Thursday, January

Hello from Uganda!

The Holy Innocents hospital site lies near the Rwizi River, which runs through the middle of Mbarara. The chemistry team’s focus on this trip has been to measure the water quality of the Rwizi above and below the hospital site, and make recommendations on how to minimize any negative effects the hospital might have. They have tested before and after rain, and have also taken measurements at various places around Monfort House and even the bottled water we have been drinking.

And now a short biology lesson: first, a coliform bacteria is a single-celled organism capable of growing into a colony. Second, E. coli is an example of a coliform bacteria that originates from the feces of any vertebrate, be it human, bird, etc. Third, an E. coli discovery in an American restaurant is enough to close it on the spot. Fourth, the maximum number of E. coli OK in water coming out of an American tap is zero. Finally, when fecal coliform levels reach 400 colonies cultured per 100 ml of water (about 3 oz.), state officials close San Diego’s beaches because the water will make you sick.

Now consider this: Fecal coliform bacteria in the Rwizi River is at least double the maximum amount allowed on San Diego’s beaches. The chemistry team judged that it is unhealthy to bathe, drink or use river water for any purpose unless it is boiled for at least 5 minutes. Other water sources such as springs and wells are equally tainted with fecal coliform bacteria. The team’s bottom line: publicly available sources of water won’t be safe for the Holy Innocents hospital.

The Rwizi River is not polluted by any single source, they found, but by the human impact on the river as it travels through Mbarara – people bathing, using it as a toilet, animals drinking from it and cooling themselves off, and so on. Still, the pediatric hospital will have a duty not to make the river worse, so the team will recommend that medical wastes be burned in a sealed incinerator.

We meet with the Archbishop and the local committee tonight. Wish us luck!

Wednesday, January 16

Hello from Uganda!

Sorry it has been so long since the last posting. A lot has been going on, and we have been out of town. Since we cannot post photos due to slow connection speed, here are some word pictures and anecdotes of the past few days . . .

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Two days before arriving in Uganda, we “buzingu” began taking a drug called malarone, which greatly reduces the risk of malaria if bit by a mosquito. Malarone is a relatively new drug which has some unpleasant side effects (Lea has been suffering some of them), but nothing compared to its predecessor, Lariam. Lariam is notorious for causing nightmares, depression, hair loss and, in some cases, outright psychosis, while delivering its “benefit,” some protection from malaria.

So it was a shock to learn that Lariam is what the Peace Corps provides its volunteers posted to malaria-zone countries such as Uganda. We learned this from Diana, a PC volunteer from Omaha, who we met at Ibanda.

Diana was a kick! She was so happy to see us, she said, because she could speak English as fast as she wanted to without worrying that she would not be understood. We were fast friends after a few beers in the local “guest house.” (And don’t worry, we went with the blessings of the sisters at Ibanda.)

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Evenings at Monfort House are straight out of "Leave It to Beaver," with a little beer thrown in. We play cards, dominoes or Scattergories, or just sit together, laugh, tell stories, or talk about school and work. In fact, that's what's going on right now as I write this. Last Saturday night was a typical quiet evening when, in the middle of a card game, Dr. Hunter excused herself to answer the call of nature.

Thirty seconds later the alarm sounded: "Dave, could you come here a minute and get this frog out of the toilet?" Turns out a teacup-sized frog was clinging to the inside of the bowl. Dave, Kyle and Eric used a spoon and a ladle to capture the guy, but it was no-go from his side. They ended up dispatching him with a flush, back to the septic field he came from.

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Father Charlie Beirne, the Monfort father who is the guru of Monfort House here in Mbarara, has returned from his Monfort meeting in Malawi. Those of us who met Charlie last year were very glad to see him, as he adds dash of spice to life here. Charlie is Ireland-born, England-raised, and is a Leeds United soccer fanatic. The doors of other fathers' rooms are decorated with Madonnas, crosses and other church symbols. Charlie's sports a collection of soccer memorabilia from his favorite team.

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If it has wheels in Uganda, it's being used, and used to the max. There is no such thing here as one person in a car. All cars, and in fact, all vehicles -- petrol or person-powered -- is loaded to the maximum with people and goods.

Today I saw a Toyota Corolla holding 3 people in the front seat, 5 adults and 3 children in the back seat, bags of rice on the shelf behind their heads, 3 layers of packages strapped to the roof, and the back window completely blocked by 3 rolled foam mattresses tied to the trunk. When gas in the US reaches the same price as here -- $15/gallon -- maybe we will do the same thing.

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The bird that sounds like a car alarm is sounding so it's time for bed.

We welcome your comments, and send love from beautiful Uganda.

Monday, January 14

Monday, January 14

This must be a quick entry because we are up early tomorrow for a trip to the far western border of Uganda. But I will try very hard to bring this blog up to date on Wednesday.

All is well here. We received a wonderful invitation from Bosco, who has driven our bus for many, many kilometres on this trip and on the last one, to visit his home for a pork dinner. We went Sunday night and had the best pork EVER cooked by his younger brother Felix. Also fresh tomatoes from the local market and finely shredded cabbage. Have I mentioned the food here is great?

Tonight we decided to reciprocate, so we spent most of day shopping and preparing a meal for Bosco and his family, Sisters Germina & Margaret, the ladies of Monfort House who do all the cooking and cleaning for us, Fathers Bonaventure and John Mary, and Brother Phillippe (who is from Madagascar and is staying at Monfort in transit to another post).

We recruited Felix for another round of pork BBQ, and made mango-pineapple salsa, beans, fresh peas, rice and more, topped off by a monumental cake made by Vennie, Monfort House’s kitchen chief, with ingredients from all the other kitchen ladies. It was a feast, kicked off by a tropical rainstorm straight out of “African Queen.” We will always remember this night.

Much more, including some “snapshots” of Uganda, in the next posting.

Friday, January 11Part 1

Hello from Uganda!

The nurses trekked west to Bushenyi yesterday for a return visit to St. Daniel Comboni Hospital. We were housed at a combination priests’ retreat house/woodshop/vehicle storage facility, which may sound odd to you at home, but is totally ordinary in Uganda. And we had hot water, which was a real treat.

After the formal welcome we get everywhere, Matt and Dr. Hunter went to the pediatric ward, Robin to the outpatient department, Dave to the HIV clinic, Kathy to maternity and Joanne to post-surgery. Matt and Dr. Hunter made the rounds of the peds patients doing assessments, and later meeting with Dr. Moses to discuss treatment plans. Both reported that they were quite impressed with the currency of Dr. Moses medical knowledge, especially of HIV and malaria patients. The Ugandan Health Ministry reports that 20% of all hospital admissions in Uganda are for malaria, but that percentage is much higher among children because of their unique vulnerability to malaria and its complications.

Malaria symptoms include high fever, chills, sweats, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. For children, the dehydration that goes along with these symptoms is a much more serious matter than it is for adults. Thus they can die of dehydration much more quickly. Not surprisingly, malaria also suppresses the immune system (normally not fully mature in babies anyway), making an HIV-positive child more likely to develop full-blown AIDS.

Anemia is another complication of malaria and, again, children are much more vulnerable to it. The malaria-causing parasite attacks oxygen-carrying red blood cells causing hemolysis, and invades the liver. Where an adult with malaria may feel like she has the flu and generally weak, a small child will die. The Ugandan government has numerous programs to fight malaria and teach how to recognize and treat its symptoms, but Dr. Moses said that it still makes up more than 70 percent of pediatric admissions to Comboni Hospital.

When we reconvened for lunch, Robin reported her surprise that Comboni’s outpatient department operates very much like an urgent care clinic in the US. Patients sign in, take a number, see a “clinical officer” (equivalent to nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant in America), have lab tests, receive a treatment plan and any medications they need. Dave reported similar efficiency in the HIV clinic, as did Joanne for the post-surgical patients, most of whom were being treated for the same ailments that affect Americans: hernias, abdominal adhesions, abdominal and lung cancer.

Kathy, our neonatal nurse, was partnering with a midwife, and they found a mother in the late stages of labor. Although they were hopeful that the mom would deliver to allow Kathy a chance to use her skills, baby was not yet ready for her debut.

St. Daniel Comboni Hospital faces the same problems that all health care facilities do in Uganda -- shortages of money and supplies, power outages, patients who wait too long for care. Yet we were impressed by the spirit and professionalism we saw there, probably owing in large part to Dr. Thompson, Comboni’s medical director, and Sister Gertrude, the chief nursing officer.

We rejoined the sisters for dinner after an afternoon break . It was dark, and since streetlights don’t exist in rural Uganda, we donned our headlights for the 200 yard walk over uneven ground. This delighted the locals, who live in a small collection of homes outside the hospital gate. Buzungu, they call us, which we used to think meant “crazy white people,” but now we think it means “person who has traveled to different places.” We’re hoping it’s the latter, but to their eyes that evening, it was probably the former. We also had a hard time convincing the night watchman that we were legitimate hospital visitors, what with the headlights and all. But Dr. Hunter started dropping names of the hospital’s bigwigs , which impressed him enough to unlock the gate. A wonderful Ugandan dinner awaited us, followed by a colossal evening of brightest stars any of us had seen in a long time.

The business and chemistry students joined us the next morning for their first up-close look at a Ugandan hospital. After a tour, they scored a major coup by securing from Comboni’s business director and staff a very complete set of the hospital’s financials. This is critical information for us, as it is our only guide to how much Holy Innocents and its supporters will have to raise. They learned, for example, that more than half the hospital’s operating income last year came from donors (Catholic Relief Services being the biggest), and one-third from patient fees. If you are bringing in a sick child, you will pay a flat fee of 3,000 Ugandan shillings, or $1.75, for your child’s stay. And if you’re an expectant mother, expect to pay 10,000 Ugandan shillings, or about $6, for an uncomplicated delivery. Your family will bring all your food and do your daily non-medical care while you are there.

After a bus ride back to Mbarara, we lunched at the Agip Hotel, recommended to us by some Peace Corps volunteers we’ve met. We feasted on pizza, Indian food and club sandwiches. As good as the Ugandan food is, we were glad to get it. There were lots of Buzungu there too. Then a few of us took off in the tropical sun for a walk back to Monfort House. We knew it was a ways away, but 1 hour and 45 minutes later, hot, tired and thirsty, we trudged in.

Please post your comments. We’d love to hear from you.

Wednesday, January 9 Part 2

Wednesday, January 9 Part 2

The nurses went to Ibanda Hospital, about 55 km north of Mbarara. We visited there last year, but yesterday and today got a first-hand look at how difficult health care can be in a developing country. The hospital is run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Counsel, an order that focuses on teaching, health and social service.

Joanne was dispatched with Sister Stella to an immunization/prenatal clinic in Ruyonza, which took place in a tiny brick church with no glass in the windows, and a very small adjacent mud hut where the expectant mothers were examined and counseled. The rest of the team spread out through the pediatric units of the hospital. It was a very difficult and discouraging visit.

The hospital is critically understaffed, and very heavily dependent on the labor of students from the adjacent nursing school. Thus there are portions of the hospital where very sick children receive little monitoring from fully trained medical staff. An example that touched all of us was a four-day-old infant brought to the hospital the night before. The child was blue at birth, had never cried or breathed properly, and had yet to feed from her mother’s breast. The political unrest in neighboring Kenya has driven the cost of gas up to $15/gallon, putting motorized transport out of the reach of most people. The child’s parents were unable to get her to the hospital, and after four days without adequate respiration she was presumed to be brain-damaged from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

We found her in the “premature unit,” or what we in the US would call neonatal intensive care. She was lying flat in an isolette, barely breathing and with a very slow, irregular heart rate. Her lungs were full of fluid. No nurse was present; we learned that the nurse in charge of the premature unit also had responsibility for the laboring mothers in the next room. A new mother had arrived and the nurse was busy admitting her. Thus she was forced to leave a critically ill child alone. When she returned Kathy, our neonatal intensive care nurse, suggested elevating the baby’s head, suctioning her airways and reapplying supplemental oxygen. (The child had been receiving oxygen but the power went out overnight and it was discontinued. When power returned, the single nasal cannula on the unit was applied to another baby. By morning, the second baby was doing well enough to breathe on his own, but the cannula had not been returned to the sicker baby. Now she was near death.) With a little help breathing, the baby perked up and moved a little.

When the team returned, the baby was back at the brink of death. The nurse concluded that since the mother had not returned to the baby’s bedside for hours, she had resigned herself to her child’s death. They decided to discontinue the oxygen and let nature take its course. Sister Margaret quickly baptized the child and the mother was sent for, for a last good-bye. It was a very difficult moment and, to be honest, some of us could not remain in the room. Some of us were thinking the thought that inevitably occurs in the developing world, “If only the child were in the US . . .” But we weren’t at home, and decisions are different here.

Anita Hunter picked up the baby to hand it to its mother. With the touch and movement, the baby aroused again. When the doctor arrived, he prescribed hydrocortisone to reduce inflammation and swelling, and thus help the child breathe. Kathy showed the nurses a technique used at her hospital, adapting a nasogastric tube with a syringe from her backpack to perform deep suction and clear the child’s lungs at a lower point than can be achieved by shallow bulb suction. The child again revived again but was still cyanotic.

We discussed the situation with Dr. Emmanuel, Ibanda’s medical director. Our question was, when the power went out and oxygen was no longer available for the child, could the hospital’s diesel-powered back-up generator have been turned on? His answer was no; it is the hospital’s policy not to turn on its generator for a single patient, no matter how ill. It cannot afford to. We left with heavy hearts and, to be honest, a significant amount of conflict among us as to what would have been the right course to follow. We don’t know the child’s fate.

What happened at Ibanda raises some tough choices for the Holy Innocents project. First, the child’s condition -- extremely fragile to begin with -- was made worse because the hospital cannot afford to be adequately staffed. Had a nurse been assigned solely to the premature unit, the baby’s deterioration would have been discovered sooner. What will be possible at Holy Innocents?

Second, the premature unit had only the most basic equipment, an oxygen concentrator to give supplemental oxygen to a single baby, and a suction machine operated by foot pedal. There was no heart monitoring equipment or any resuscitation gear other than an ambu-bag (like TV doctors use when the order is “bag ‘em”). Will Holy Innocents be able to go further? Is it appropriate to go further? These are decisions for the Mbarara community and its supporters to make.

Your comments are welcome.

Wednesday, Jan. 9 Part 1

Wednesday, January 9 Part 1

Hello from Uganda!

Today we met the nitty-gritty of Uganda, face to face, but more on that in a little bit.

Our chemistry team has been hard at work collecting 3 liters at each of 6 sites along the Rwizi River, which runs through town and adjacent to the hospital site. Note: this involves carrying 20 lbs. of water for some 8 miles, and inventing their own sampling tools, including a liter jug taped to a 10-foot-long stick. So far they have 27 petri dishes in culture, and 100 tubes collected. They are culturing for bacteria , and for heavy metals (lead, mercury), organic pollutants such as pesticides, and performing general water quality tests for pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and the presence of nutrients (phosphate, nitrogen and ammonia).

And they have had their share of, shall we say, encounters with the local residents. For example, their companion on one of their sampling trips was Isaac, an enterprising young man of undetermined age (my guess: 13) who approached them on Monday offering his services as a guide. On another venture, they found their preselected sampling site to also be the bathtub of a few local men. Raffaela and Ashley insisted that Dr. Bolender do the sampling at that place.

The business team has spent the last 2 days visiting local businesses and enterprising individuals. They’ve met a family-owned business, BM Industries Ltd., that began as a small lumber and carpentry business in 1980. Through civil unrest, economic upturns and downslides, the Kajumba family has continued to grow the business into new areas - steel, nail manufacturing, oxygen bottling and more. All the family’s children received education in England, and, according to Kyle, daughter Agripina is a very impressive person.

At the other end of the spectrum are the “Poor Clares,” a cloistered order of nuns we visited last year on Palm Sunday. Although they never leave their cloister, the Clares welcomed the business team warmly and served what have become some of the products they have developed. A special favorite are what we nicknamed the Holy Crunchies, which are lightly salted crispies made from leftover dough from which host wafers are made. Corrine reported that one of them tasted the crunchies, then another, then another, and pretty soon the whole group was scarfing them down and urging the sisters to market their product in the community, in several flavors.

Between these two extremes were visits to a winery, a flower-growing enterprise and numerous visits to local shopping areas and street markets. All of these businesses could grow, they found, but are hampered by one common problem - the lack of capital to expand. For example, the flower grower could easily double the size of her business if she could afford to buy piping to irrigate the empty plot next to hers. But credit and loans are not widely used in Uganda, team has found, and that’s a problem they will have to consider as they make their recommendations.

Chemistry takes a day off tomorrow after spending one day in the field and two in the lab, and the business team continues its journeys around commercial Mbarara. On Friday both groups will go to Comboni Hospital to meet up with the nurses and get their first look at health care in Uganda.

Monday, January 7 Part 2

Monday,Jan. 7 Part 2

And now, a few additions to the last post on this blog. First, one of the nurses was left off the list. She is Kathy Hoang, a neonatal intensive care nurse at UCSD Hospital in Hillcrest. Kathy became a nurse after working in clinical research with undergraduate degrees in molecular biology and Spanish from Cal. She was a member of the USD nursing team that went to the Dominican Republic last year.

Second, there was no introduction to the business students on Dr. Patricia Marquez’s team from the business school. Dr. Marquez herself is a professor of leadership and organizations at IESA in Caracas, Venezuela, and a visiting professor of management at the USD Business School. Her special interest is in the simultaneous creation of social and economic value as a way to lift people out of poverty. She has a book in production on the subject, titled Inclusive Business in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities, due out in 2008 from Harvard University Press.

All of her team members are in the International MBA program. Each survived a competitive selection process, including writing an essay, to be here. They are:

Kyle Dupree, a UCSB grad in global studies who has a special interest in socially responsible enterprises and how they are developed. This is Kyle’s first visit to Africa although, as a former Cub Scout, he feels prepared for anything.

Corinne Durazzo, who has a degree in an economics from USC, is anxious to learn more about health care in developing nations such as Uganda. It’s her first visit to Africa also.

Scott Grant is a film grad, also from USC. His goal, after completing his IMBA, is to work in an international setting in a non-governmental organization or nonprofit. Scott’s done a lot of traveling, but never before to Africa.

Eric Grobe is a holds a degree in kinesiology and hopes to connect his undergraduate interest with his IMBA after graduation. He picked USD’s IMBA program because of its emphasis on social responsibility, and came to Uganda, he says, “for the food.”

As I write this, it is 3:10 pm Monday in Uganda, which makes it 4:10 am in California and 1:10 am on the East Coast. There is a dramatic rainstorm going on, lots of thunder and lightning, but we are snug here at Monfort House and sincerely hoping that the power doesn’t go out so we lose our internet access.

Please feel free to post comments to the blogs, including personal messages, but remember that they are open for all to see. And if you are hoping for a phone call from Uganda, be prepared to wake up in the middle of the night. More soon.

Love to all from Uganda.

Monday, Jan. 7 Part 1

Monday, Jan. 7 Part 1

Hello from Montfort House in Mbarara, Uganda!

We’re finally here after 21 hours of air travel and something more than 4 hours in layovers. We met at USD at 3:45 am Monday, Jan. 3, rode by van to LAX, flew to Chicago, and, after a long delay, went on to Brussels. Then the fun started: Our flight to Uganda via Nairobi, Kenya, was cancelled. When the panic died down, Brussels Air rebooked us on a direct flight to Entebbe, Uganda, which was a relief to some of us who had been following the political unrest in Nairobi.

We were met by Father Bonaventure, head “honcho” of the Holy Innocents project in Uganda (and, more formally, the chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mbarara), Sister Margaret, the diocesan supervisor of nursing, Sister Germina, diocesan archivist and Bosco, Uganda’s most intrepid bus driver.

For those of us who have been here before, Monfort House is the same restful oasis we remembered from last year. But upon arrival, we were instantly whisked away to Lake Bunyonyi, in the extreme southwest of Uganda, for some rest at the Nature’s Prime Island Resort on an island in the middle of the lake. Some of us slept in cabins on stilts, others in tents on platforms on stilts. Lake Bunyonyi is a world-famous site for bird-watching. We took a motorboat ride to the south part of the lake, very near Rwanda, where we visited a Pygmy village. The villagers sang and danced for us, and we danced with them. Pictures of this will be posted after we return, because our upload speeds here are too slow to transfer photos.

The poverty of the area was astonishing. The people who live around the lake are subsistence farmers, largely able to feed themselves, but not able to do much more. We were mobbed by children, some of whom asked for money, but Fr. Bonaventure and Justice, our guide, advised us to give one gift to the group as a whole. There is something a little uncomfortable about watching very poor people perform for you, but it is the expected practice here.

Lake Bunyonyi itself is beautiful. It’s the deepest in Uganda, second deepest in Africa, and one of the deepest in the world.

We got back to Monfort House last night, after stopping off to buy some Uganda basics – bananas, beer, bottled water and soda. We also picked up some samosas at what Fr. Bonaventure assured us was the top samosa place in the area. The ladies who run the domestic operation here at Monfort served them for dinner along with baked goat, cabbage salad, Irish potatoes and fruit. A wonderful Uganda meal. Most of us got a good night’s sleep after that.

This morning we hiked the area around the future hospital site and found numerous places where the chemistry team will sample the water quality. Dr. Jim Bolender brought along handheld GPS equipment to precisely record his sampling sites; some of the local kids couldn’t believe it wasn’t a cell phone, which are in widespread use here in Uganda. The business team began evaluating the site for its suitability for a business venture to help support the operations of the Holy Innocents hospital itself. The nurses, most of whom were back in Uganda for the second time, got reacquainted with the site now that preliminary building plans have been done.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Welcome to the USD-Uganda 2008 blog. We hope to share the story of our 18-day trip to Uganda, which begins tomorrow, January 3. This is the second trip to Uganda for a team from the University of San Diego, to help the Catholic Archdiocese of Mbarara and the surrounding community to build a pediatric hospital. Our last trip was in March 2007, when a team of nurses and nursing students led by Dr. Anita Hunter did an assessment of the Mbarara community’s ability to build and operate a hospital dedicated to the care of children.

Our team is bigger this time, and includes volunteer USD faculty and students focusing on nursing, business development and water quality. In addition to the nurses, again led by Dr. Hunter, Dr. Jim Bolender of the Chemistry Dept. and two of his students will be evaluating Mbarara’s water quality, and recommending ways to keep the hospital from having any negative impact. In addition, Dr. Patricia Marquez of the School of Business and her students will be exploring possible means for the hospital to be self-supporting.

Our purpose is to perform a community assessment study in preparation for building the Holy Innocents Children’s Malaria Hospital in Mbarara, Uganda. The project is the brainchild of Tom Harold, of the San Rafael Parish in Rancho Bernardo. After learning of the terrible toll malaria takes on Uganda’s youngest citizens, he and his friend Lane Freestone created a nonprofit corporation and have enlisted volunteers to help with all aspects of the project -- legal, accounting, fundraising, web hosting, and so on. Their goal is “better health for all children in Uganda,” and the Holy Innocents project is only one of the goals they pursue.

And now about Mbarara. It is a town and a district in the southwest of Uganda. It is home to about 1.1 million people. It is Uganda’s principal milk-producing area, complete with cooling plants, and also grows bananas, coffee, maize, beans, vegetables and Irish potatoes.

The town of Mbarara is home to the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Founded in 1989, it is Uganda’s second public university, and grants degrees in computer science, tropical forest conservation, community development, medicine, and science.

Right now we’re still here in the US. We leave from USD tomorrow, Jan. 3, at 3 a.m. on a shuttle for LAX. Then it’s 20 hours in the air and 6 hours of layovers until we reach Entebbe, Uganda.

As mentioned, Dr. Anita Hunter is the overall leader of the team, and a member of the Holy Innocents’ Board of Directors in the U. S. Here’s more about her, and our other team members

Dr. Hunter is associate professor at the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences of the University of San Diego. She has been actively involved in international nursing and has led medical missions since 1995 to Cuernavaca (Mexico), Bani (Dominican Republic), Ghana (West Africa) and Belfast (Northern Ireland). She has served as a medical consultant to the Minister of Health in Takoradi, Ghana and to the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos Orphanage system in Mexico. She has taken over 500 students, faculty, and health professionals on these medical missions and has been personally involved in providing care to over 75,000 people around the world.

Dr. Hunter has nine years’ experience working in Ghana with malaria and other illnesses endemic to that region. She continues to serve the underserved around the world in her role at USD, integrating her expertise in the curriculum and facilitating the mission of USD to internationalize its students and faculty.

She teaches in the master’s and doctoral programs, directs the RN-BS Program, Master’s Entry Program into Nursing, and the MS in Clinical Nursing program. She received her degree as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Northeastern University in Boston, her MS from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and her PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Connecticut in 1994. Her most recent honor is election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

The RNs on our team include:

Matt Cerchie, a pediatric critical care nurse who will receive his master’s degree in nursing in May. Matt was a member of the team that visited Uganda in 2007. He has also worked in international health in Mexico and Guatemala.

Robin Simms is an RN working at Scripps Mercy Hospital in the Emergency Department. She is currently working on her master’s degree as a clinical nurse leader. Robin has a strong passion for international work, and has previously been to Tanzania. She was also a member of the 2007 USD-Uganda team.

Dave Webb is a nurse practitioner-in-training at USD, and works as an emergency room nurse at Scripps Hospital in Encinitas. As a member of the 2007 team, his pre-nursing experience managing large design and building projects was critical in assessing the feasibility of constructing the Holy Innocents clinic and hospital.

The chemistry team on the trip is headed by Dr. Jim Bolender, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and acting chair of the Chemistry Dept. He has done environmental work in Baja California, and teaches classes ranging from general chemistry to quantum mechanics. On his team are:

Ashley Parks, a USD honors program senior who has worked on Dr. Bolender’s team for more than two years in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur. Ashley’s research has been on how biomarkers in clam tissues may reflect their exposure to pollutants.

Joining Ashley is Raffaela Abbriano, a biology major, senior and also in the USD honors program. She has also worked with Dr. Bolender in Baja California Sur, studying the impact of effluent from a local cannery on the phytoplankton community in Magdalena Bay.

Dr. Patricia Marquez from the School of Business Administration has lined up a team of students who share her interest in international business, plus consultant Lea de Wit, owner of Lucky Stripe Studios of Del Mar. After a 15-year career at two Fortune 25 corporations Lea, a glass artist, struck out on her own to build a business based on creativity.

The task of the business team will be to develop ideas for profitable businesses that can keep the Holy Innocents pediatric hospital economically secure. More on the rest of the team later.

And I’m Joanne Gribble, a critical care RN at UCSD Thornton Hospital in La Jolla. My pre-nursing background is in communication and nonprofit marketing. On the last trip to Uganda, I helped with the community assessment and development assessment we wrote. Last time there, Uganda just got under my skin -- I can hardly wait to get back!

So let’s hope we can line up some internet access in Mbarara, so we can keep you up to date on what’s going on. In the meantime, you can check out the blog from last year’s trip at www.usd-uganda.blogspot.com.

Wish us luck, and check back in a couple of days