LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – National Nurses Week is an opportunity to recognize health care professionals who make an impact every day. And sometimes that impact takes place far away.
Dartmouth Health has a list of scheduled activities to honor nurses. Monday, there was a presentation from an RN at the Medical Center who just returned from Uganda.
“Their resource challenges in health care are significant,” said Brenda Lind, a registered nurse.
Lind says she’s always up for a challenge. That’s why she signed up for a six-month teaching assignment in Uganda through the Peace Corps. Lind says Uganda is a country where basic items, like soap, are scarce in public hospitals.
“Being overwhelmed by these problems to feeling like OK, what can I do about this? To realizing the key is the students,” Lind said.
“I do believe we can make a profound difference with nurses throughout the world,” said Stacey Cosco, the vice president of surgical services at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Dartmouth Health is working to increase opportunities like this for several reasons. One, to share expertise with less fortunate communities around the globe. And two, to keep its own employees engaged and passionate about their careers which officials say improves retention.
“There are limited people going into the nursing profession and in many ways you can relate to what that means for building the workforce,” Cosco said.
“Everything she said really sounded so familiar to me,” said Jeanette Ogomo, a licensed practical nurse at DHMC.
Ogomo is just a few weeks away from getting her nursing license. She’s originally from Kenya.
“If the private hospitals can afford a Band-Aid it’s possible that the public hospitals can also get a Band-Aid,” she said.
Ogomo says corruption within governments has a huge impact on health care delivery. And while Lind’s trip focused on education, she says it’s one step toward better health care outcomes around the world.
“The students are the leaders for the next generation that are going to make a difference in their country, so that was really rewarding getting to that point,” Lind said.
And Lind says her travels are not over. She plans to return to Uganda in the next couple of years.