SMYRNA, Tenn., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A group of local volunteers under the auspices of Humanity Bridge, a nonprofit organization, will be traveling to Nnewi, Nigeria on Thursday, January 13, 2011 to offer healthcare services and hope to the poor and underserved. Humanity Bridge volunteers have travelled to Nigeria many times to offer support, so their return is much awaited. Armed with a broad range of skills, experience and the support of friends, colleagues and community, the group will be looking to uplift humanity in this heartland of Africa.
Humanity Bridge was founded by Afam Ikejiani, M.D., an obstetrician/gynecologist practicing in Smyrna, and his wife, Uloma, a registered pharmacist. Dr. Ikejiani was the first physician at StoneCrest Medical Center to be awarded HCA's prestigious Frist Humanitarian Award. Carianna Johnson, a registered nurse at StoneCrest Medical Center's labor and delivery unit, has partnered with Dr. Afam Ikejiani to launch Humanity Bridge into a fully, functional local and international nonprofit organization focusing on agribusiness, healthcare and human development. Humanity Bridge works to uplift humanity worldwide.
Humanity Bridge will be exploring the integration of sustainable healthcare and economic development in Nigeria and will partner with Theresa Kennedy, the Executive Director of Green & Healthy Communities in Nashville in this endeavor. In the Middle Tennessee area, Humanity Bridge will be working to improve quality and affordable healthcare options for women, offer preventive HIV/AIDS education, teen pregnancy prevention, and care of the poor and the underserved.
Traveling with Dr. Ikejiani are: Carianna Johnson, a registered nurse, David Johnson, a certified surgical scrub technician, Justin Sexton, a certified nurse anesthetist, Tina Marie Scott Pullum, a certified surgical scrub technician and Calvin Layne Pullum, a photographer. The Middle Tennessee team will be joined by Ana Cobiella Olson, an educational consultant from Key West Florida, and Corey Alan Potts, a certified nurse anesthetist from Evansville, Indiana.
In addition to life-saving surgical procedures, the group will visit and donate supplies and books to the orphanage, offer vision checks and a reading glass program, initiate programs for the empowerment of women, and offer preventive healthcare education. Over three thousand (3,000) pairs of reading glasses will be dispensed. The group will be centered at Nnewi in Southeastern Nigeria, January 14-28, 2011. Patients usually camp out days before the start of the mission with lines streaming down the streets. Surgical procedures and reading glass programs are carried out from sun-up to sun-down in an effort to make an impact on this population that otherwise could not afford care.
Humanity Bridge has enjoyed the support of HCA's StoneCrest Medical Center and Summit Medical Center through the donation of supplies and medications. Most of the volunteers on previous and up-coming missions are employed by HCA. Carianna Johnson is the 2009 national employee winner of Healthcare Corporation of America's (HCA's) Frist Humanitarian Award.
To make donations for this mission trip and future Humanity Bridge activities, please go to www.humanitybridge.net or mail to Humanity Bridge, P.O. Box 2249, Smyrna, TN 37167 USA. All donations are tax deductible. Humanity Bridge is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.
About Humanity Bridge
For more information please contact Humanity Bridge at 615-768-9004 or visit www.humanitybridge.net.
SOURCE Humanity Bridge
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