NURSING PROFESSOR PART OF SURGICAL MISSION TO BOLIVIA

Dr. Catherine Foster, chairperson of the department of nursing at Southeast Missouri State University, left for La Paz, Bolivia Friday on a surgical mission to assist children.

She is part of the S.M.A.R.T. (Surgical and Medical Assistance Relief Teams), a non-profit organization based in Overland Park, Kan. The medical teams plan to operate on 40 patients during this visit, according to Teresa A. Searcy, a director of the organization.

S.M.A.R.T. will perform cleft lip and palate surgeries, eye surgeries and dental work on children at no charge. Fourteen volunteers are leading the October mission, which includes a plastic surgeon, dentist, nurse anesthetist, five registered nurses, an interpreter, a dental assistant and a photographer. Each team consists of 14-20 volunteers who donate their time and pay for all their own expenses.