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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE students and faculty to embark on Ghana Health Mission

Forty-one UNE students, faculty and community members will embark on a cross-cultural health mission to Ghana, West Africa, on August 4, 2014. 

Jennifer Morton, DNP, MS, MPH, RN, who is leading the trip, now in its seventh year, looks forward to the implementation of new and exciting experiences for the 34 students from nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, athletic training, medical biology, and public health.

In addition to the successful clinical operations and outreach that take place in concert with health professionals from the Ghana Health Service and the University of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, students will engage in a new vision initiative that provides self adjusting glasses to community members with poor vision.  An optometrist and students from the University of Cape Coast will co-lead this initiative with UNE following a generous donation of 150 pairs of glasses.

Two teams will provide care at both the urban (Sekondi) and rural (Mpinstin) clinics during the two-week stay.  Team interprofessional training alongside Ghanaian community health workers and health professionals will take place upon the group’s arrival at Sekondi.

In addition to the clinical and outreach activities, participants will engage in cultural experiences, including visits to Kakum National Forest, Elmina Castle, a regional soccer game, and more.

Other faculty members accompanying Morton and the students are: Dennis Leighton, DPT, associate professor, and Amy Litterini, PT, DPT, assistant clinical professor, both of the Department of Physical Therapy; Mindy Golden, RN, MSN, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing; Sarah Smith, PharmD, and Erin Koepf, PharmD, both assistant professors in the College of Pharmacy; Jen Gunderman-King, MPH, adjunct faculty member in the School of Community and Population Health; and  Dora Mills, MD, MPH, FAAP, vice president for Clinical Affairs.

The students who make the trip will continue the tradition of the Ghana Blog.

 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.