For surgical nurse, time off means time to help others on international medical missions

By day, registered nurse Jodi Gunther works in Northwest Community Hospital's intensive care unit, in the high-pressured world of cardiovascular surgery.

But she looks forward to another assignment, in an equally challenging setting: her upcoming medical mission trip to the mountainous region of Peru.

For the sixth time, Gunther of Island Lake will travel with a team of medical professionals organized by CardioStart. They will return to the city of Arequipa, Peru, located in the southwestern part of the country, in the shadow of the Andes Mountains.

However, if her day job is challenging, she describes her upcoming stint in Peru as the "toughest job you'll ever love."

Since 2005, Gunther has returned twice a year to the Honario Del Gado Hospital to help them develop an open-heart surgery program. This will be her sixth trip, and once again she is giving up her spring break to do it.

"It is very hard and at times frustrating work," Gunther said, "but it is so rewarding."

CardioStart is a nonprofit organization with a whose mission to create open heart surgery programs in developing countries. Officials rely on volunteers like Gunther to provide equipment, education and hands-on training to their health-care professional counterparts.

"There are many hurdles to overcome," Gunther said, pointing to language barriers, culture and education differences, "but somehow we manage to create great things."

Gunther responded to a story she read in a nursing magazine, she says, seeing it as a way to share her skills as a critical care nurse. But she concedes she also saw the travel opportunity, including the chance to visit Machu Picchu, a city of the ancient Incas in the Andes Mountains.

What she hadn't counted on were the many relationships she would form with other "repeaters," as well as the medical staff she works with in Peru. It truly has become a global exchange, she says.

Last spring, she sponsored one of the nurses from Honario Hospital to attend a critical care nursing conference in Atlanta.

"She was amazed at how many nurses attended, at the huge vendor hall, and the downtown Atlanta area," Gunther said. "Since returning to Arequipa, she has begun a research project as part of her master's degree based on one of the classes she attended."

Gunther is one of nearly 20 volunteers at Northwest Community who are part of its Medical Missions Team. Other members work with organizations that include Solidarity Bridge and Medical Ministries, among others.

They include Dr. Alfonso Estrada who performed surgeries and other treatments in the Philippines, as well as nurse Jason Heaver, who traveled to Guatemala to treat patients and help train firefighters. Nurse practitioner Kate Scott has made 14 trips to Bolivia since 2000, providing medical and surgical equipment.

All of the volunteers take equipment and supplies donated from the hospital with them on their trips.

"Northwest Community has been very generous in supporting hospital employees who go on missions," Gunther added. "Product donations are made available to us on a regular basis."

However, Gunther also credits her husband, Adolph, who puts up with her globe trotting, twice a year.