Today was our last day at Mercy Care and we spent the day truly observing all the services and did a windshield survey of the surrounding area and neighborhood. There were not many resources or healthy food options surrounding the clinic. The MARTA station was right across the clinic which allowed for more affordable transportation methods to the clinic. The only issue with the MARTA is the reliability because we had one patient tell us that the MARTA went off course due to a track incident which made them late for their appointment. Mercy Care offers in house dentistry, primary care, behavioral health, and pharmacy services. We valued our time in this clinic and it goes to show how much work is still needed within our healthcare system here in Georgia to provide care for all those who need it.
Today we worked with the community of San Luis to try to prevent future flooding of some of the most devastated houses. We were trying to help with the environmental hazards that are associated with standing water- such as providing a vector for disease and a breeding ground for pests. To help, we spent time using dirt to fill in the floors that were wet from the flooding rain. We also used rocks that were already around the houses, along with gravel we found, to create a barrier between the ground and the holes in the wall to prevent water from entering that way. Everyone had their own jobs, whether that be loading the wheelbarrow, ensuring everyone was hydrated, or carrying buckets of dirt for the community to place where they thought was best. The members of the community had expressed the day before how the flooding had severely hurt their self-esteem, but we hope that by helping them that they are empowered a bit more. In the afternoon, we attempted to teach our community partners the modules we had prepared, but it began to rain too hard to teach. However, we finished the community assessment we had started earlier, getting the chance to ask our community partners questions about things we had not gotten answered.
The question of how much to help is always a complicated one. Meeting physical needs like this was never really the intent of this trip but we knew that basic physiological needs have to be met first before anything else. With people’s houses being basically destroyed, there’s no way we could try and teach about oral health or composting and ignore those needs. So, we decided to help. Being a nursing student, I automatically default to wanting to help as much as I physically can. But, I’m continually learning that taking a step back and letting people do things on their own is sometimes just as powerful and impactful. Because of our short time there, we weren’t able to do as much as I’m sure a lot of us would have liked to. I do think we were able to meet some immediate needs and provide the community with the materials and hopefully the motivation to finish the job themselves. I’m proud of the work we were able to do today and am leaving feeling ever thankful for the opportunities we are afforded here at Emory and in the United States.
“Like the lotus flower that is born out of mud, we must honor the darkest parts of ourselves and the most painful of our life’s experiences, because they are what allow us to birth our most beautiful self.” This quote by Debbie Ford stood out to me today as I encountered a patient that said he was “spiraling out of control” and needed help. It was very insightful working with the psychiatric registered nurse at Mercy Care, today. In order for a patient to be admitted to the behavioral health program at Mercy Care, he/she must first complete a nursing assessment to determine medical stability and readiness to receive treatment. I assisted with the nursing assessment of this particular patient getting renewed for the behavioral health program.
During this assessment, we performed a systematic review of systems, a urine drug screen, and spoke to the patient about his challenges. The patient’s willingness to start treatment showed his perseverance through adversities. Although he knew it would be challenging, he was still willing to continue treatment because he was confident that treatment was the best thing for his health. Individuals that have mental health disorders may have many painful experiences in their lives, and when they choose to seek treatment, they can begin to let those painful experience birth something beautiful. Mercy Care’s behavioral health program includes counseling and group therapy sessions, such as substance abuse and anger management groups, case management, psychiatric visits and many other resources for the patient.
Welcome to our final blog post from Courtney and
Abbie. Over the past week we have had the privilege to learn about and interact
with vulnerable populations in our backyard of Atlanta. We began on Monday by
teaming up with Catholic Charities Atlanta to learn about the refugee
resettlement process in the United States. We went to Clarkston to move in
furniture and set up an apartment for an Eritrean single mother and her five
children. On Tuesday, we went to Grady’s dialysis clinic for immigrants with
end-stage kidney disease. We were able to speak with patients about their life
stories, current medical condition and educate them about their disease and how
to manage it. On Wednesday, we went to Clarkston Community Health Center to do
patient education on colorectal screenings, help organize the clinic and price
out traditional grocery lists for refugee families to get a glimpse into their
financial situation. On Thursday, we went back to the dialysis clinic at Grady
to learn more about the dialysis process and update patient information packets
so they can better understand their disease. On our last day, we got to tour
and prepare lunch at Good Samaritan Health Center for the homeless population
in Atlanta.
Abbie’s favorite part of the entire immersion was
interacting with patients, gathering histories, doing a grocery store
assessment and updating new patient education packets. Courtney’s favorite part
of the entire immersion was exploring different parts of Atlanta and
interacting with populations with interesting stories and backgrounds.
Facts our group found most interesting/What our
group enjoyed doing:
Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology(CKDu) is hypothesized to be the first chronic disease that could be caused by climate change
Learning the importance of dialysis and its process
How to work with interpreter services while still engaging with patients
Showing compassion to all because you never know what someone has gone through
Importance of establishing a therapeutic relationship
Health Care services available to the underserved population
Touring Good Samaritan Health Center and seeing all the resources they offer from their own food gardens to their fitness classes
The process of interviewing patients in general or for a research project
Hearing the life stories from the patients
Learning the history behind Ponce de Leon and how it was the street that was the divide for segregation
That’s a wrap from week 1! Thank you to our
clinical instructors and clinical partners we worked with throughout the week!
Stay tuned to read stories from our week 2 classmates!
Welcome back to the blog! This is part 2/2 detailing our ABSN journey to Peru.
Day 7: CerviCusco and Pisco
Friday, we stayed at CerviCusco and helped out in the lab as well as the clinic. Since the clinic wasn’t very busy, we were done with Pap smears (“examen del Papanicolau”) and biometric tests by lunchtime, so we headed to La Plaza de Armas to explore some more. We had some great burgers (including veggie options!) at Papacho’s and then stopped by the Museo del Pisco to learn how to make our own Pisco sours. Our bartenders/instructors were very helpful and played fun music while we relaxed after a long week. We headed back to the clinic for dinner and went to bed early to prepare for our big day on Saturday—Machu Picchu!
Carson Gastil with the specimen transfer machine in CerviCusco’s Lab
A mural featured at the Pisco Museum
Day 8: Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu archaeological site
Saturday, we were out the door by 6am to take our first bus of the day—our amigo Jesus was back to guide us throughout the day with a new friend, Jennifer, serving as our second guide. We took the bus to Ollantaytambo and then boarded a beautifully scenic train to the town of Aguas Calientes. Part of the Inca Trail parallels the train route, so we saw some hikers along the way, as well as more of the Urubamba River and surrounding mountains. Once in Aguas Calientes, we boarded another bus that took us on a winding and bumpy road up the mountain to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Jesus and Jennifer brought us inside the site and we saw the extensive terraces and remnants of the Inca civilization. We saw various levels of Machu Picchu, from the Inca Bridge to the Temple of the Sun. Apparently, it isn’t explicitly clear why the Incas left Machu Picchu, but some people believe the citizens experienced a natural disaster (such as an earthquake) and saw it as a sign from their gods to vacate the site, even though it was still under construction. We also learned while touring the site that the mountain seen in the background of most pictures of Machu Picchu is called Huayna Picchu (“young mountain”); the mountain, Machu Picchu (“old mountain”), is actually on the opposite side of the archeological site, often behind the viewer. The site sits in the shadow of Machu Picchu, the taller of the two mountains, and that is how the site got its current name. The original Incan name of the site is technically still unknown. Jesus told us all of this and more as we walked around the city and marveled at the architecture and the scenery surrounding us. Once our tour was over, we went to lunch at a nearby restaurant and then took a bus down the mountain back to Aguas Calientes. We had some free time there until our train left, so people split up and explored by shopping or going to the hot springs. Around 6pm we boarded our train home, climbed into our bus at Ollantaytambo, and were back at the clinic by 11pm. It was a long day, but everyone enjoyed the experience of Machu Picchu!
Terraces in Machu Picchu
The main square in Machu Picchu, with Huayna Picchu seen in the background
Day 9: Free Day
Sunday was our free day of the trip, and the majority of our group decided to participate in a private cooking class with a local chef in Cusco. The chef took them to the market where they bought the ingredients for their meal and then returned to the kitchen where they learned how to make Palta rellena (stuffed avocado), Lomo saltado (sautéed beef), Pisco sours, and homemade chocolates for dessert. Another group decided to hike Rainbow Mountain instead, waking up very early (before most of Cusco had even gone to sleep!) and taking a bus several hours outside of town to the trail site. After a challenging hike, they reached the summit and although there was snow on the landscape, it was still a magnificent view. Everyone met up later for dinner at Limbus, a restaurant/bar with a great view of the city, and went to bed to prepare for our final day of service on Monday.
A toast with Pisco sours at the cooking class
On top of Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)
Day 10: The Final Campaña
Monday, we had our final campaign just outside of Cusco where we once more performed Pap smears, blood sugar, and blood pressure testing for our patients. There was a good turnout and several lucky students held some children while their moms underwent procedures.
Claire Pierson holds a child for their mother during a procedure
Pherrari Roy interacts with a child in the waiting area
After our service was finished, we presented the CerviCusco staff with gifts of our appreciation and took one final group picture. Some people went back to the plaza and San Pedro market to do some last-minute shopping, while others went home and began packing to leave the next day. We had one last dinner together at the clinic followed by a debriefing session to discuss our trip and our group project, and just like that, our time in Cusco was over.
Our final group picture, including (L to R): Sam Phelan, Dr. Quyen Phan, Lexi Bradford, Alyssa Alias, Rachel Swart, Meredith Owens, Kelli Carlson, Julie Pizzat, Warren Gray, Lillie Russo, Erin Parker, Carson Gastil, Jacqlyn McKinnon, Mariel Box, Emily Gholson, CerviCusco staff, Alexa Bernstein, Pherrari Roy, Claire Pierson, Claudia Bellido, Dr. Lisa Thompson, and Dr. Weihua Zhang
Day 11: Traveling Tuesday
Tuesday was our travel day, and we made our way home starting bright and early. The new volunteer coordinator, Alyssa, saw us off at the airport and was waiting there to pick up the next group of volunteers arriving later that day. We all made it back to Atlanta safely (albeit later than expected thanks to a few delays), ready to get some rest before starting classes again on Monday. The past 10 days provided an amazing experience of Peru’s culture and history, and the experiences we had here will stay with us for years to come. Thank you to CerviCusco for being so welcoming and educational, to our wonderful instructors – Dr. Phan, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Thompson – for guiding us throughout our time here, to the Lillian Carter Center for organizing this trip, and to my fellow classmates who made this journey as memorable as the adventure itself.
Flexibility was the word of the day for us on our fifth day
in Mexico. Thursday started out like the other days, breakfast first thing
before loading onto the bus to head into the community. Today Victor took us to
the cemetery to learn a little more about the culture and history of Merida. It
was shocking to see how different cemeteries are Mexico; they are bright and
full of color. Our translators explained to us that in Mexico death is not
feared but celebrated.
After our stop at the cemetery we continued on to San Luis,
one of the neighborhoods in the south part of Merida that we had been working
with during the week. The plan for the day was to work with community leaders
to edit the health education modules we had prepared back in Atlanta, with the
hope of teaching the community members later in the afternoon. When we arrived
at San Luis one of the community leaders, Raquel, met us and told us how the
rain the previous night had flooded many of the homes in the community. The
mothers were currently trying to salvage their homes from the damage done by
the rain and flooding.
Knowing that the mothers were focused on their homes we
regrouped and decided to reassess the community to see what needs we could help
meet in this moment. We sent part of the team on a mission to gather supplies
while the rest of the team walked around to assess the community. Even with
their homes completely flooded the people of San Luis graciously welcomed us,
inviting us into their homes showing us the impact of the rain. After seeing
the homes we saw that a lot of homes had deep pools of standing water that
could cause a lot of health issues for the people. We decided to use our
resources to provide gravel, tarps, shovels and other items that could
hopefully prevent water from flooding in the homes. Our plan moving forward is
to work with the community to remove some of the standing water and hopefully
start creating some type of system that could prevent flooding in the future.
Though this day looked a lot different than what we had planned, it was truly an eye opening experience to see what the people of San Luis struggle with in their day to day. We were able to work with the community to come up with a solution to the problem they were facing today. It was just us nursing students coming in to fix a problem, it was all of us, students, faculty, translators, community members and partners, working together to move this community forward.
We started our third-morning sharing
breakfast around a long table at our hotel restaurant. On this morning we had a slower than usual
start as we were scheduled for a lecture at the Comisión de Los Derechos Humanos,
to be given by professor Adrian Verde Cañetas.
The talk was described to be one that discussed the architecture of
Merida, but it ended up being much more.
Professor Canetas described the modern history of how the city of Merida
came to be organized. Present day
neighborhoods were once haciendas, or ranches, that was owned by one wealthy
family and farmed by endured servants.
As the source of economic power in the region shifted from agrarian to
industrial, the haciendas were sold in parcels to new landowners or the city of
Merida. Those subdivisions became
neighborhoods built with houses purchased by families of relative means. Our
group learned that during this shift the economic power of Merida became firmly
held by citizens who live in the north, while the poor neighborhoods reside in
the southern part of the city, especially those located near the airport. These communities would be the ones we worked
with during our week in Merida.
A history lesson may seem superfluous to the work performed by nurses, but such knowledge is essential to providing respectful and competent care. In learning about the economic scope of a region, a nurse can better decide on the necessary resources needed in disadvantaged communities. In understanding a fraction of the economic upheaval propagated by the wealthy class, a nurse is better able to navigate the social mores of a city. When outsiders come to help, they must be responsible for educating themselves on the history of an area because they will provide better care.
The remainder of our third day was
spent teaching the various health modules to our group had created to the
community leaders of Emiliano Zapata. Our
goal for the projects was to help local community leaders educate other residents
of Emiliano Zapata on the following topics: Dental Health, Talk with Me Baby, Preventing Child
Sexual Abuse, and Environmental Health and Composting. Some of the module content was created during
the weeks proceeding the trip, but many of the groups finalized their modules
after conferring with local community leaders.
The perspective provided by the community leaders assisted our group in
creating content directly relevant to the community members. With the help of the translators, we
presented our materials to the adult leaders, who followed up our presentations
by teaching the modules to children within the community.
Today we observed in the clinic and behavioral health. We saw how many barriers our patients faced and the amount of compassion the staff has. The Mercy Care teams functions off of compassion and critical thinking skills.
We are now in week two of our immersion trip! It has been a wonderful experience learning from all of the providers about the healthcare system in West Virginia. This area of the US has been struck by many health, economic, and educational disadvantages and disparities. Two of their main health issues are related to opioids and black lung, which is a disease caused by coal mining. We have been rotating through several clinical sites in the area and many of us have been lucky enough to see pulmonary rehab and MAT (medication assisted treatment) sessions. We’ve collaborated with doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, social workers, respiratory therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and pharmacists.
Today, we were lucky enough to attend an “all provider meeting” for Cabin Creek Health. This meeting happens every quarter and each meeting has a theme. Today’s topic was children and adolescents. We heard from a variety of speakers about periods as a vital sign, juuling in schools, and long term reversible contraception. This was a great time to get all of the providers together to discuss some difficult topics and ask the experts questions.
Overall, I’ve been really impressed with these clinics. They are run so smoothly and all of the staff members are really motivated and invested in helping the patients. Despite facing several challenges, they have found creative ways to really make a difference in these peoples’ lives. This happens by creating ways to help them take their medications and educating them on lifestyle changes. This has been an incredible learning experience and I’m very grateful I was able to experience Cabin Creek.
As a part of this unique clinical immersion in West Virginia, I had the opportunity to shadow in the Pulmonary Rehab clinic. The Pulmonary Rehab center operates as part of the Cabin Creek Health System clinic at Dawes. In this setting, patients with chronic lung issues, such as COPD, sarcoidosis, and Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, attend biweekly group sessions under the supervision of registered nurses and a physician. In these sessions, patients perform strengthening exercises and various aerobic activities. Additionally, the nurses incorporate an element of patient education care. For example, the nurses educated on the importance of adequate nutrition with chronic lung disease. During my time between both the primary care clinic and the pulmonary clinic, I’ve been exposed to the ways in which the populations in this region deal with lung issues which stem from culture and tradition.
Coal
worker’s pneumoconiosis, otherwise known as Black Lung, is all too common in
this region. Coal has indeed been an integral part of this state’s history and
encompasses a sense of pride and hard work among many generations. The coal
industry has employed a significant number of West Virginia’s population for
some time, dating back to 1742 when coal was first discovered here. Though the
coal industry has indubitably experienced a decline as West Virginia looks to other
economical outlets such as alternative energy, the health of individuals has
been uniquely and negatively impacted.
Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis is attributed to chronic inhalation of dust from high-carbon coal over decades. The coal dust accumulates around the bronchioles and alveoli, leading to coal nodules as the collagen accumulates. Ultimately fibrosis and functional impairment occur which obstructs airflow. The treatment of Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis entails pulmonary rehab, use of inhalers, and potentially supplemental oxygen. I had a chance to chat with a very nice gentleman who was participating in his session of pulmonary rehab this particular morning. He had worked in mine’s for nearly 30 years, and describes that he and his fellow employees in the mines just didn’t know the negative implications of not wearing proper protective respiratory gear. He was on his 21st of 24 sessions of pulmonary rehab, and describes how it helps him maintain and sustain other activities in his day-to-day life despite his chronic illness.
Overall, this immersion trip has been an incredible learning experience. Cabin Creek Health System and New River Health Systems function as FQHC (Federally Qualified Heath Center) in underserved areas of West Virginia which are directly impacted by various health, economic, and educational disparities. I resonate with the mission of providing holistic care to patients in primary care settings who face financial barriers and have limited access to specialty care, and this experience has further inspired me to work in an FQHC myself as an FNP.