Volume 6, Issue 1
February 2016
In this issue…
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Volunteer Opportunities
Nicaragua – Spring 2016
Pine Ridge – Spring 2016
Ethiopia – Spring 2016
Stay Connected!
Global Opportunities at home
We exist to improve the health and
well-being of the global
communities we serve by inspiring
volunteerism throughout Gundersen
Health System and local
communities.
GLOBAL PARTNERS IS A PROGRAM OF THE GUNDERSEN MEDICAL FOUNDATION,
FUNDED THROUGH PHILANTHROPY, AND FUELED BY VOLUNTEERS.
Kurt “Bubba” Thesing, Facility Operations at Gundersen, volunteered with the Global Partners team to Ethiopia in February 2016.
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Volunteer Opportunities
2016 TRIP SCHEDULE -
The trips listed below are still looking for volunteers to join their team.
NICARAGUA
TRIP DATES
End September/Early
October
Sign up deadline:
June 17, 2016
TRIP FOCUS
Early Detection of Breast Cancer training
Cervical Cancer training
Training for nursing students at University of Nica.
Early literacy training & library project
Vision Screening
VOLUNTEER OPENINGS
Provider Openings: Radiology, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology,
Optometry
Ophthalmic techs, Opticians
Clinical staff to teach at nursing school
Educators to support literacy projects
Vision screening volunteers (no clinical experience needed)
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION
TRIP DATES
July 4 – 10
TRIP FOCUS
Healing Camp for Children (in collaboration with Viterbo
Mental Health Counseling graduate program)
Behavioral Health professionals
Individuals with experience working with youth, camp
counseling, etc.
Women’s Health/Family Medicine Clinic
Specialty Clinic: Internal Medicine, Pain Management
Physical exams for Oglala Sioux Tribe police officers
Nurses, MAs and/or CNAs
Provider Openings: OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Family
Practice
Sign up deadline:
April 8, 2016
July 17 – 22
Sign up deadline:
April 8, 2016
September (mid-late)
Medical team concurrent with Youth Leadership Camp
from July 18th – 24th (led by School District of La Crosse)
Physicals in schools and Head Starts
Specialty Clinic: Rheumatology, Pulmonary or Neuro
Nurses, MAs, and/or CNAs
Provider Openings: Pediatric, Family Practice, Rheumatology,
Pulmonary, Neurology, Dermatology
Indiv. to help with pediatric physicals (no clinical exp. needed)
Women's Health/Family Medicine Clinic
Specialty Clinic: Rheumatology, Pulmonary or Neuro
Health Fair (led by School District of La Crosse)
Nurses, MAs, and/or CNAs
Provider Openings: OB/GYN, Family Practice, Rheumatology,
Pulmonary, Neurology, Dermatology
Women's Health/Family Medicine Clinic
Specialty Clinic: Rheumatology, Pulmonary or Neuro
Physicals in schools and Head Starts
Behavioral Health training for community partners (in
collaboration with Viterbo Mental Health Counseling
graduate program)
Nurses, MAs and/or CNAs
Provider Openings: OB/GYN, Rheumatology, Pulmonary,
Neurology, Dermatology
Indiv. to help with pediatric physicals (no clinical exp. needed)
Behavioral health professionals
Sign up deadline:
May 20, 2016
October 16 – 21
Sign up deadline:
June 24, 2016
November 13 – 18
Sign up deadline:
June 24, 2016
VOLUNTEER OPENINGS
ETHIOPIA
TRIP DATES
February 2017
Sign up deadline:
August 1, 2016
TRIP FOCUS
VOLUNTEER OPENINGS
Exact areas of focus TBD
May be similar to 2016 trip focus: General Surgery,
Exact Volunteer roles needed TBD
May be similar to 2016 Volunteer Roles: General Surgeons,
Podiatry, Dental, OB/GYN, Vision Screening, Sewing
Anesthetists/CRNAs, RNs, Surgery Techs, Podiatrists, Dentists
or Oral Surgeon, Dental Assistants, OB/GYN, Individuals to
support vision screening (no clinical experience needed)
INTERESTED IN
VOLUNTEERING?
Click here to fill out a Volunteer Form. If you are a repeat volunteer,
email Global Partners at [email protected]. Check out
our website in 2016 for the most recent trip dates and volunteer needs.
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Matagalpa Region, Nicaragua
A Low-Cost Model to Improve Early Detection of Breast Cancer
in Nicaragua Edited from a Bridges article, published February 25, 2016
Global Partners has developed a unique model to successfully promote breast
health in Nicaragua: Start with a women’s bra, sew in a few lumps, and add
some padding. Then, use it to teach someone how to do a breast exam.
Judy Klevan, MD, Medical Lead for the Global Partner-Nicaragua program,
shares how the idea handmade self-exam breast models got started. “Corinne
up 100
word statement,
Weis
[Physician
Assistant about
at Gundersen] and I were developing a training
program to improve survival for women with breast cancer in Nicaragua,
through promoting early detection.”
They initially looked into buying medical models; however, after realizing the
cost per model would be in the hundreds, Corinne came up with the idea of
sewing low-cost homemade models instead. With materials found from toy
store and hardware store, local volunteers were able to sew models for as little
as $25 each.
Global Partners volunteers use the models to teach midwives, community
health workers, nursing students and other health care providers in Nicaragua
how to do a complete clinical breast exam. These individuals then use the
models to educate women in their own communities.
“We hope through the use of the breast models and the associated training
that we could encourage women to check their breasts regularly and present
to a health care provider when a concerning lump could be evaluated and
treated in a more appropriate manner,” says Corinne.
This project wouldn’t happen without the help of many volunteers. Both skilled
local seamstresses and those with basic sewing skills can easily learn to make
the models. This is an opportunity for individuals to help with the project
without traveling to Nicaragua. If interested in helping with this project,
please contact the GP office at 608-775-9883 or email
[email protected].
March Volunteer Teams –
What’s to come!
Two volunteer teams will be traveling to
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Nicaragua, one from March 4-11 and
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the other from March 6-13 , to work on
a variety of initiatives.
The volunteers on the first team will be
comprised of Viterbo University
students enrolled in a course teaching
about interprofessional values, ethics,
roles and responsibility with a focus on
effective communication across cultural
and professional differences. They will
spend time doing a home stay, building
connections at the University of
Nicaragua (UNAN), and engaging in
observation and some hands-on
activities with the Global Partners team.
The Global Partners team leaving March
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6 consists of medical professionals and
several community members. This
group plans to provide training at Fara
Clinic and UNAN to improve the early
detection of breast and cervical cancer,
as well as continued efforts supporting
early literacy and lending libraries.
Follow the Nicaragua team
adventures on their blog!
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D.
Behavioral Health Training
In the summer of 2015, the Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling
Program at Viterbo University began working with Global Partners to support
mental health training in collaboration with Pine Ridge Reservation partners. We
are excited about the opportunity for our graduate students to provide staff
training and prevention services and experience mutual learning with the Oglala
Lakota people.
Our participation in the Healing Camp for Children last summer and the Health Fair
at several reservation schools last fall has helped Viterbo faculty and students
become more familiar with Lakota culture and begin the process of connecting
with individuals on the reservation. In November, a small team in conjunction with
Gundersen Behavioral Health staff provided training for the Youth Shelter, Housing
Authority and Head Start.
Love + Medicine =
Keeping strong hearts on Pine Ridge
Global Partners purchased and delivered six
refurbished AED units to the Oglala Sioux Tribe
Justice Department in February! The units will be
used by police officers who are frequently the first
responders to cardiac emergencies on the
reservation.
Thank you for your financial support which makes
purchasing resources like these possible!
In March, we are planning to offer Mental Health training for Law Enforcement for
the first time. The central focus for all training is to help tribal agencies gain
additional knowledge and skills to better serve the community.
By Gary Robbins, Assistant Professor, Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling
Program, Viterbo University
March and April Volunteer
Teams – What’s to come!
First Aid Fair
The March volunteer team consists of a
This will be the fourth year for me traveling to Pine Ridge to teach first aid at the
schools. I usually put on a car accident scene with my victim moulaged with various
gruesome injuries. I think this has been very impactful for the students to put in
perspective the danger of not wearing seatbelts. In addition, it usually opens
dialogue with the students about instances when someone is injured from not
wearing a seatbelt, leading to discussion about the importance car safety.
small group of behavioral health
I also work in collaboration with the Health Science Academy students, who run 6
hands-on first aid stations during the fair. It has been very rewarding to see the
students from La Crosse interact and connect with the Pine Ridge students. In the
end I think the kids on both sides realize that although their circumstances are
different they are all actually more alike with similar social issues.
medical volunteers will offer Rheumatology
By Lori Miskell, RN
Clinical Manager, Hospital Operations, Gundersen Health System
professionals, including 1 faculty and 3
students from Viterbo’s Mental Health
Counseling program, planning to deliver
training on “trauma to resilience” for police
officers on the reservation. A group of
and Women’s Health services at Wanblee
Clinic during the week.
Global Partners is engaged in several
initiatives with a multi-faceted group of
volunteers in April! A seasoned team of
medical volunteers and La Crosse Health
Science Academy students will be joined by
several undergraduate and graduate nursing
students from Viterbo. This team will be
providing first aid fairs at reservation
schools, CPR training, Pulmonary and
Internal Medicine services at Wanblee Clinic,
and physical exams for students at Head
Starts and schools.
Follow the Pine Ridge team
adventures on their blog!
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Yetebon, Ethiopia
The first two GP teams of the year,
comprised of 31 volunteers, departed for
Ethiopia in February!
In collaboration with our partner Project
Mercy, these teams offered expertise in
General Surgery, Podiatry, Dental, Ob/Gyn,
Vision Screening, and Equipment Repair.
Read below for some excerpts that take
you to the blog, which contains many more
amazing stories from their journey!
On the surgical side…
“The day started off on a high note as new life burst forth in Operating Theater 1.
Brian had the fortune of being able to assist with bringing twins into the world.
The first breath cries bounced off the walls soliciting joy from each person that
had ears to hear. As the day progressed, planned and unplanned cases made their
way into and out of the operating suites. Besides babies, there were removals of
prostates, dermoid cysts, and fibroadenomas. Good times!”
By Jeremiah Galvan, RN
Click here to read more from this blog entry!
Team Podiatry
“Just as patients are unknowing of what treatment might lie ahead, we truly have no
insight into what may present to our clinic. At times we were challenged by the
unpredictable nature of our day and the barriers to seemingly straight forward
conservative treatments…Given these obstacles, we worry many patients may struggle to
follow recommendations given. Thankfully, we were able to help many people, and even
saw one patient as a 1 year follow-up from surgery last year, who was very happy to see
us again and reported positive results from her prior surgery.”
By Devin Simonson, DPM, and Stephanie Grove, RN
Click here to read more from this blog entry!
A Lesson in kindness and gratitude!
“The first grade teacher’s focus this semester is teaching the children the concept of
kindness and gratitude… The children line up to have a good scrubbing of their feet.
During the washing process, their feet are inspected for signs of a parasite. Those
who are identified with this then go to one of our nurses to have it literally dug out,
and then some antiseptic is applied… It is so heartwarming that when they are finally
finished with the process, with the new shoes on their feet, many of these beautiful
little ones whisper, “Thank You” to us before going back to class. Kindness and
gratitude. A good lesson for first graders and a good lesson for all of us as well.
What a change this could make!”
By Sig Gundersen, MD, and Jean Ann Gundersen
Click here to read more from this blog entry!
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Stay Connected!
Noon Conferences
National Volunteer Week: April 10-16
Recognizing and celebrating the efforts of Global Partners
volunteers as well as all volunteers worldwide.
National Volunteer Week has become a nationwide effort to
encourage people to become involved in their community,
state, nation or world for the past 40 years. Since Global
Partners began in 2009, more than 470 individuals have
volunteered in our partner communities!
To celebrate volunteerism and connect with former and
current GP volunteers, we invite you to participate in
Volunteer Socials being planned for this spring. Dates and
locations for these Socials will be shared next month.
These presentations are held in the Overholt Auditorium on
the La Crosse Campus from 12:15-1pm. These presentations
are free and open to the public. Lunch served at noon.
Global Partners Presentations
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Tues., March 29 – Nicaragua Vision Screening presentation
SAVE THE DATES: 4/6, 4/28 and 5/11 – reserved for GP
presentations, topics and presenters to be determined
Other Cultural Presentations
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Tues., March 8 – Heath care and the Hispanic community
Wed., March 16 – Health care and the Amish community
Team Blogs
Follow our teams as they venture to Global Partners sites to develop
community partnerships, empower communities and improve their health
and overall quality of life.
Like us on Facebook to receive weekly
updates on Global Partners projects,
fundraisers, events and trip information!
Ethiopia Blog
Nicaragua Blog
Pine Ridge Blog
Opportunity to Support Nursing Education
Globally – Stay tuned!
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National Nurses Week, May 6-12 , celebrates the essential role
nurses play in providing compassion and quality care to
patients. This week acknowledges the strong commitment and
compassion nurses display in their practice and profession.
In recognition of National Nurses Week, Global Partners will
be offering the opportunity to support nursing education in
our partner communities. Funds raised will fund nursing
scholarships and textbooks. More details coming soon!
Gratitude, Culture, Listen, Connections, Patience, Community, Experience, Service
Volume 6 Issue 1 February 2016
GLOBAL PARTNERS E-NEWSLETTER
Global Opportunities at Home
Cultural Coffee Hour
CITIZEN DIPLOMATS
Join UW-La Crosse students, faculty, staff and others from the La Crosse
community at a Cultural Coffee Hour this spring! Cultural Coffee Hour is
a space to engage in global conversations on a specific topic.
2016 CITIZEN DIPLOMACY CELEBRATION
SAVE THE DATE!
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016
The Cargill Room at Riverside Center South
332 Front Street South, La Crosse
5:30 pm Social Hour
6:30 pm Dinner and Program
Join World Services of La Crosse for the 2016 Citizen Diplomacy
Celebrations. This event focuses on bringing awareness to the power
and importance of citizen diplomacy and to celebrate local efforts to
improve the quality of life for citizens of the world and, ultimately,
move us closer to a peaceful planet.
For information about attending the celebration, please call
World Services 608-781-4194 or email [email protected].
Dates/Topics:
March 9 – National Heroes
March 28 – Sports
April 4 – Rural/City Life
April 26 – History
Time: 5-6pm
Where: 1300 Hall of Nations/ Centennial Hall / UW-L Campus
Tickets: No Ticket necessary / Free Admission
Click here for more information or contact UW-L International
Education & Engagement.
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro for a Cause
Join a local La Crosse organization “Global Groundwork” for the trip of a lifetime climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest
mountain in Africa and one of the "Seven Summits." All proceeds from the trip will go to support Global Groundwork’s
efforts in building a community/vocational school in Cite Soleil, Haiti. For more information,
please contact Mitch Lown at (608) 769-4635 or email at [email protected].
51st Annual International Banquet
Date: Saturday, April 16, 2016
Time: 6:30-9 p.m. / Doors Open at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Valhalla / Cartwright Center / UW-L Campus
Tickets: $25/ person or $20/student
This year marks the 51st anniversary of the International Banquet.
The UW-La Crosse International Engagement & Education (IEE) invites
the La Crosse community to attend this year's International Banquet!
Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.
International Women’s Day
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2016
Time: 5 p.m. Appetizers / 5:30 p.m. Program Start
Where: Hall of Nations / 1300 Centennial Hall / UW-L Campus
Tickets: No Ticket necessary / Free Admission
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Celebrate International Women’s Day on March 10 by attending
the Fourth Annual International Women’s Day program sponsored
by AAUW, Global Partners, and other community organizations. This
year’s panelists from Congo, Malaysia, Myanmar and Sweden will be
discussing their personal experiences regarding women’s rights and
gender parity in their country of origin and in the United States.