[Editor’s Note: Happy Birthday, Migrant Clinicians Network! To celebrate our 30th anniversary this month, we are highlighting one clinician each day who has been honored in 30 Clinicians Making a Difference [2], in which we profile the work of 30 diverse migrant clinicians from across the country and abroad.]
Our profile of LT Jesus Reyna, RN [3], for 30 Clinicians Making a Difference is a bit different than the others. When he was selected for the honor, Lieutenant Reyna was in West Africa as a commissioned officer of the US Public Health Service, fighting Ebola. Consequently, his profile was written without an interview. Soon after, Lieutenant Reyna returned to his Washington State home.
Last month, he described his experiences as a nurse in Liberia during the Ebola crisis, as a presenter in a webinar entitiled “Los Diez Servicios de Salud Pública,” the fourth webinar in MCN’s Spanish-language webinar series for community health workers (CHWs). He described the scene on the streets of Liberia: pictoral public announcements on billboards and signs across town; temperature readings and chlorine bleach dips before entering stores; campaigns for people to call if they have symptoms, since most residents have cell phones. He also described the hospitals, the caretakers who remained, and the Personal Protective Equipment they used.
Lieutenant Reyna’s expertise as a nurse and community outreach worker was appreciated by participants in the webinar, who rated it with an overall satisfaction of 9.5 out of 10, with an equally high rating in regards to the presentation of “new areas of knowledge and/or new ideas and methods to implement.”
The 10-month webinar series [4] -- unique in its emphasis specifically on Spanish-speaking promotores de salud, or CHWs -- covers the full range of topics necessary for CHWs to effectively conduct outreach in their communities. Wednesday, May 13th will be the fifth installment, with a webinar entitled “Cultura y Salud,” facilitated by Colleen Pacheco, MIM, MPH, and Ileana María Ponce-González, MD, MPH, CNC. Participants may join the series at any time, and all webinars are archived on our website. Register for next week’s webinar here [5]. And, please read Lieutenant Reyna’s complete profile here [3].
Help us honor the work of Lieutenant Jesus Reyna by sharing his profile. And, make sure to check out the profiles of all 30 clinicians at the 30 Clinicians Making a Difference webpage [6].
Like our work? Consider making a donation [7] to MCN to celebrate our 30th anniversary.