UNE’s Ghana Healthcare Immersion Team ready to travel

For the ninth year, students and faculty from the University of New England will travel to West Africa to provide health care for people in need. On August 8, 2016 UNE’s 38 member Ghana Healthcare Immersion Team will travel to the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi, Ghana. There, they will work alongside health care professionals from the Ghana Health Service and faculty and staff from the University of Cape Coast’s (UCC) University Hospital to provide primary care and related services to urban and rural communities in the western region.

Director of the program and the UNE Department of Nursing, Jen Morton, D.N.P., M.P.H., A.P.H.N.-B.C., started the service-learning trip with the goal of teaching American and Ghanaian health professionals from a variety of disciplines the opportunity to work together and learn from one another. This year, graduate students from UNE’s Physical Therapy and Public Health programs and undergraduate students from Nursing as well as undergraduate students from UNE’s College of Arts and Sciences will work in interprofessional teams to deliver care.

“This cross-cultural health care immersion provides a critical learning experience for our students,” says Morton. “It is a true educational exchange, where future health professionals apply their skills in a global setting, working alongside Ghanaian health workers and immersing themselves in the community.”