Students and Faculty from the SONHS met with officials at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C. on February 20 to prepare for their service-learning trip to Guatemala during spring break. Dr. Cristina Beato, Deputy Director of PAHO, encouraged the students to promote the health of the poor and the vulnerable, empower them to help themselves, and learn from them. Press officer Mr. Dan Epstein presented an overview of PAHO's work and health goals for the present decade in the Americas, and discussed current health crises in South and Central America. Dr. Juan Eduardo Guerrero discussed social, economic and political determinants of health, and Dr. Silvina Malvarez, Chief Nursing Officer of PAHO, discussed causes and consequences of the shortage of health professionals in the Americas.
Pictured (back row, left to right) are students Trudy Garcia and Jennifer Cash, Dr. Juan Eduardo Guerrero, Dr. Silvina Malvarez, and students Holly Crawford, Jennifer Weiss, Andrea Jackson, and Bridgette Nelson; (front row, left to right) Associate Professor Ana Maria Catanzaro, students Kate Martinucci, Jenneh Bockari, and Carol Ilagan, and Assistant Professor Mary Wilby.