During spring break in March 2018, a group of 14 students and faculty from the Connell School of Nursing traveled to one of the poorest communities in Nicaragua to provide primary care and health education to its residents and to learn more about that country's health care, social, and political systems.
The Connell School team worked at the Nueva Vida Clinic in Ciudad Sandino, where the community endures extreme poverty, lack of basic resources, poor sanitation, and insufficient access to health care—conditions that contribute to many health issues, especially among children. The community depends on the clinic’s staff, as well as on residents who serve as part-time health promoters, for care.
As the Ï㽶Ðã nurses visited the homes of residents and supported the work of Nueva Vida, they witnessed the resilience and strength of the people of this community. Videographers from Ï㽶Ðã’s Office of University Communications documented their experiences.
Mary Ladesic
“I have gained so much from this experience, even more then I have given.â€
Ìý
Lea Nelligan
“... contrasting my experience as a nurse to other nurses and the differences in the health care systemsâ€
Ìý
Kaitlyn Patel
“... finding places where social injustices occur and just how one person can make a difference…â€
Samantha Bondaryk
Family Nurse Practitioner ProgramÌý
“It’s important to meet people where they’re at and try to leave behind your own expectations…â€
Diane Quinones
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner ProgramÌý
“Kids have such a great lens of looking at the world…â€
Hannah Ruede
Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner ProgramÌý
“You are given thisÌý opportunity to really enter into the life of another…â€
Rosemary Byrne, RN, MS, FNP-Ï㽶Ðã
Clinical InstructorÌý
“Your opportunity is, just be…â€
Sherri St. Pierre, MS, APRN, PPCNP-Ï㽶Ðã
Clinical Assistant Professor
“... sit as a group, process that and talk about it and support each other…â€
Melissa Sutherland, Ph.D., FNP-Ï㽶Ðã
Associate Professor
“What I see in the Ï㽶Ðã nurses is this commitment to humanity, this commitment to social justice…â€