Registered nurses Victoria Meisel, Patricia Burnett, Grace Asagra Stanley, Vanessa Bell-Wedderburn and Camisha Wedderburn led a two-day health fair on July 7-8 attended by more than 150 men, women and children in the district of Darliston, Jamaica, West Indies. The group also delivered donated medical supplies to an AIDS support group, a clinic in Darliston and to a hospital in Savanna-la-mar.
The health fair, held despite torrential rain from Hurricane Dennis, included stations for blood glucose testing, blood pressure screening and counseling. Visitors were also given literature on various topics, including breast and prostate cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, weight control, sexually transmitted diseases and diet.
The nurses found that a significant segment of the Darliston-area population had high blood pressure, dangerously elevated blood sugar or both. These conditions could lead to heart disease, stroke or life-threatening complications related to diabetes.
The trip was partially funded by local donations to Nurses for International Outreach (NFIO), a new nonprofit organization founded by Meisel, an endoscopy nurse at University Medical Center at Princeton who grew up in Darliston. NFIO held a celebration with food, drink and music at Princeton University’s Carl Field Center in June where it raised $1,500.
“We would like to express our limitless gratitude to the organizations and individuals who assisted us in realizing this dream,” Meisel said. “Our vision for the future of Nurses for International Outreach is to continue helping educate less accessible communities throughout the world about the importance of personal health and wellbeing.”
Several doctors from Kingston, Jamaica, under the leadership of Dr. Lorenzo Gordon, were originally scheduled to join the health fair, but were delayed because of the hurricane. For them, Meisel organized a follow-up health fair on August 13. Four doctors saw 100 patients that day. The group hopes to run the health fair again next year. To learn more about NFIO, contact Vicki Meisel at bvmeisel@yahoo.com