A group of Munson Healthcare Team members recently returned from a medical mission trip to Guatemala and participated in the dedication of a new nursing school.
Since 2017, close to 100 Healthcare Team members from across the system have volunteered their time and talents to provide medical clinics and house calls in three remote villages where they work alongside village leaders, volunteers and healers.
John Cox, Executive Director for Surgical Services at MHC, has organized and led the trips since he started working in the villages in 2015 with a church team.
“Munson Healthcare staff, physicians and community members across northern Michigan have been coming down in teams three times per year, except for the last two years when I have only taken two small teams due to COVID-19 (each of those in May),” John explained.
MHC Staff Participate in Nursing School Dedication
During the trip, John and the team participated in the dedication of a new nursing school, which John, his daughter and Mission Impact, the non-profit that runs the school, have been working to open since 2016.
“We’ve worked with them, along with the Guatemalan Minister of Health, on the hiring criteria for the instructors, selection criteria/process for students and fundraising to cover the building, curriculum and education costs,” he said.
The school, which opened on April 18 with 16 students and 4 educators, has earned government certification, which allows the nurses to work in any hospital in Guatemala. As a special touch to the ceremony, John hand delivered letters of encouragement, celebration and support from six MHC system nurses to all of the nursing students and educators at the school.
“The students were deeply moved by our nurses’ words of inspiration and they wanted them to know they will treasure these letters from their future peers,” John said.
A MHC team is planning to return this winter and hopes to have the nursing students join them in the village clinics as part of their clinical rotations. For more information about joining the team, contact John Cox at jcox02@mhc.net.
Pictured: From top clockwise, the MHC team members (Heidi Hammond, Food and Nutrition Services; Dr. Scott Groseclose, Great Lakes Orthopaedic Center; Dr. Walt Noble, MMC Chief Medical Officer and John Cox) along with interpreters and Guatemalan team members.