Panola nursing students travel to Belize

DR. BARBARA CORDELL and Rhonda Melander administer ear drops to an infant. Courtesy photo

Two Panola College nursing students recently traveled to the remote jungles of the Toledo District in Belize, Central America to provide nursing care to isolated native Mayan citizens.

Rhonda Melander of Carthage and Shannon McKamy of Tenaha, both second year nursing students at Panola, were chosen to participate in the medical mission started 20 years ago by health care providers Dr. Bruce McNellie and Dr. Quinn Robinson, both from Nacogdoches.

Dr. Barbara Cordell, director of the nursing program at Panola accompanied the pair. This was the 12th trip for Cordell.

Melander and McKamy assessed patients and provided basic nursing care for the residents of remote villages that had neither running water nor electricity. The two student nurses cleaned wounds, gave injections and offered comfort and education.

"The experience of going to such a poor village really puts health care into perspective," Cordell said. "We have so much in the United States that we take for granted. The students gained valuable experiences with a culture very different from their own."