Regional Teams Serve the Underserved in Puerto Rico

Under the leadership of Vanessa Blanco, director of NSU’s Puerto Rico Campus, along with an amazing team of faculty and students from NSU College of Dental Medicine Davie and Clearwater, and NSU Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy from the Tampa Bay Regional Campus, underserved communities in Puerto Rico received much needed health care service.

May 1-6, 2023, NSU’s team shared its energy, talent, and compassion with the municipalities of Utuado, Cabo Rojo, and Yauco and the communities of Ponce Playa, Ponce Tibes, Ponce Tives, Ponce La Lula, and Ponce Jaime Drew. This year was special as we provided care to 368 patients and received recognition from the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and the mayor of Cabo Rojo.

Our first collaboration occurred in 2018 during the inauguration of the COSSAO Clinic. COVID kept us away for a few years, but this year we were represented by a total of 32 faculty students, and the NSU Puerto Rico Campus Director. Also, we had tremendous collaboration from 60 organizations including the Puerto Rico Department of Health, six community leaders and 29 resident volunteers. This October we will expand this Puerto Rico outreach by including other disciplines from the Health Professions Division.

This amazing trip can be summed up by the words of Dr. Mark Schweizer, Assistant Dean of Community Programs and Public Health at the College of Dental Medicine: “As educators and health professionals our goal and the goal of NSU is to provide experiences and memories that will not only change the lives of the patients, but the lives of our future health professionals.”

The entire team thanks Vanessa Blanco for not only her incredible organizational skills, but her heart.

Like they say “FINS UP!”

Posted 05/21/23