1. Nursing Abroad: Sacred Valley of Peru
Anthony DiMattia, BS, RN, CCRN
Clinical Resource Nurse
Highland Hospital of Rochester, NY

2. Who, What, When, How? May 25, 2011 – June 13, 2011 8 graduate nurses
All URSON APNN grads
Awamaki Health
A branch of Awamaki, NGO
Now Sacred Valley Health
Co-founded by Keri Baker, URSON grad
Inaugural trip
“Test run” for future student-nurse trips

3. Arrival! Cusco City, Peru Hotel Niños Dogs everywhere!
Dirt everywhere!
Altitude!
Hotel Niños
Non-profit
Funds a school for underprivileged children
Provides education and meals to local kids
Great food too!

4. Ollantaytambo “Ollyanta” Last stop before Machu Picchu
Built on Inca ruins
Host-families
Accommodations
Water, Electricity, “Bathrooms”
The “Widowmaker”
Dogs Everywhere! Dirt Everywhere!
Altitude!

5. Healthcare in Ollantaytambo
The first thing to remember about healthcare here:
It is generally not sought.
Care provided is BASIC
Record-keeping
Record keeping?
Here’s a blank sheet of paper, write something
Education, Education, Education!
Access, access, access!
Mobile healthcare
Promontoras

6. How did we help? First: Triage Cleaning Remember: Dirt Everywhere!
Locate “medical record”
And grab a blank piece of paper
Chief complaint
(Always ask about “cough”)
Height, Weight, Vitals

7. Outlying Clinics Serve very rural areas
Run almost exclusively by Nurses
Not always open or staffed
Minimal resources
Electricity is not guaranteed
Language barrier
Quechua vs. Spanish vs. Broken English

8. Outlying clinics: How did we help?
Data collection/aggregation
Governmental requirements
Forms handwritten in triplicate
Cleaning
Triage
“Medical record??”
Patient-locating excursions
Remember patients don’t seek healthcare…
So we must go seek the patients

9. What I learned: We are very fortunate in the US
Not everyone has access to even basic care
Education makes a difference
And it is better received than I expected