Trip Destinations

Due to the shared spring break (March 4-12, 2023) across all Health Sciences Campus programs, our trips will provide opportunities to build interprofessional relationships among medical, nursing, and public health students on the El Salvador trip and also with LUC School of Social Work on the US-Mexico Border trip.

1-Week Spring Break Immersions, $1000 individual fundraising goal:

US-Mexico Border: San Diego-Tijuana

Trip coordinated in conjunction with LUC School of Social Work faculty and students.

This educational immersion experience presents two primary objectives: 1) introduce participants to the first-hand realities of border health and justice, and 2) provide a shared experience in immigration that serves as a point of entry to advocate for social justice and human rights in the Chicagoland area. This immersion will take place with partners on both sides of the US-Mexico border in San Diego, CA and Tijuana, Mexico. The ISI delegation will hear from local organizations doing grassroots activism and providing legal advocacy and medical care to understand the complexities of migration patterns and pertinent factors.

*No language prerequisite, but conversational Spanish is recommended.

1-Week Immersions, $1000 individual fundraising goal:

Belize City, Belize
May 21-27, 2023

The Belize City immersion offers a unique experience that integrates cultural immersion in a country rich in Caribbean and Mayan history while supporting the right to housing for local residents and community members. Serving with long-time partner Hand in Hand Ministries, participants will sponsor the building of a home in just two weeks – from start to finish – and will learn from and connect with local families. The ISI team will partake in key moments in the build, such as meeting the family who will live in the home, raising the home’s walls, and participating in the traditional house blessing. The ISI team will also gather for communal reflection and cultural learning on topics ranging from local outreach for those living with HIV/AIDS, Belize's response to COVID, health care delivery systems in Belize, and traditional forms of Belizean music and dance.

*No language prerequisite.

8-10 Day Immersions, $1100 individual fundraising goal:

Santiago, Dominican Republic (Maywood and Hybrid ABSN students and Parkinson students only)
May 11-19, 2023

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.

*No language prerequisite, but conversational Spanish is recommended.

El Salvador and US-Mexico Border
May 24 - June 2 (10-Day Immersion)

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, $1250 individual fundraising goal:

Palacios, Bolivia
May 21-June 4, 2023

The majority of this immersion is spent in a rural clinic, Centro Medico Humberto Parra. 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.

Quito, Ecuador
May 21 to June 4, 2023

Join the tremendous work of the Center for Working Families (Centro una Familia de Familias) in Quito, Ecuador. Their mission to accompany and educate began over 50 years ago as an effort to provide an employment alternative to shoeshine boys working in the streets. Today, the work of the center has grown to positively impact the lives of over 6,000 families, or over 30,000 individuals, through accompaniment of whole families, building educational opportunities, providing technical skill training, and community building through education and health initiatives. The ISI team will learn about daily life of the community as well as the intersection of community need and organized response. Participants will encounter local Family & Social Promoters who work with individuals and families on basic health practices and initiatives through home visits and educational sessions. There will also be opportunities hear from local physicians, physical therapists, or other health care providers as they respond to the health care needs of the community.

* Conversational to advanced Spanish is a prerequisite for participation.

4 to 5 week immersions, $1500 individual fundraising goal:

Santiago, Dominican Republic
July 4-27, 2023

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.