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My Final Thoughts

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This experience was definetly one for the books. I learned so much and had so much fun! I feel the way I changed the health of others through this trip is the knowledge and experience I gained. The knew knowledge I gained will help me in my future practice. It opened my eyes and how I viewed things. I also changed the health of those I directly spoke with at the shelter, I did this by educating them on things they needs to be educated about (health wise). I feel those who I spoke with truly want to change and will try to be healthier, this will also affect their future generations. However, in regard to the whole community getting healthier, I feel this will take quite some time and a lot of work. The biggest thing I think needs changed is their access, which requires certain funding. As well as education, I feel that is huge in this area, in order for change to be made. I feel they can get there though. I feel I changed in the way I view things, health wise. Most people want to be hea...
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Last Stop in North Carolina

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Today was the day we went to the soup kitchen (The Open Door). We were able to spend the day with the community, it was eye opening to say the least. Last night, to prepare for our adventure today, a few of us students went to the stores and had $650 to donate to The Open Door. We were able to get things like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shirts, socks, and tons of canned goods. It was very empowering to be a part of something like that. Today, we took all of the stuff we donated and handed it out to the community and it made it all worth it. They were thankful, some of them used their stuff as soon as they got it. The people we met today face many challenges, such as lack of work, lack of resources, lack of support, lack of basic human need (food and etc.), and a lot of them struggle with addictions. The Open Door offers many different programs. They serve two meals a day Monday through Friday, one meal a day on the weekend. They offer a thrift store, arts and crafts days, religiou...
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The Adventure Continues

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Today was so much fun! We did a lot of things and I experienced a few firsts. The first thing we did today was touring Mission Hospital, Swain Hospital did not compare to Mission hospital. Mission Hospital is about the same size as OSF, in Peoria, IL. Swain Community Hospital would compare maybe to a clinic, walking in it remided me of a clinic near us. However, it is supposed to be the nearest hospital around. Yet, they only admit 2% of the patients that come in. Swain would remind you of a place where you go to transition. Mission is way more advanced and even yet to become more advanced when they move to their new building in July. They will be more advanced than OSF, they serve around 20 plus counties. It takes a cherokee resident 59 minutes to get to the hospital, if they drive. Most do not have cars. What impressed me the most today was how advanced the hospital has become technology wise, they are more advanced than even OSF. It also impressed me how organized their ER is, their...
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June 5th, 2019

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These past few days have been eventful, to say the least. We completed a wilderness first aid course, over the last two days! I learned so much, our instructor was very knowledgeable! Something our instructor has mentioned in regard to population health and how it effects the community is the resources they have available. She used the example of a friend of hers falling out of a tree. She said he got take to three different hospitals before he could get treated (Swain, Harrison, and Mission). When thinking about that, there are a lot of things that could happen to where you need treatment ASAP, around here you are out of luck if that happens. Therefore, a lot of people just live with the things they have going on with them, which affect a lot of things. My biggest take away from today’s course is how you can use simple things to save people’s life, objects we use daily have use for out in the wild (potentially lifesaving) and that was very interesting to me! I feel this course helps m...
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June 3rd, 2019

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Today was a very busy day, yet very exciting. We were able to visit Swain Co. Hospital, the Cherokee museum, and go tubing. The reservation is very different than I imagined it to be. It honestly is not as run down as I had pictured, they have a lot of nice areas, yes there still is severe poverty in places, but not everywhere. What I found the most interesting about the culture is that the women pretty much wear the belts, meaning they control a lot. When they get married; the man will join the women's tribe and be with her, everything that the man owns the women takes ownership of, also if she decides not to be with him, she can just take his stuff that she wants to give him and sit it on the porch. So, I clearly am living in the wrong area. In regards to Swain Co. Hospital, they have a lot to offer, however it is limited to the severity of the patient. They have a pain clinic for chronic pain, they have 25 beds in the hospital, they have 6 beds in the ED. To give you an idea, th...
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Day 2 Adventure

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Today we got to travel to the Museum of Appalachia. It was so interesting and the food was amazing, I am a foodie. It was so cool to see all of the artifacts and see how they have progressed over the years. I also enjoyed seeing the things strictly related to medicine and how that has progressed through the years. We also saw what they used back in the day as a "pencil" (pictured below), it would be terrible to write with those things now, as much as we write. I also found it interesting to see the old bibles and be able to read the verses out of it, as well as what they would have used as marriage vows. It also was neat to see the coffins they used, they were so small, but an average man was 5'8 (I would have to have my legs cut off to fit in one).  The Appalachian people did not have it the easies that is for sure. I feel that the biggest disparity and will always be the biggest disparity is their access to health care, they do not really have any. That affects all...
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June 1st, 2019 Today was our first travel day, we drove ten hours, from Peoria to Tennessee. The ride was not near as bad as I thought it would be. We made it in good timing and we did not have to stop every hour, which is a plus! I am excited about many things to come; meeting new people, learning about their culture and how they are living, learning about their history and how they have come to where they are now, and just having the privilege to go to such a neat place. I currently do not have any apprehensions for this trip, I truly am excited about what will come. I feel that most everyone has cultural biases they are unaware of, I would love to say I do not have any. However, I am sure I do have some that I do not notice. I do not think I have any that I need to set aside, because I do not notice that I have them. However, I will make sure to be more aware of myself, I do not want to offend anyone. I think we are going to have a great trip and cannot wait to experience Cheroke...
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