Dear Nannette,

I just wanted to tell you a brief summary of our wonderful trip to St. Boniface (March 2-7).

Our team which consisted of an OT, PT, two computer whizzes, 2 nurses (not including Sandy) and a nurse practitioner accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.

Our OT/PT team was phenomenal.  They went to work right away doing their magic with the paraplegics and spinal cord injured patients from the USS Comfort.  We saw people walking for the first time, getting into wheelchairs, sitting up and communicating and they left a wealth of information behind with detailed notes for the next team that comes along.  Lucy Shenk, the OT, and Sarah Suter, the PT, were so inspired by our hospital and the care that was given to these people.  They felt that God directed them there to be reinvigorated in their profession and to use their God given skills.  What is remarkable is that I found them or they found me, one week before leaving on this trip.  I know Conor and the staff were so impressed with their compassion and skills.

I was able to work with another nurse and do wound care, clean bedsores and give a Grand Rounds talk to the Haitian nurses and doctors on Wound Care Management.  My clinical specialty is dermatology and it was put to great use.  Your new head nurse, Ms. Matu (sp?) got right in there with me and I had her doing all the dressing changes the last day.  We put together a wound care kit that she can carry around with her and the staff can refer to whenever needed to change these wounds.  I left them my talk on a flash drive that they downloaded and we printed the instructions in Creole so the nurse can refer to them.  I am always so impressed with the nursing care and I can see how Ms. Matu has really taken responsibility for her nurses since assuming the leadership position.

Sandy and Magdala, the nurse practitioner, were available whenever needed by all of us.  It was nice to see that Sandy was able to go to Lakay Granmoun for the first time with us.  I believe she really enjoyed it.  I can't say enough of Marta, the caretaker for the seniors, and of course Ellen Bolden, their wonderful advocate and administrator.  We left Lakay Granmoun knowing what great care the seniors were receiving.  And we also brought a bedside commode for Abraham and a walker for Lerrisson.  Maria, one of my nurses, also got into an animated dominos game with them which was so entertaining.

Our trip was enlightening, stimulating, awe-inspiring and God driven just witnessing the incredible majesty of what is being accomplished at St. Boniface.  Don't ever forget how much Queen of Peace Catholic Community is committed to this ministry as Father Jeff and our staff are daily advocates for this phenomenal institution.  Our twice yearly trips are already full and if we are needed at anytime, our community is commited to doing whatever God needs us to do.  I am so blessed to have listened to the Holy Spirit when he opened my heart to take on this ministry.  And it has been all the wonderful parishoners at Queen of Peace that make these trips possible.

Lastly, I can't tell you how lucky we are to have Conor Shapiro, Ellen Bolden, Nancy, and Betsy Sherwood as part of your core team at St. Boniface right now.  The energy, enthusiasm, committment, dedication to St. Boniface and everything it stands for is inspiring and truly God directed.  Dr. Blaise did a wonderful job stepping in for Dr. Pierre who was on vacation and his smile lights up the hospital and everyone around him.

As you can tell, St. Boniface will be a part of my life for the rest of my life.  I thank God for giving me this opportunity in my life to make a difference, to be inspired and to inspire others to give of themselves.  Everyone who leaves Fond des Blancs comes away touched and changed for the rest of their lives.  I hope you know that in years to come I am willing to do anything at anytime to promote St. Boniface and keep in moving in the direction it is right now..... a beacon of hope for these wonderful Haitian people.  

God Bless,

Janine

 

[1 comments]

Submit a comment:

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.