(continued from page 15)
Information exchange
continued with the faculty,
and extended to the laboratory, the breast milk bank,
and the oncology ward. The
hospital administration
welcomed us warmly, bolstered by an ongoing line
of communication that we
have maintained during
the past year. Our visits are
no longer a surprise; “Next
year!” is a common element
of our farewells.
Cynthia (Cindy) Rigby, MD
It was wonderful to experience medical care in a truly
altruistic way, focusing
solely on the care and needs
of the patients, free of the
heavy burdens of billing,
insurance, attorneys and
paperwork.
Ildiko Mikos, MD
Now for the last two years, I
have spent two days visiting
the hospitals and three days
teaching. They have received
training in electrical safety,
fire prevention, electrosurgical maintenance, radiation safety, basic radiology
maintenance, and preventive maintenance. It was
my honor this year to see
the 10+ hospitals, 1 university, and 3 vendors at
the seminar form the NBA
(Nicaragua Biomedical Association). They elected their
first board of directors and
officers for the organization.
They made me a life-time
member of the NBA. I don’t
make the salary of the NBA
in the States, but it is far
more rewarding.
Courtney Nanney
16
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
They know what they
are doing, know what
they want to do, they just
have very few resources
available. So instead of
giving them information,
I gave them reagents and
equipment they need and
I came home with a bit of
humility and appreciation
of their knowledge, work
ethic, and creativity. And I
came home with the enjoyable idea that lab people
are the same worldwide,
“lab speak” is the same
worldwide. It was a wonderful trip that I hope to
repeat.
Jane Howland, Lab Technician
This amazing journey into
my past allows me to move
forward into my future
knowing that in a very
small way, I helped the
doctors from GLMS care
for the people that live in
the second poorest country
in our hemisphere. It is I
who feel blessed.
Bonnie Higgins
My trip to Nicaragua was
very successful because
I had the opportunity to
experience a totally different system of rendering
psychiatric services. It is
really amazing all they do,
despite lack of resources.
Hermys Yanes-Boza, RN