Trip Destinations

Due to the shared spring break (March 2-10, 2024) across all Health Sciences Campus programs, our trips will provide opportunities to build interprofessional relationships among medical, nursing, and public health students on the following trips.

1-Week Spring Break Immersions, $1,200 individual fundraising goal:

El Salvador

Open to all HSC students

The El Salvador Encounter through CRISPAZ is an educational immersion experience in which participants learn from the Salvadoran people about their lives, histories, and hopes for the future. A major focus of the encounter is to reflect on the meaning of working for justice rather than working for charity, understanding one’s role as a global citizen and humanizing the different issues that are present in our societies. Participants learn directly from Salvadorans about issues such as the impact of war, neo-liberal economics, U.S. foreign policy, migration, mining, the environment and a tradition of liberating faith all through a healthcare lens. The trip will also include meetings with Salvadoran medical professionals to learn from health care teams and public health educators to understand ongoing initiatives in a rural community. This educational immersion has a special emphasis on the voice and experience of the poor and marginalized of El Salvador.   

 *No language prerequisite, but conversational Spanish is recommended.

Jackson, Mississippi

Open to SSOM students

Trip coordinated in conjunction with LUC School of Law faculty and students 

The Mississippi Delta region has a rich history of physicians being involved in rural healthcare and the Civil Rights Movement. This service immersion experience focuses on the impact of racism on healthcare by visiting and learning from various organizations in Jackson, Mississippi. Participants will meet with public health researchers, medical providers, health advocates, and government officials to learn about the state of health care in Mississippi and discuss the impact that disparities have on one’s social determinants of health. As an interdisciplinary trip with Loyola Chicago’s School of Law, participants will engage in conversations regarding legal advocacy and return with skills to advocate for policy reform. 

1-Week Immersions, $1,200 individual fundraising goal:

Cuernavaca, Mexico 
May 19-26, 2024

Open to SSOM and Parkinson students

This ISI to Cuernavaca, Mexico, through Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience, will explore themes of health and healing by getting a glimpse into the daily lived experience of the community. Based out of a study center in Cuernavaca, ISI participants will hear from organizations and guest speakers about public health, indigenous and alternative healing practices, and health promotion. Possible excursions include visiting hospitals, community clinics, women’s empowerment organizations, and more. More so, participants can expect to gain a fuller understanding of how immigration impacts the lives of Mexicans and how communities are responding to preserve and maintain their beautiful culture in the face of adversity and injustice.

Pine Ridge, South Dakota 
June 9-16, 2024

Open to SSOM students

This trip is led by Dr. David DeMarco, S.J., a Stritch faculty member who previously practiced medicine for four years on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This immersion invites students to learn about the Oglala Lakota, their culture, their spiritual tradition, the impact of history and geography on contemporary life, and contemporary challenges, including health care. This trip consists of conversations with tribal leaders, including spiritual leaders, nurses, educators, pastors, counselors; visit to historical sites, including Wounded Knee, White Clay, the Badlands, and the Black Hills; tour of the Indian Health Service Hospital; Sunday Mass in the tribal church and lunch with the congregation. 

*No language prerequisite. 

10-Day Immersion, $1,300 individual fundraising goal:

El Salvador and US-Mexico Border
10-Day Immersion between May 19 - June 2, 2024

Open to SSOM and Parkinson students

This immersion invites participants to follow the path of a Central American migrant by starting in El Salvador and then traveling to the US-Mexico Border. For the first part of the experience, the El Salvador Encounter through CRISPAZ is an educational immersion experience in which participants learn from the Salvadoran people about their lives, histories, and hopes for the future. A major focus of the encounter is to reflect on the meaning of working for justice rather than working for charity, understanding one’s role as a global citizen and humanizing the different issues that are present in our societies. Participants learn directly from Salvadorans about issues such as the impact of war, neo-liberal economics, U.S. foreign policy, migration, mining, the environment and a tradition of liberating faith all through a healthcare lens. The trip will also include meetings with Salvadoran medical professionals to learn from health care teams and public health educators to understand ongoing initiatives in a rural community. The immersion then continues to the US-Mexico Border where participants will visit migrant shelters and learn from various migrant justice and advocacy organizations, such as COFAMIDE, No More Deaths, and Hogar de Esperanza y Paz.

*No language prerequisite, but conversational Spanish is recommended.

2-Week Immersions, $1,500 individual fundraising goal:

Palacios, Bolivia
May 19 - June 2, 2024

Open to SSOM students

The majority of this immersion is spent in a rural clinic, Centro Medico Susan Hou. Founded in 2001 by Loyola nephrologist, the late Dr. Susan Hou, her husband, Northwestern endocrinologist Dr. Mark Molitch, and Bolivian endocrinologist, Dr. Douglas Villaroel, CMHP serves over 3,000 patients annually through clinic visits, surgical campaigns, deparatization programs, and emergency care resources. Participants at this site receive exposure to clinical flow and care provided in CMHP, having the opportunity to participate with daily clinic operations such as assisting in the lab or pharmacy, patient intake, observing physicians, and practicing patient interview skills in Spanish. Students may also work with the network of Community Health Promoters and give health education presentations at local schools. While in Palacios, students stay in a home on the clinic property and are immersed in the daily-life routines of the surrounding community.

*Advanced or fluent Spanish is a prerequisite for participation.

4 to 5 week immersions, $1,800 individual fundraising goal:

Santiago, Dominican Republic
July 2-25, 2024

Open to SSOM and Parkinson students

Our Dominican Republic immersion builds on a Jesuit partnership with the Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC) affiliated with Creighton University. The ILAC Center, now over 40 years old, is located just outside of the city of Santiago. The ISI team will receive an orientation into the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of the country. Through ILAC’s collaborations with Chronic Care International (CCI), participants will learn about the care provided through the ILAC network in the villages surrounding Santiago while staying with local families. With CCI, participants will hear about the growing need for, as well as complex challenges presented by, chronic care in lower resourced settings through learning from health promoters and providers who address the epidemic of chronic disease in the international setting. Participants will partner with CCI and their team of health promoters to understand the health education and chronic care prevention and management they carry out in local campos. In addition, the ISI team may provide public health presentations for the Diabetic Clinic and local schools.

*Near fluency in Spanish is a prerequisite for participation.