Pack and plan: destination Romania

Suitcases of all sizes inundated the front hall of a Leawood home on Aug. 24. Dozens of volunteers crowded the spacious kitchen and spilled into adjacent rooms. A stack of delivery pizzas arrived as Doug Hagen, RN, MD, anesthesiologist, and director of missions for Medical Missions Foundation (MMF), took the floor.
He reminded everyone that stickers and small pieces of candy were acceptable "gifts" for the children they would meet; they should not drink the tap water; and only unmarked, unripped American bills would be acceptable for money exchange. Hagen also told them to bring locks for their bags and accept any opportunity to visit homes of the local people.
"And we are ambassadors for MMF and Kansas City so keep your professional decorum about you," he said.
The volunteers had gathered to pack and plan for an upcoming trip to Botosani, Romania. Since 1993, the Leawood-based Medical Missions Foundation, a nondenominational, nonprofit organization, has aided indigent people who live in developing and economically depressed countries throughout the world.
Volunteers provide reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation for children with birth defects. They foster ongoing medical care by teaching local health care providers, and providing donations of supplies and equipment to the areas they serve. During 2004 alone, MMF volunteers assisted 1,027 patients and performed 149 surgeries. Cerner Corporation's First Hand Foundation is a co-sponsor of this trip.
Dallas Rowan, RN, and an OR nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center, has traveled to China, the Philippines, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia with the organization, and this will be her fourth visit to Romania. She is also vice president of clinical engineering and materials management for the Medical Missions Foundation.
"A friend told me about MMF, and I went to China the first time," Rowan said. "The biggest difference in nursing care is that, here, we have so much more equipment and 'activities.' American nurses are very assertive, and that's more of an asset than a liability. In Cuba they didn't know what to make of us."
Vonnie Kane, RN, works in labor and delivery at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. She has made six previous trips with the Medical Missions Foundation, including two to Romania.
"I'm widowed and I'd always wanted to do a medical mission," Kane said. "My first mission was to Mexico. I usually do pre-op or recovery or I circulate.
"(These mission trips have taken) my blinders off, and I've brought back an increased objectivity in dealing with people. I get more out of this than I give."
MMF volunteers hail from almost every city in the metropolitan area. They pay their own way, and many take uncompensated leaves of absence or use vacation time for the privilege of participating. Because of their generosity, all money raised by the foundation can be used to purchase items that have not been donated or cannot be transported.
Each volunteer for this trip will travel with two suitcases - one for personal items and the other packed with up to 70 pounds of medical equipment and supplies. Their packing lists include two pairs of jeans, comfortable walking shoes, rain jackets, flashlights, 50 tubes of antibacterial ointment, 50 bottles of children's vitamins and 30 bottles of ibuprofen.
Most mission participants will begin their arduous journey on Sept. 9, with flights to Chicago, Amsterdam and Bucharest, followed by an 11-hour train trip and a brief bus ride to rural Botosani. They will spend the next four to five days providing medical assistance and training, before they begin their return trip.
"This is my seventh trip to Romania," Hagen said. "I went, for the first time, five years ago. It has been the most rewarding experience of my professional career."

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