In a few short days, a group of Johns Hopkins nursing students will leave for Haiti for a 10-day Public Health Nursing clinical rotation. While there we will volunteer in a clinic, hike into rural communities to do health teaching, and participate in a water and sanitation project through Friends for Health in Haiti. We will use a train-the-trainer model of community engagement and sustainability while working with this organization, an organization which JHUSON students have been working with for years. At the clinic we will assist in patient care and provide education on hypertension, Diabetes, germ theory, and hydration. In the rural communities we will teach the same topics but also discuss water sanitation and “tippy taps” (low cost hand washing stations). With the Friends for Health in Haiti promoters, we will teach more in depth water and sanitation issues with the ultimate long term goal of decrease incidence and prevalence of diarrheal illness and cholera in Haiti.
We have been hard at work raising money for our trip. We are bringing down medical supplies and also will make donations to the organization and clinic. As well as reaching out to various organizations, we have been holding lots of fundraising events the School of Nursing. We held some bake sales, a taco sale for Cinco de Mayo, a card sale for Christmas and for Mother’s Day, and a craft sale.
