Bringing respiratory care to asthma clinics in Guyana
The effect of the CHEST Foundation grant
Applying for the CHEST Foundation community service grant was the largest grant I had ever attempted. Having a support system behind you is the most important piece of advice I can give to future grant applicants. I could not have completed my grant without our grant team at Texas State University. They truly had my back; and close to the deadline when it seemed insurmountable, they helped push me through it. The other piece of advice is to have a true vision and stick to that vision. The most difficult part of my project was the budget, prioritizing the things or people that I needed. Honestly, I needed help here, because for me, I needed everything. I had to make choices and leave some things out. I focused on what the actual need was for the many.
My ultimate goal for Guyana is to promote and show the need for respiratory care professionals to have that education offered at the University of Guyana as part of its allied health program and assist those in the application to the International Fellowship Program of the American Association of Respiratory Care—there has never been a fellow from Guyana. I believe that Guyana will have the resources, and with assistance, could achieve the goal. My vision and goal started in 2016, and I want to achieve it in the next 10 years.
I would like to thank all the CHEST Foundation donors from the bottom of my heart. This project was real and, as a CHEST member myself, it encourages me to be a better donor. Thank you—for it was and is much appreciated. Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my Co-Assistant Program Director, Holly Wise (Mass Communications) and Amber Hazelett, RRT (RC assistant), and the BGMM team for their entire support throughout the study abroad journey.
(This article was previous published in CHEST Thought Leaders.)
This grant is supported in full by the CHEST Foundation. Donors like you make grants like this possible. Thank you for your generosity and passion for community service and moving the needle forward on improving patient outcomes. To support community service initiatives, and the next generation of lung health champions, please go to foundation.chestnet.org/donate
