University Hospital nurses and ISHI volunteers Socorro Rogers (left) and Mae Tingson recently spearheaded a two-week humanitarian mission to their native Philippines. The nurses came up with this idea back in 2009, while on a mission in Guatemala. Tingson communicated with town officials in Bacolod, her hometown, while Rogers recruited volunteers from UH to form a surgical team. Donations of surgical supplies were collected and packed over the two months prior to the mission. The nurses also coordinated many of the trip's logistical details, arranging for meals, accommodations, and transportation for the surgical team. Once in the Philippines, they worked tirelessly in the operating rooms to care for patients in need. They also trained young Filipino nurses and nursing students in proper OR procedures and scrub techniques.

"The effort, enthusiasm and determination of these two nurses were instrumental in making this mission a huge success," said Ziad Sifri, MD, associate professor of surgery and president of ISHI.