15 business, communication, engineering and nursing students from the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana are interning for two weeks, working with the non profit organization G.O. Ministries to develop plans for the organization’s new medical facility, currently under construction in Santiago. The center expects to open in summer 2014.
The students are in the DR through 6 August. Their goal is to create a variety of processes on how to secure medicines, conveniently archive patient records and achieve an efficient patient flow. The students are receiving three hours of academic credit for the fieldwork and instruction in health administration, process development and business plan development.
UE faculty members that are accompanying the group are Amy Hall, White Family Endowed Professor and chair of the Dunigan Family Department of Nursing and Health Sciences; Richard Deer, director of UE’s Center for Intensive Experiential Education; and Jill Griffin, director of the Global Assistance Program in UE’s Institute for Global Enterprise and John Layer, associate professor of mechanical engineering, who started the program for the students five years ago.
University of Evansville students have already assisted G.O. Ministries on projects in the Dominican Republic (assessing a 40-acre potential building site and designing a three-story building in 2008 and developing a solar water heater in 2010).
Layer explains: “Students often return home with a new sense of purpose and desire to make an impact. In addition, they benefit from working with an interdisciplinary team to address real-world problems and create solutions.”
UE students working in the Dominican Republic are Vaughn Ahlf, Jacquelyn Ballard, Ryan Bassemier, Laura Best, Brandi Blosl, Abby Browder, Mathew Brown, Heather Browning, Renee Croce, Gaby Fifer, Rachel Mendoza-Santiago, Shannon Osiecki, Breianna Simpson, Brenna Siscoe, and Brynne Thompson. Brittany Bailey, a senior match major, is also interning with the group.