New Experiences

In less than 2 weeks, two nurse practitioner students here at Florida International University and I will be boarding the USNS Mercy, a Naval Hospital ship, in Singapore, bound for a 5 week medical mission to Indonesia.  The mission is a joint effort between Project HOPE and the US Navy as part of the US Navy's Pacific Parntership 2010.  I have included links where you can find more detailed information about Project Hope, the US Navy's humanitarian efforts, and about the Pacific Partnership 2010.  Briefly, Project Hope began in 1958 as a volunteer effort with the goal to "make health care available for people around the globe."  For many years, Project Hope consisted of a floating hospital ship staffed with volunteers that traveled around the world provding medical care and education.  It eventuallly became a land-based organization, but after the tsunami in South East Asia in late 2004, Project Hope returned to the seas by joining efforts with the United States Navy.  Project Hope and the US Navy now sponsor yearly medical missions to both South East Asia/Oceania and to Haiti/CentralAmerica/South America.  The purpose of this blog will be for the students and I to share our experiences on what I believe is a first for all 3 of us.  It is a fantastic opportunity for us and we hope this blog will prove interesting and perhaps a little enlightening.