Although she’s retired, Joanne Evans, Med, RN, PMHCNS-BC, continues to fuel her passion for nursing by volunteering for medical missions both at home and abroad.

In 2005, she jumped on a plane to New Orleans to provide relief to residents who endured Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history with a final death toll of 1,833, according to the National Weather Service. Evans also travels to countries such as the Dominican Republic and Ecuador to carry out her nursing mission work. She said one of the greatest joys in doing this work is the sheer appreciation expressed by people who need medical care. “Access to healthcare is limited,” Evans said. “In the Dominican Republic, some people would walk for days [from Haiti] to get to where we were, and they’d wait in line for hours to be seen.” Evans works with , a non-profit that provides medical and dental services to people who live in a small mountain village in the Dominican Republic. Volunteers work in a clinic with five exam rooms and nine dental chairs. The organization hosts four trips per year, Evans said. “We provide prenatal care, OBGYN [services], heart care and medications,” Evans said. “If the people need more extensive care they are referred to a nearby city, which is hours away.” The DAISY Foundation recruited Evans to help with the new honoree grant program because of her many years of experience in working on medical missions, she said. "Joanne is well known in the nursing community as a ’doer,’” said Cynthia Sweeney, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, executive director for The DAISY Foundation. “She is always doing something, but most importantly she typically is doing something for other people, like her dedication to mission trips. When DAISY started thinking of people who could share their experiences around mission work to help us articulate the needs of a mission nurse, the first person who popped into my mind was Joanne!"

When a team heads out on a mission, they provide medical, dental and vision care to patients after they have been registered and triaged. Patients go through several stations where volunteers check their height and weight, vital signs and lab work, Arellano said. Volunteers also provide patients with a spiritual consult and physician consult and instruct them on their prescription needs, said Arellano. Patient education is another aspect of the medical mission work. “We educate patients on proper dental hygiene and foot care and give them free flip flops, toothbrushes and toothpaste,” he said. “Then they see the ophthalmologist for vision screenings and they get free reading glasses and sunglasses.” Besides the medical services, Arellano said volunteers also visit orphanages to give out backpacks with school supplies, clothing and toys. “Medical missions are and will forever be a part of me and one of the biggest reasons why I became a registered nurse,” Arellano said.