Geisinger nurses leaving for a mission trip to Guatemala

LEWISTOWN, Pa. – Four emergency department nurses from Geisinger Lewistown Hospital will spend a week volunteering in clinics in medically underserved areas of Guatemala. Cassandra Boozel, certified registered nurse practitioner, and registered nurses Vicki Ematat, Brittany Mathews and Kendyl Morse depart for the Central American country on Jan. 6, 2018. They will be stationed in La Antigua in south central Guatemala, but then transported to the highland valleys located near the base of three volcanoes. The clinics they will serve in are set up in local school and community centers where the residents suffer largely from GI and respiratory diseases and ear, eye and skin infections. There is also little or no prenatal care. 

This mission trip is organized by International Medical Relief (IMR), a non-profit organization based in the United States that provides mobile medical clinics and sustainable health education to underserved communities in 40 countries around the world.

It took six months for the nurses to plan the trip and they are all are using personal vacation time. In the past few months, they collected a variety of medical supplies with help from their colleagues, families and friends that they will take along with them. While medication is provided by IMR, the nurses are required to bring their own daily medical equipment such as thermometers, clinical swabs and syringes. 

"Bonnie Bowsman, who heads our emergency department, has been an immense support for all of us,” Boozel said. “She personally donated towards our trip and encouraged us along the way, telling us this will be a life-changing experience.”

“Volunteering away from the comforts of home will truly teach us how to be more resourceful and more resilient,” she added.

“I am very proud of them for going outside their comfort zone to care for others. They all are exceptional nurses and will be a true asset to the mission team," said Bonnie Bowsman, operations manager, Geisinger Lewistown Hospital.

About Geisinger

Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates more than $8 billion in annual revenues across 163 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and is conducting more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With more than 27,000 employees, including 1,800 employed physicians and 5,200 registered nurses, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers, having an estimated economic impact of $16.8 billion on the state’s economy. In 2024, Geisinger joined Risant Health, a nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.