Volunteer Photos from USNS Byrd

Project HOPE volunteers Stephen Creasy and Alla Marks sort medications onboard the USNS Byrd before setting up pharmacy clinics in remote Kiribati.

Pharmacy in The Soloman Islands

Steve and I have adapted to the requirements of setting up, working and retrograding a site very quickly.

We have also made an effort to use our skills to enhance patient care. Steve has taken the initiative to discuss patient medications with providers for clarification or substitutions. I have used my certification in administering IM injections to deliver antibiotic injections to patients to enable the nurses to assist providers in seeing more patients.

We had the opportunity to work with Auki pharmacy officers and I donated a Washington Manual to them for reference. I also donated a Lexicomp Drug Handbook to the Navy pharmacy technician who is working with us. The iPod touch Lexicomp program that I am using is an invaluable tool for checking on doses and appropriate therapies.

The phenomenal experience about this mission is the diverse set of personnel-Australian Navy and Air Force, British medical students, Canadian army. On one of the days in Good Samaritan (hospital), we actually did 500 prescriptions!


Thanks for Reading --Alla Marks

Volunteers Arrive in the Solomon Islands

Project HOPE volunteer pharmacists, Dr. Alla Marks and Stephen Creasy have arrived in the Solomon Islands and began work on August 8. Computer access is limited, but Alla reports " We are off to a great start so far. "

Dr. Alla Marks and Stephen Creasy with the USNS Richard E. Byrd in the background.

Health Education in Tonga Successful

Project HOPE volunteer John Hammill reflects on successful work in Tonga:

The Tongan clinic was a huge success. Because we worked with the hospital staff on a daily basis, we have left a more lasting impact on the Tongan healthcare system than we did at any other site. At the close of our clinic I had a very candid and open conversation with the head physician and director of Niu’ui Hospital. He was moved almost to tears as he described his gratitude. In reference to an old proverb he said “You taught us to fish.”

This is what has made this clinic so successful. The medicines and equipment we left behind were nice, but the sustainability of our work will come from the knowledge we exchanged.

The Niu'ui Hospital in Ha'apai Tonga

Project HOPE volunteers and team in Samoa

Meet the Project HOPE Volunteers for Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Western Samoa

HOPE volunteers from Shenandoah University participate in Pacific Partnership 2009

Four volunteers from the Shenandoah University Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy in Winchester, Virginia are working aboard the USNS Richard E. Byrd and on shore on a four-month humanitarian assistance and health education mission in Southeast Asia. The volunteers are serving patients in the remote Oceania nations of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Western Samoa. Read the Press Release

Stephen Creasy is currently attending Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia to obtain his Doctor of Pharmacy in 2010. The first-time Project HOPE volunteer works at CVS/Caremark Pharmacy in Winchester. Onboard the USNS Byrd and ashore, Stephen is using his pharmacy skills to help people in Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands.



John Hammill a pharmacy intern currently enrolled in Shenandoah University is a first-time Project HOPE volunteer. John is working aboard the USNS Byrd and ashore in Tonga and Western Samoa.





Dr. Alla Marks, a pharmacist with more than 20-years of experience is an Associate Professor at Shenandoah University, Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy in Winchester, Virginia. A first-time Project HOPE volunteer, Alla will serve on the USNS Byrd and ashore in Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands.



John Nett is a pharmacist with 15 years of experience including a 24-year career as an active duty Air Force officer. A first-time Project HOPE volunteer from Williamsburg, Virginia, John is working aboard the USNS Byrd and ashore in Tonga and Western Samoa.





ALSO...

Elizabeth Johnson, Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate at Shenandoah University recently completed a volunteer mission onboard the USNS Comfort, visiting El Salvador and Nicaragua. Read about her experience in her own words.

Project HOPE Volunteers Complete Latin America Mission

More than 90 Project HOPE volunteers completed a nearly 4-month mission providing humanitarian and health education in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Antigua, Panama, Colombia, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

While the final numbers have not yet been calculated, volunteers and their military and other NGO counterparts:

Treated more than 80,000 patients

Performed more than 1,100 surgeries

Participated in more than 37,000 educational encounters

Delivered $1.2 million in medicines and medical supplies

But numbers never tell the real story. We hope you have enjoyed reading the numerous stories of lives changed through medical care.

The Continuing Promise 2009 mission is complete, but HOPE volunteers are now serving on the other side of the world in Southeast Asia, helping those in need in the remote Oceania nations of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Western Samoa. Four pharmacy volunteers from Shenandoah University Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy in Winchester, Virginia are working aboard the USNS Richard E. Byrd on the four-month humanitarian assistance and health education mission. Check back as we continue to document Project HOPE volunteers as they work around the world...

...and please support our dedicated medical volunteers.