- Home
- Programs[+]
- Getting Started[+]
- Why ACC[+]
- Locations[+]
- Newsroom[+]
- Contact Us
08/15/2016
Elizabeth Bart-Plange Opoku, a vocational nursing instructor at American Career College-Ontario, traveled to Haiti for a weeklong medical mission this April.
Opoku visited the Caribbean country with Mission Haiti, a religion-based healthcare alliance, and 14 other people. The team included a medical doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, a pastor and other lay people.
"We went as a community health outreach to serve the precious people of Bien Aime in the mountains of Haiti. These dear people have never had a visit from anyone outside their village. We took shoes, clothing, toothbrushes and medications," Opoku said. "We had to educate them on tooth brushing because they have never seen or used one in their life."
The Mission Haiti clinic provided care for newborns, children and the elderly. Most of those treated had never visited a doctor or anyone in healthcare before, Opoku said, due to the community's remote location.
"They have to walk four hours just to get to a bus to take them to a doctor in town or the city," she said.
Pregnant women and new moms were educated on breastfeeding and infant care. Clinic volunteers followed World Health Organization protocols for sexually transmitted diseases, de-worming, scabies, ring worm and baby nutrition.
"We also prepared birthing kits for the pregnant moms with simple birthing instruction in them so that if they go into labor they will have all they need to deliver safely," Opoku said. "These people live off the land, and don't have electricity. Education was a big component of this trip on disease prevention and well-baby care."
Share this story:
« Previous Post Next Post »* Required field
Ontario Campus: Voted Best Trade School in the 2021 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Readers Choice Awards
LA Campus: Voted Favorite Career College in the 2021 LA Daily News Readers Choice Awards.
OC Campus: Voted Best Career College in the 2021 San Gabriel Valley Tribune Readers Choice Awards.
Personal Information you submit through our Sites, such as your name, address and other contact information, may be collected by American Career College for internal marketing and development purposes as well as to respond to your inquiry, complete a transaction for you, or fulfill other forms of customer service. You can choose not to receive marketing from us by "unsubscribing" using the instructions in any marketing email you receive from us.
