Global Health

January 2, 2015

Departure: Boston to Santo Domingo [1]

Since our kickoff meeting in September, the members of the Dominican Republic mission trip have been preparing for today's departure. Mertie Potter , a faculty member in the School of Nursing, has coordinated both the academic and logistical sides of the project. Her husband, Fred, has tuned up his camera to document the trip. The seven nurse practitioner students from the MGH Institute have laid the foundations for their scholarly projects. Donald Hess and the two surgical residents at Boston Medical Center have secured supplies for the operating room. And I have...well, so far I've...

NP students to be part of mission trip to Dominican Republic [5]

The MGH Institute is partnering with Christian Medical Mission (CMM), Good Samaritan Hospital , and a surgical team from Boston Medical Center on a medical mission trip to La Romana, Dominican Republic, from Jan. 2-10, 2015. The 13-member team will provide nursing, medical, and surgical care to Dominicans in the La Roman area and to Haitians working in the bateyes (sugar cane fields). This is the 3rd team of nurse practitioner students I will have the privilege of taking to the Caribbean nation. The focus of service on this trip is two-fold: The NP students will be involved with health...

Origins of "The Talking Drum" [8]

I broke my first curfew the night I was born in Dakar, Sénégal. The year was 1989, and mounting civil unrest along the lush river border between Sénégal and Mauritania had resulted in a Senegalese man’s death. Subsequently, Mauritanians living in Sénégal became targets of revenge. Enraged Senegalese overturned Mauritanian-owned shops and threatened worse damage. In an effort to contain the attacks, Senegalese law enforcement issued a 10 P.M. curfew in Dakar, after which time anyone could be arrested for being caught outside without the proper paperwork. Enter my very pregnant mother and her...