Published December 12, 2024
This past fall, Natalie Tello, RN, Medicine (EP 9-7), joined faculty and students from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) School of Nursing on a medical mission to help people in rural Peru.
She brought toiletries, vitamins and other items donated by her supportive YNHH coworkers.
The team from SCSU, Tello’s alma mater, spent the first couple of days at a small clinic providing basic health screenings and vaccinations. Since most of their patients were babies, they also educated parents on infants’ diets and development.
During the latter part of the SCSU mission the team cared for adults and children in an even more remote area where older residents speak only Quechua, the indigenous Peruvian language.
“The hospital is so far away, and people don’t have the resources to travel,” Tello said.
This was her first medical mission, but she hopes it won’t be her last.
“I came to the United States from Peru when I was 17, so this trip was very meaningful for me,” she said. “The bond we created with the people there was amazing.”
