospital. “The people are so appreciative when you fix something. These folks are really working in extreme conditions and I have a real appreciation for what they are doing.” David said he plans to continue helping the JFK biomedical staff from the States. “I will email them back and forth with lots of information…as soon as they get email and probably wind up making them care packages.”

Dianne Bennett, a pediatric nurse practitioner from Miami, Fl, and Amy Bream were favorites in the Pediatric ICU, taking lots of time to talk with patients, provide compassionate care, play and offer one on one attention to the JFK’s smallest patients. “Pediatric ICU is a very serious setting at JFK,” Dianne said. “Imagine no screens for privacy, and small children seeing and observing all the dressing changes and other procedures going on right in front of them. These little eyes are seeing a lot. If I can find a way to add a little bit of laughter, a caring touch and a few smiles to their day, I think it’s healing.” Amy also found the patients inspiring. “After working in the emergency room, I enjoyed working in pediatrics,” Amy said. “It’s strange, even though the kids are in ICU, I’ve never seen one cry. They are so happy to see you, so we smile and hug and dance sometimes hand out candy. Even the parents are happy to see us. It’s a lift for me, before going back to the ER.” Amy and Dianne also taught several well-received health education courses to nursing staff employees at the hospital. Project HOPE volunteers provided hands-on care for 36 pediatric ICU and burn center patients.

Dr. Allen Webb, an ER physician from St. Michaels, MD served as the Chief Medical Officer on the mission. He worked with the administration of the John F. Kennedy Hospital, and worked with Joel Trinidad, Chief Nursing Officer on the mission to turn volunteer assessments into critically needed educational courses. He also met with Liberia’s Minister Of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Gwenigale, who happened to be an old friend of Dr. Webb. “We reminisced together about our previous working experience in Liberia over 20 years ago. Dr. Gwenigale expressed his appreciation for the team’s mission and hopes there will be more teams returning to JFK.” Dr. Webb said. Dr. Webb spent much of his time working in the emergency room and also led a class on wound care and suturing to some eager to learn nurses. “The mission to Liberia was difficult and challenging because Liberia has had a prolonged civil war that has devastated the infrastructure and seriously set backs the medical system,” he said. “There is a shortage of physicians and teachers of physicians that makes it very difficult to take care of the enormous medical needs of the population. The Project HOPE team assessed the most critical needs at JFK Medical Center and specifically addressed those most basic critical needs in the educational sessions. A very important first step toward improved health care in Liberia was taken by the HOPE team.”

Joel Trinidad, a nurse educator from Wenonah, NJ served as the Chief Nursing Officer on the mission and spent his time rounding the entire hospital, working with volunteers and assessing how to best conduct the educational courses. With the volunteers, he helped plan seminars addressing the most pressing needs of the JFK staff including Nursing Leadership, Critical Thinking and Documentation course, Burn Trauma: Resuscitation & Wound Care course, Trauma Assessment & Care: Head, Spine & Orthopedic Injuries, Gestational Age Training, IV Therapy, Use, and Management, Diabetes and Hypertension and Mental Illness Management. Afternoon on-site workshops in the units included Trauma Rounds/Case Studies, Medical Emergency Rounds/Case Studies, Nurse Aides Rounds/Skill s Review, Wound Care, Newborn Initial Assessment, Pediatric Initial Assessment and Adult Initial Assessment. A five-time volunteer for Project HOPE, Joel said, “I didn’t have as much hands-on patient care as I usually do on Project HOPE missions. But instead, I got a more thorough view of the overall success of the mission. Our volunteers were wonderful and I am sure the results of their mentoring and health education classes will be felt around JFK for a long-time to come.”

Help support other Project HOPE humanitarian assistance and health education missions around the world

--Melanie Mullinax

More Volunteer Photos from Project HOPE mission in Liberia

2008-04-23T10:33:00.001-04:00

Check out the Project HOPE Web site for more photos of volunteers at work in Liberia.

Project HOPE Home page and

West Africa Mission photos

Project HOPE Volunteers Complete Mission

2008-04-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

Project HOPE volunteers completed a successful and memorable health education mission at the JFK Hospital on Friday. After traveling home, for up to 38 hours in some cases, all arrived safely and happy to see family and friends.

While the mission is complete, there are still more stories to tell, accomplishments to acknowledge and photos to post. Check back with the Blog and the Project HOPE Web site later this week for more volunteer stories, more photos and a recap of all the accomplishments of the mission.