Twice a year, a group of nurses leaves the pristine, well-supplied hospitals of
the Boston area and sets out for impoverished countries in the Caribbean.
Slung over each nurse’s shoulder is a 70-pound bag of medications.
“The patients we see have nothing but what we can give them,” said Barbara Lea Cummings, MS, RN, a float pool staff nurse in the Connors Center for Women’s Health at BWH. “We often provide basic medications that Americans can simply buy over the over the counter-- ibuprofen, acetaminophen, vitamins or anti-fungals. They also have a big need for antibiotics, which we carry in both pediatric and adult doses, and medications for parasites.”
For the past eight months, Cummings has served as president of Intercultural Nurse, Inc. (INI), a non-profit organization established in 1985. She learned about it two years ago while pursuing a master’s degree at Northeastern University. One of her professors, was seeking nurse practitioners to help with efforts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Intrigued by the international efforts, she has since made three trips to the Dominican Republic, one this past January as president to establish key contacts.
Staffed and run entirely by nurses, the INI sends a team of 12 to 20 volunteers twice each year. They often make personal sacrifices to go, using vacation time from their jobs and paying their own way.
Efforts recently have focused on rural areas of the Dominican Republic, whose internal poverty is being further challenged by refugees fleeing the political unrest of Haiti. The nurses’ work from five or six base camps that the INI has established with the help of longstanding Catholic missions. “We are not aligned with any religious group,” said Cummings. “But the nuns have the contacts to make things happen. They’re wonderful at paving the way.”
Transportation is usually primitive. “You never know what you’ll be riding in,” she said. “The truck that picks us up is often old and rickety-- like what they take chickens to market in.” The drive to the interior can take up to two hours, with the last leg sometimes by foot. At the site, the nurses set up in an open-air church or school-- no screens, no amenities. People stream in, presenting with everything from an ear infection to advanced breast cancer. “We’re there for basic nursing care, not for heroic efforts,” said Cummings, sadly noting that people with serious conditions will never get a physician’s care because the country’s health care system is so minimal. Caring for more than 120 patients daily at each site, the nurses return to base camp for the night, only to get up and do it all over again.
Intercultural Nurse, Inc., welcomes your inquiries and support. For more information, contact Barbara Cummings at (617) 354-1282.