Vanier Nursing’s Melodie Hicks: the guest speaker at Health Partners International milestone celebration

Vanier College Nursing professor, Melodie Hicks, will be the keynote speaker when Dollard des Ormeaux-based Health Partners International Canada celebrates the milestone of providing $400 million in medical aid to the developing world.

Vanier-Malawi Nursing Exchange
Since 2008, Melodie has travelled several times to Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in various Vanier College projects and to lay the groundwork for a Nursing program exchange between the Vanier College Nursing Program and the University of Malawi’s Kumuzu College of Nursing. As such she is well-placed to know the medical needs of developing countries like Malawi.

Nursing internship in Malawi
In 2011nd 2012, Melodie accompanied two groups of Vanier Nursing students who did the final 6-week internship of their three-year Cegep nursing studies in a rural clinic and an urban hospital in Malawi. The internship is part of an exchange program whereby nursing students from Malawi will in turn come to Canada for a semester of studies in Montreal.

HPI Physician Travel Packs
Each time Melodie travels to Malawi she brings with her HPI Physician Travel Packs, which are mobile medical kits filled with basic medicines and supplies that can provide 600 treatments. The packs include medications, vitamins, analgesics, pain medicaton, antibiotics, and various hospital supplies valued at $5,000.

Seeing the difference firsthand
Melodie has seen firsthand the difference the Physician Travel Packs can make between life and death in a medical resource deprived country such as Malawi. “Having the travel packs means that our students can offer nursing care as well as provide patients with medications that are in short supply.”

Health Partners International Canada
Health Partners International Canada is a relief and development organization dedicated to increasing access to medicine and improving health in the developing world, by providing medicines and hospital supplies. The medicines and hospital supplies are all donated by local pharmaceutical and medical supply companies.

The celebration will take place at IMS Health, 16720 Trans-Canada Highway, Kirkland H9H 5M3 on Thursday, October 11, 2012, 11: 45 a.m. to 1 p.m