Volunteer opportunity in El Salvador - Operating Room Nurses

Healing the Children SW Chapter needs 3-4 operating room nurses for a surgical trip to Santiago Texacuangos, El Salvador. The trip's focus will be ENT and Plastics ages children through 17 years of age. The team will stay in San Salvador, El Salvador. The trip is from February 28-March 7th 2015. Voluneers pay, air, lodging and meals (dinners and breakfast). This organization will be returning to the hospital "Hospital La Divina Provdencia" for the 6th year and welcomes nurses willing to take on the challenge of operating in a less-than-familiar settings. :)

If interested, please email healingthechildren@comcast.net

Barco's Nightingale Scholarship - Josephine Sullivan

Our second Barco's Nightingale's Foundation scholarship winner has left for her mission trip to Ecuador February 1st. Josephine is an Operating Room (OR) Registered Nurse (RN) in Louisville Kentucky, where she has worked as an OR for the last 32 years. She has had the privilege of helping patients of all ages - children and adults in the operating room. 

Josephine started her love of travel and specifically the country Ecuador when she was 7 years old. Her family hosted an exchange student from the town of Quito, and from that moment on Josephine made a promise to herself that she would "Some day go to Ecuador". 

After forty or so years, Josephine finally held true to her promise and accompanied two Healing the Children (HTC) surgical teams to Ecuador in 2012. The two cities they traveled were Portoviejo and Bahia de Caraquez. In Portoviejo, the team accomplished 87 surgical procedures in two operating rooms in just four days. In Bahia de Caraquez, the team performed 70 surgical operations in four and a half days. With both of these trips, Josephine was hooked and she returned a better OR nurse because of her experiences and travels with these missions.

Healing the Children is a national organization that has provided medical care to children in need for over thirty years. There are 13 HTC chapters nationwide as well as many International Partners that are committed to helping children worldwide.     


February 1, 2013 Josephine left for Ecuador with Healing the Children thanks to the generous financial support from One Nurse At A Time and Barco's Nightingales Foundation. 



Have a great trip Josephine! We are looking forward to hearing about your trip when you return!

Thanks- 

ONAAT

Volunteer Opportunity - El Salvador

We were recently contacted by the Southwest Chapter of the National Healing the Children non-profit organization. This organization has been working for over 30 years to provide medical care to children in need. The organization has 13 chapters nationwide, and with many International Partners, they are committed to meeting the healthcare needs of children worldwide.

The Southwest Chapter is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since 1989 Healing the Children Southwest has supported three major programs -

- Hardship Relief Project - which is for children in New Mexico (formerly "Local Children Program")
- International Pediatric Surgical and Medical Trips - Latin America
- International Inbound Children - children who come to Albuquerque from around the world

Healing the Children SW Chapter is on the look out for operating room nurses for a surgical trip to Santiago Texacuangos, El Salvador. They are requesting that this is posted early, as El Salvador is a country that requires "Apostilles" which may take longer to obtain from some states. An "Apostille" is a form of authentication issues to documents for use in countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Convention.

The trip is specific to ENT and plastics for children to the age of 17. The trip will take place in March 9th-16th. All volunteers will pay for air, lodging and meals, there is a less expensive choice for lodging if you desire. The hospital that the organization will be working at is called La Divina Providencia - the organization has been returning to work there since 2006 and welcomes nurses willing to take on the challenge of operating in less-than-familiar settings.

If you are interested, please contact Bobbye at healingthechildren@comcast.net or call 505-401-8576

If there is anyone who has experience traveling with this organization, please contact us and let us know how your trip went, if you have any advice or suggestions, any or all information is welcome.

"We All Love, We All Struggle...We are All the Same"

Allsion Godchaux, RN, FNP traveled with Healing the Children to Bahia de la Caraquez, Ecuador April 20 - 27, 2012.  In total, they treated 70 patients, mostly children, and one emergent case of a 51 year-old homeless man.  The group of 16 medical personnel performed cleft lip and cleft palate repairs; ear reconstructions; tonsillectomies and adenectomies; hernia repairs, scar revisions and many other necessary surgeries. Allison's role was to be the 'glue' within the group. “As a family nurse practitioner I have medical education, training and experience, I have a background in nursing, and I speak Spanish.  I was meant to flow between operating rooms, the recovery room, patient and family waiting areas, the upstairs floor where we occasionally needed to admit patients, and interact as a go-between between the volunteers, hospital staff, the health department and social services organization.”

Allison enjoyed seeing the faces of the mother and fathers as their kids came out of the recovery room the most.  “The joy of their children being returned to them from surgery was beautiful to behold, as well as their gratitude to us for the services we provided.  We go into nursing to help people.  It is reaffirming to provide health services to others, and to be fully and honestly appreciated for what we do.  The joy we received could even be from acts as simple as calming a scared child before surgery, or educating the parents afterwards about how to care for their child post-op.  It was so enlightening and heart warming how they took everything we said, to heart.  I have not one doubt in my mind that those children are not currently receiving every care possible from their families during their recovery.”



Allison reflects, “It was reaffirmed for me that people are people wherever they are, whatever language they speak.  They love each other, their children, and will do what they can for them.  They have similar concerns that we have for our children.  We are all parents, we all love, we all struggle, and in that regard, we are all the same.”

One of them most memorable moments Allison recalls is a “51 year old male emergent patient that came in through the emergency room.  The general surgeon assessed him and determined that he would do the surgery the next day.  One local nurse said they would admit him that night, so he could be cleaned, prepped for surgery.  The second nurse said he could not be admitted because he did not have family.  I asked what the signficance was, of not having family.  I was told that there is not enough nursing staff to provide this care, that it is the role of the family to provide it.  As a homeless person, he did not have the family.  Luckily, we had an extra nurse who provided all the care for him that they typically expect the family to do, or he might not have had the surgery, which he desperately needed.  He was a humble man.  Although we helped the children through our work, it is easier to take care of the kids, and not so much a homeless man.  We definently changed his life.  I am grateful that we are allowed latitude to perform these exceptions.”

“My work hours had been reduced at my job, and it was doubtful to me whether or not I could afford  this trip or even if I should take this trip.  One Nurse at a Time (ONAAT) provided me with enough financial support that I felt I could justify my spending the remainder amount of money required to be able to go.  It was also a validation to me, that ONAAT felt it important enough for me to go, that they were willing to help fund the trip.”


Allison Godchaux is a family nurse practitioner, in Kansas, at la Clinica Medica, and LifeWorks Wellness Center.  She received her Master’s of Nursing degree at the University of Kansas Medical Center,  Bachelor’s of Nursing degree at California State University, Sacramento.   She enjoys her family, outdoor activities, and bicycling.   Every year she rides her bicycle 150-180 miles, to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Allison has been part of a project vaccinating cats and dogs against rabies in Ecuador, with Los Amigos de las Americas;  worked in an orphanage in Mexico,  with Los Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos;  and worked in Ecuador, with Healing the Children, as a recovery room nurse for children receiving cleft lip and cleft palate repair.  
Allison has served in the United States Naval Reserve for 13 years as a Hospital Corpsman, with the Fleet Marine Force, and Naval Cargo Battalions. 

Allison Godchaux, FNP heads to Ecuador!

Allison Godchaux is preparing to leave for Bahia de la Caraquez, Ecuador with Healing the Children. The group will be performing an estimated 100+ pediatric surgeries. Because Allison is bilingual, she plans on working between operating rooms, assisting with what is needed, troubleshooting problems as they occur, and overseeing the recovery room.


Allison Godchaux is a family nurse practitioner, in Kansas, at la Clinica Medica, and LifeWorks Wellness Center.  She received her Master’s of Nursing degree at the University of Kansas Medical Center,  Bachelor’s of Nursing degree at California State University, Sacramento.   She enjoys her family, outdoor activities, and bicycling.   Every year she rides her bicycle 150-180 miles, to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Allison has been part of a project vaccinating cats and dogs against rabies in Ecuador, with Los Amigos de las Americas;  worked in an orphanage in Mexico,  with Los Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos;  and worked in Ecuador, with Healing the Children, as a recovery room nurse for children receiving cleft lip and cleft palate repair.  
Allison has served in the United States Naval Reserve for 13 years as a Hospital Corpsman, with the Fleet Marine Force, and Naval Cargo Battalions. 

Last Minute Need for SCRUB NURSE in Ecuador!

Healing the Children, SW chapter has a last minute need or a scrub nurse in Ecuador due to a cancellation:  The trip is April 21 –28, 2012.   
Anyone interested should take a look at the general information regarding surgical/medical trips on our website (www.healingthechildrensw.org)  and if still interested send an email tohealingthechildren@comcast.net, or call 505 401-8576.      As with all our trips, the volunteer is responsible for airfare, lodging and meals.   With the exception of the first and last nights,  lodging will be paid for.