Ecuador June 2019

In June 2019 four students joined Professor Sue Hammerton on a journey to Anconcito Ecuador, in partnership with FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children). Anconcito is located on the coast of Ecuador, and its population is primarily employed in the fishing industry.

The area around Anconcito experiences gaps in healthcare access and in basic health education.Preparing for an internship in the Global Health Perspectives program at Denver College of Nursing is a long process, and students commit to five meetings and to prepare health education projects in the language of the country that they are visiting.

The group that went to Ecuador had weekly meetings to improve their Spanish skills and prepared teaching tools on the topics of diabetes, hypertension and a basic first aid module for mothers.

When the team arrived in Anconcito their days were full with health fairs, outreach to diabetes patients and working with children, building self-esteem and health knowledge through FIMRC’s Chicos and Chicas program. Professor Hammerton states “each day we had a different group of people to work with, with different content to present. As the week progressed so did the nursing student’s Spanish. Everyone was always smiling!”

This was our third internship to this site, and the GHP program will continue our partnership in Anconcito when we return in June 2020.