But she was caught off guard when she, her fellow nurses, and
other medical professionals were greeted with applause on the first
day of their medical mission in the Coban region of Guatemala.
"We got out of the van and people started clapping," said Valdez,
who estimates there were some 600 people lined up to get care
when the medical team arrived at 7 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2019. "We're not
used to getting that kind of recognition."
Over the next three days, Valdez, along with 16 other nurses and
nurse practitioners from across the United States, provided much-
needed medical care to more than 2,000 people as part of a Registered
Nurse Response Network (RNRN) deployment. RNRN is a disaster
relief program sponsored by National Nurses United, California
Nurses Foundation, and California Nurses Association.
"This was probably the only primary care they would have all
year, until the next medical mission," said Mary Jane Perry, a regis-
tered nurse from California, who served as the team lead in Guate-
mala and has deployed with RNRN several times.
The mountains of the Coban region are covered in lush subtropical
forests often enshrouded in a heavy mist. These cloud forests are
home to a variety of animals, including exotic birds like the macaw,
10 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 0
Paying Respects
Honoring Guatemala's disappeared with
medical care for the survivors. By Rachel Berger
As a registered nurse working in the emergency room of an Arizona
hospital, Andrea Valdez, is trained to expect the unexpected.
