Student Nurses’ Association Supporting Nursing Peers in Haiti
The effort is part of a longstanding relationship between UMSN and the Caribbean nation.
Among its dozens of global health partnerships, University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) has particularly compelling educational and service ties with Haiti. UMSN faculty and students have been involved in the development of and fundraising for the Léogâne-based Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l’Université Episcopale d’Haïti (FSIL), which was created in 2005 with the help of Associate Professor Emerita Ruth Barnard, Ph.D, RN. FSIL is still the only four-year baccalaureate nursing program in Haiti and is currently raising funds to develop a master’s program.
When the 2010 earthquake struck Haiti, Léogâne was at the epicenter, and FSIL faculty and students played a major role in treating the wounded. Inspired by their actions, the Student Nurses' Association (SNA) created the Hope for Haiti fundraiser, holding an annual ball in 2010-2012, and a raffle in 2013.
UMSN has not been able to send students to Haiti officially for study or service because of the University’s travel safety
policies. However, the school has partnered with FSIL for several projects benefiting the education of students at both schools.Since 2012, a UMSN community health course has incorporated weekly videoconferencing sessions with the students at FSIL into one clinical section. Each week throughout the fall term, students in both countries examine various components of a community assessment, such as safety and health services. UMSN students research southeastern Michigan communities and the FSIL students do the same for Haitian communities. Both sides then examine the similarities and differences through the videoconferences, blogs, and emails. The idea is to encourage students to think about how a community impacts health. U-M faculty, staff, and UMSN alumna Kelley VanMaldeghem (BSN ‘13) have traveled to Haiti to set up, facilitate, and improve the videoconferencing sessions, and funding awarded by the U-M Provost Office has been essential to the videoconferencing effort and its success.
“Haiti is a nation still trying to recover from the earthquake that devastated their impoverished country in 2010,” says Emily McKenzie, a UMSN senior and SNA member who traveled to Haiti through a community-service-oriented organization. While much progress has been made, the need for improved resources and health care infrastructure in Haiti is still great. “I recently learned the current 116 BSN students at FSIL all share 20 computers; something that we can't quite imagine ourselves,” says McKenzie. “Donating can make a profound impact on the future of Haiti's nurses and the health of the country," she believes.
That’s why SNA members are ramping up their efforts to raise money for FSIL. This year they matched pledges, up to $1,000, donated by April 11. Those who wish to help can give cash or checks made out to the Student Nurses' Association, or donate electronically through PayPal. The SNA office is in room 1185 at the School of Nursing, 400 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482.
More students interacted with FSIL students on April 1, the day of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Rho chapter's sponsored video conference between UMSN and FSIL students--an opportunity for both sides to discuss curriculum, clinical experiences, health care systems and more.
UMSN has also found a partner in the support of Haiti with the Haiti Nursing Foundation (HNF). Based in Michigan and started in 2005, the non-profit organization has been working to improve nursing education in Haiti. Several UMSN faculty members have or currently serve on HNF’s board and the two organizations have worked together on events such as fundraisers.
