Mercy College s Humanitarian/Medical mission to the Dominican Republic was a life altering experience for the natives as well as the staff.

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Phebe Owens
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1 Mercy College s Humanitarian/Medical mission to the Dominican Republic was a life altering experience for the natives as well as the staff. The interprofessional team included students and doctors of: Speech Language Pathology, Physical Therapy, Primary Physicians and Physician Assistants. This team diligently worked to assess, screen and treat the medical concerns of hundreds of natives throughout their stay. Thanks to Mercy college, Inca Kola and the Friends of Lead Free Children Foundation we were able to make a difference. Trips such as this, not only makes a difference in the lives of the patients, but in each team member and professional, as well. Lauren Kennish Speech and Language Pathology Class of 2017

The Medical Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic was an experience I will always remember. This was the first time I participated in an interdisciplinary mission trip with my school.

When we begin working in our prospective fields, we will inevitably be working as a team when treating patients, and having early prior knowledge of and comradery with these other professions will

While the experience was humbling as we treated very impoverished communities, it was also exciting to recognize conditions we have learned about in our classes within the Doctorate of Physical

2 The Medical Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic was an experience I will always remember. This was the first time I participated in an interdisciplinary mission trip with my school. Having the opportunity to interact with other professions through working with the students from the Speech & Language Pathology and Physician Assistant program was enlightening. When we begin working in our prospective fields, we will inevitably be working as a team when treating patients, and having early prior knowledge of and comradery with these other professions will benefit us as well as the populations we treat. While the experience was humbling as we treated very impoverished communities, it was also exciting to recognize conditions we have learned about in our classes within the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. I distinguished some of the musculoskeletal impairments affecting the children and parents we came across, and had the chance to practice screenings, conduct brief interviews, administer exercise treatments and provide patient education, all while practicing my Spanish. It was such a treat to have our program director, Dr. Nannette Hyland, join us for the trip and I am grateful to her and Mercy College for giving us the opportunity to give back as students, and hope to continue doing so as a licensed physical therapist. Ray Hoffman Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program, Class of /13/2017

Mercy College s Medical Mission to the Dominican Republic was a truly unforgettable experience for myself and the other students and faculty members of Mercy s Physician Assistant (PA) graduate

We took patients vital signs, performed complete physical exams, and distributed donated lead-free vitamins, medications, and other self-care supplies to each family.

Lorraine Jamieson, PA-C, Mercy College s physical and speech therapy professors and students, as well as several private doctors.

3 Mercy College s Medical Mission to the Dominican Republic was a truly unforgettable experience for myself and the other students and faculty members of Mercy s Physician Assistant (PA) graduate program! Three full days were spent attending to over 1,200 patients of all ages in the poorest regions of the DR. We took patients vital signs, performed complete physical exams, and distributed donated lead-free vitamins, medications, and other self-care supplies to each family. Our volunteer work provided us with meaningful hands-on training and a chance to work directly with professors from our program, Ms. Lorraine Cashin, PA-C, MPS, SAFE, and Ms. Lorraine Jamieson, PA-C, Mercy College s physical and speech therapy professors and students, as well as several private doctors. Having this multidisciplinary team allowed for complete care of each patient. Furthermore, we were given ample opportunity to utilize our medical Spanish, which is a skill that is essential to establishing the clinician-patient rapport that leads us to the proper diagnosis. This incredible opportunity will be valuable to us as we jumpstart our medical careers as PAs following graduation in August. We are grateful for our family at Inca Kola for inviting us to be a part of this medical mission! Mercy s PA program is most definitely looking forward to next year and many years to come! Elise Tetelman, PA-S, Mercy College Class of 2017 April 13, 2017

4 I was truly blessed to have had the opportunity to go on the Medical Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic. As a third year Doctoral Student of Physical Therapy, I ve spent the majority of my education with my nose in the books. The medical mission turned into a humbling event within the first day. Many of the children presented with ailments that could be easily and affordably attended to in the United States. However, due to the debilitating poverty some of these families were facing these conditions were quickly becoming life threatening. This trip allowed me to take my knowledge, transform it into palpable care, and give it to families that need it most. It was an experience I wholeheartedly believe everyone should have as an opportunity to put his or her own lives into perspective. With an increasingly globalizing world we must all take responsibility for the care of those less fortunate than us. -Timothy Caulfield, SPT

I was recently given the opportunity to go on a Humanitarian Aid Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic as a student with the Mercy College Physical Therapy Graduate Program.

5 I was recently given the opportunity to go on a Humanitarian Aid Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic as a student with the Mercy College Physical Therapy Graduate Program. The trip was coordinated by the Friends of Lead Free Children who chose the Dominican Republic based on the country s notoriety for some of the highest levels of lead poisoning in the world. The plan was to travel to villages outside the capital of Santo Domingo to provide free screenings and medications to mothers and children of the community. Each morning we suited up in our scrubs, slung our backpacks over our shoulders, and loaded ourselves onto the bus that was waiting to take us far away from the tourist zone where most vacationers can be sited. In just a few days we attended to hundreds of women and children who were eager to take advantage of the free clinics. Our team of student physical therapists screened infants and children for movement deficits, treated mothers and children for pain or injury, and provided education about infant care. The experience was exhilarating and humbling all at the same time. The women were kind and grateful, and of course the children stole our hearts. Working with such an underserved population gave new meaning to the idea of helping people who do not have access to healthcare. I am extremely grateful to Mercy College, and especially to the director of the physical therapy program, Dr. Nannette Hyland for making this trip happen. I felt proud to represent the profession of physical therapy abroad and to demonstrate what a valuable place it has in medical mission trips. Sincerely, Anuja Ghate Student PT, Mercy College The first morning, we boarded the bus, with our limited supplies stuffed into cardboard boxes and our matching Mercy College backpacks. We didn t know what to expect, but just hoped to make a difference anyway. A guard, with her hair tied back into a tight bun and sunglasses she never took off, helped us get safely from the bus to our destination. We unpacked our matching backpacks, each filled with what we thought we would need. As physical therapy students, we had brightly colored beach balls, the physician assistant students had stethoscopes and gloves, and among the speech therapists backpacks was the only pocket knife we would all be borrowing. I didn t know at the time what each of the other professions did, but over the next few days I learned how we could work together to care for our patients. At our destination, families were already waiting to be seen. Some of them had been waiting for hours already, hoping for medical care. They were patient and smiling, trying to care for their families the best that they could. I learned that children everywhere love games and our physical therapy screenings quickly became groups of laughing kids racing against each other. One girl we saw needed a hand splint. From our collective backpack supplies, I was able to find tongue depressors and a roll of tape. A speech therapy student donated her scrunchie and tada!- a homemade hand splint. As the days went on, we became more efficient and organized. The PA students learned that everyone could benefit from a motor screen and we learned from the speech therapy students that the child not following directions may not be able to hear. With much lighter backpacks, we boarded the plane back home, knowing more about how we could work together and knowing that we made a difference. -Trina Block Physical Therapy Student

Working with CerviCusco, the other medical students and I were able to participate in and

Emma Moody R25 Clinical Work at CerviCusco This summer I spent six weeks in Cusco, Peru working at a women s health clinic. Working with CerviCusco, the other medical students and I were able to participate