Belmont Physical Therapy Student Completes Clinical Experience in Peru

Recent 2018 Belmont Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate Alicia Bowden completed a unique experience while in school when she traveled to Arequipa, Peru for one of her clinicals. While there, she worked with “Work the World,” an organization that coordinates international clinical internships tailored to a variety of healthcare backgrounds. With the help of Gail Bursch, associate professor of physical therapy & director of clinical education, Bowden was placed in the physiotherapy department at Hospital Goyeneche, one of the oldest and most respected medical institutions in southern Peru, where she spent six weeks working in acute and outpatient care.

This true Spanish immersion clinical experience was fast-paced, challenging and very rewarding.  “Working in the hospital was a bit of a culture shock at first,” she said, “but by the end of my placement, I truly felt that I had become part of the team.” Continue reading

College of Pharmacy sends group to Honduras for medical mission

A group of faculty and students from Belmont University College of Pharmacy recently traveled to Honduras as part of the Baptist Medical Dental Mission Trip. Drs. Adam Pace and Leela Kodali and Noah Vasilakes and Brittany Hayes, two 4th year pharmacy students, joined a team of 20 medical professionals for the trip.

The team set up a medical clinic, dentistry clinic and pharmacy in a schoolhouse in Naguaterique, a rural mountain community on the El Salvadorian border and saw more than 1500 patients. About 5800 prescriptions were dispensed through the pharmacy, 223 teeth were pulled by the dentist for 117 dental patients and 325 pairs of eyeglasses were distributed. Additionally, 64 individuals professed a new found faith in Jesus or expressed a renewal of their Christian commitment during the church services and through personal evangelism at the medical stations.

Pace oversaw the setup and operation of the dispensing pharmacy while Kodali provided clinical pharmacy services in the medical clinic by answering providers’ questions about medications and making recommendations on drug therapy.

As part of their advanced pharmacy practice experience, Vasilakes and Hayes split their time between the pharmacy and the clinic. This experience was designed for them to compare and contrast the provision of pharmacy services during a mission trip in Honduras to that of a Nashville patient population.

Vasilakes said, “The Honduras medical mission trip was a wonderful opportunity to use my pharmacy skills and knowledge outside of my comfort zone. It amazed me what our team was able to do in only a few days when teaming with the Hondurans who were incredibly friendly, helpful and welcoming. It was a blessing to be able to provide care to people who otherwise likely would not receive it, and I am so thankful for being provided with this chance to share the love of God through healthcare.”

Hayes added, “Traveling to Honduras gave me the opportunity to not only learn more about myself and the type of practitioner I want to be, but also allowed me to learn about an entirely different culture. The Honduran people were warm, welcoming and grateful for any and all assistance we provided. Although a language barrier existed, a smile and kind eyes created a patient-provider bond that ended the consultations with hugs and trust. I will never forget one particular patient who spoke about the renewed love of God she found that day through the generosity of the mission. As our eyes teared up, she thanked me and blessed me for everything she had been given that day. What she didn’t know was that she and the other patients gave me a renewed love of God as well. Healing begins with the soul and I find myself blessed to have been able to contribute to the physical and spiritual healing in Naguaterique.”

Pharmacy student travels to Brazil with Women’s Basketball Team

CohlmeyerBBallNatalie Cohlmeyer, a current PharmD student and member of Belmont University’s women’s basketball team from Evansville, Indiana, traveled with her teammates this summer to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as part of a sports evangelism trip.  The team partnered with Brentwood Baptist Church for the endeavor, playing games at the 2016 Olympic basketball venue against three different teams including a Brazilian national team in the Bruins’ age group.  The team won each contest handily.

“Going into it, I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Cohlmeyer.  “We went down to change those kids’ lives and it ended up changing ours.” Continue reading

Pharmacy Teams Travels to Honduras

Pharmacy-300x300A group of faculty members and a student from Belmont’s College of Pharmacy recently traveled to Honduras as part of the Baptist Medical Dental Mission. Drs. Adam Pace, Leela Kodali, and Emily Russell, a fourth-year student, joined a team of 20 medical professionals for the medical missions trip.

The team set up a medical clinic, dentistry clinic, and pharmacy in a schoolhouse in San Fernando, a rural community in the state of Yoro. Together, they saw more than 1100 patients, dispensed 5300 prescriptions, pulled 240 teeth for 101 patients and distributed 325 eyeglasses. Additionally, the trip included church services and personal evangelism at the medical stations, bringing more than 130 people to Christ. Continue reading

OTD Residency Projects Provide Wheelchairs and Support to Mexican Families

ClaireGreccoTaraHarperTwo doctoral students in the Occupational Therapy program at Belmont recently completed their residency projects, which together provided wheelchairs and professional support to children and their families in San Carlos, Mexico.  Claire Grecco and Tara Harper completed complimentary projects under the academic advisement of Dr. Teresa Plummer, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, and with assistance from the faith-based charitable organization, Reach Out and Care Wheels (ROC Wheels), based in Bozeman, Montana.

For her project, Grecco piloted the creation of a local chapter of Youths Empowered with the Helper Spirit to Reach Out and Care at Ezell Harding Christian School in Nashville.  Through the program, students learned about the international need for wheelchairs and helped raise money to provide wheelchairs for children in need. Continue reading

Pharmacy Faculty and Students join Medical Mission to Honduras

2014HondurasMission1A small group of faculty and students from Belmont University College of Pharmacy recently traveled to Honduras as part of the Baptist Medical Dental Mission to that country.  Dr. Adam Pace, Dr. Alisa Spinelli, and two fourth year pharmacy students, Erin Oakley and Erin Mullen, joined a team of about 30 medical professionals who made the trip.

The team set up a medical clinic, dentistry clinic, and pharmacy in a schoolhouse in El Cedrito, a mountain village in the state of Yoro, and saw approximately 1500 patients. About 5,000 prescriptions were dispensed through the pharmacy, 250 teeth were pulled by the dentist and 200 pairs of eyeglasses were distributed. In addition, 180 individuals either professed a new found faith in Jesus Christ or expressed a renewal of their Christian commitment during the church services or through personal evangelism at the medical stations.

Continue reading