This INMED award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to health in developing nations. The award winners have demonstrated uncommon dedication and endurance in pursuit of this cause, and have included Cindy Obenhaus RN, Bruce Steffes MD, Joe LeMaster MPH, and Cathy Hoelzer PA.
The 2015 INMED International Medicine Award Recipient is Meredith Jackson, RN, MA. Since 2003 Meredith has partnered with Kansas City-based Medical Missions Foundation, and Medical Aid to Children of Latin America (MACLA), to provide surgical specialty care via her twenty-eight trips to Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Mani and Uganda. She brings her special qualifications in human resources, pre-op and post-op care, and vascular access to those in these developing nations, as well as at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital. To nurses considering similar service, Meredith Jackson advises “Jump in and do it. There is usually a role for a nurse with any background who is open to adapting to whatever skill is needed.”