Nursing Students Team with DB Peru to Provide Care in Remote Jungle Settings during Monsoons

Six Denver School of Nursing (DSN) students, accompanied by a DSN faculty member, teamed with DB Peru, Inc. to provide healthcare to remote Peruvian villagers along the Napo River in Peru, where the nursing team focused on community health and infectious disease projects, said Dr. Diana Kostrzewski, dean of nursing education for DSN (www.denverschoolofnursing.edu.).

The nursing teams also delivered medical equipment and supplies to two hospitals in Iquitos, the Hospital Regional and the Hospital Apoyo, to medical clinics in Mazán and in the jungle villages of Orellana and Mangua.

Peru has some of the highest incidences and mortality rates of cervical cancer in the world. “Remote Amazonian women are dying from cervical cancer, without adequate screening or diagnosis, placing enormous burdens on their families, their communities and the healthcare system,” said Diana Bowie, president, DB Peru (http://www.dbperuong.com).

DSN students helped collect information on women’s health and cancer for DB Peru’s surveys and conducted rapid HPV tests so that villagers could receive treatment that same day. DSN students Devon Johnson, Erin Kinney, Heather Leck, Christina Nocito, Robin Mohr and Amy Pape were accompanied by DSN faculty member Pam Chandler, adjunct clinical instructor.

“This healthcare trip taught us how different living in poverty is in different environments. While the jungles provide food sources, they present the challenges of clean water, access to healthcare and exposure to infection and illness,” said DSN student Heather Leck.

“We were fortunate to have six students who were well-prepared and understood our objectives,” Bowie said.  “On one particular day, we arrived at a village where a teacher requested an educational session on water purification in Spanish. In front of 150 teenaged students, the DSN team taught their subjects in Spanish and made a difference.”

About Denver School of Nursing (DSN)

Denver School of Nursing, 1401 19th St., Denver, is a private, post-secondary college that provides educational programs and training for nursing professionals. The college specializes in offering rigorous curriculum and clinical site-based academic programs toward associate and bachelor degrees in nursing. DSN is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), (www.ncahlc.org) (800-621-7440). Its associate and baccalaureate programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326 (404-975-5000). The college is granted full approval for its associate and bachelors nursing programs by the Colorado State Board of Nursing. For more information, call 303-292-0015 or visit www.denverschoolofnursing.edu.