Off-site programs at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), extend not only beyond Morris County, New Jersey, but beyond the United States. Students, faculty and volunteers annually depart on learning missions around the globe. The most recent was to the Dominican Republic, where 47 volunteers spent an intensive week concentrating on physical and mental health care in rural areas of that nation.

 

“When we packed for our Dominican trip, we didn’t need new resort-type clothes,” said Dr. Eileen Specchio, CSE director of Undergraduate Programs in Nursing. “We each packed two suitcases filled to the 50 lb. limit with bandages, anti-inflammatories, vitamins, anti-parasitics, antibiotics and other medical supplies. The Dominican Republic we visited was not the all-inclusive tourist destination known to most Americans. In fact, we slept on church basement floors, took cold showers and ate food prepared by local volunteers. And, we loved it so much; this was a return trip for many of us.”

 

The CSE volunteers worked through the Foundation for Peace, who arranged for the clinics, transportation, local doctors and interpreters throughout the trip.

 

Nurses used experience garnered from their initial Dominican trip in 2007 to fine-tune the clinics for this year. They also relied on their years of training in specialties such as diabetic counseling, perinatal, emergency room and mental health nursing. A mental health component, coordinated by Dr. Thomas Barrett of the CSE graduate Counseling Psychology program, was added to the mission. All students had the option to obtain course credit for the trip as part of their nursing or psychology curriculum. Some participants just opted to get the continuing education units offered.

 

 

  

Drs. Specchio and Barrett. (Photo by Courtney Smolen)

 

Routine physical exams were conducted in portable health clinics (much like M.A.S.H. units) that had been set up in churches. Blood pressures and blood sugars were screened. Areas served were within a reasonable drive of Santo Domingo airport and included towns of Villa Villamella, Tres Brassas and San Juaquin.  Patients pre-registered for the examinations at their churches before the actual trip, which ran from May 28 through June 2. Approximately 100 to 130 families of five-to-seven members each were examined daily at each of the four clinics conducted. In addition, 100 families were seen through house calls to sugar plantations known as “batayes.”

 

“Health service in the Dominican Republic is irregular,” said Dr. Specchio. “Our clinics might be the only time some of these people see a health practitioner all year. So, we not only conducted physical exams and distributed basic supplies such as cough syrup, vitamins and pain medicines, but we tried to emphasize the importance of keeping health records and maintaining basic hygiene and following up on referrals that were made.”

 

 

  

CSE students and faculty members riding the bus in the Dominican Republic. (Photo by Dr. Barrett)

 

They saw patients with coughs, colds, and gastrointestinal symptoms as well as more serious cases of skin rashes, diabetes hypertension and cancer.

 

While nurses were conducting these physical exams, students in the college’s counseling psychology program ran seminars on domestic violence. “First we met with local psychologists and then we customized our group workshops to an audience of church leaders and educators,” said Dr. Thomas Barrett, assistant professor of Psychology at CSE. “We tried to assist them in acquiring methods to understand and counsel victims of domestic violence.”

 

 

  

CSE students visiting local residents’ homes. (Photo by Dr. Barrett) 

 

“It was quite an experience,” said Dr. Barrett. “Very poignant…very sobering.” He emphasized that students learned the importance of looking at the patient as a whole – making sure their basic physical needs are met first (i.e. the physical exams) and then, looking at counseling options.

 

“I was impressed with how well our graduate students handled some very stressful situations,” he said, “There is nothing like field work.”

 

Dr. Specchio, who spearheaded the trip last year as a tribute to her late daughter, Emily– a tireless volunteer to the Dominican Republic — shares this sentiment: “These trips are very rewarding,” she added during a recent interview. “It provides our students with experiences that you simply can’t get in a traditional classroom. And, it aligns perfectly with our college’s mission of service learning and social justice.”

 

Plans are already underway for next year’s trip. Fund-raising efforts and corporate sponsorships are being sought to offset costs to the students, who all pay their own transportation expenses for the trips.