Springfield College Physical Therapy Alumni Take Part in Service Trip
Erin (Fitzgerald) Boscarino ’15, DPT’17; Ken Bruno ’94; and Lily Holm ’20, DPT’22, were part of a team of clinicians called “Dreaming and Working Together.”
By: Damon Markiewicz
Three Springfield College Physical Therapy alumni recently demonstrated their commitment to living our Humanics philosophy. The trio took part in a week-long service trip to Lima, Peru, working with patients who were receiving their prosthetic device for the first time. Lily Holm ’20, DPT’22; Ken Bruno ’94; and Erin (Fitzgerald) Boscarino ’15, DPT’17, were part of a team of clinicians called “Dreaming and Working Together,” a group whose mission is to help improve the quality of life for their patients.
Each year, a team of volunteer medical experts representing the “Dreaming and Working Together” group attends to the needs of the disabled and underserved populations. While in Peru, the volunteers work with local medical professionals to identify patients in need of surgery and/or rehabilitative care. For those in need of prosthetics, precise measurements are taken to allow prostheses to be created that can be fitted properly when the medical team arrives.
For Bruno, he has been a part of this life-changing medical mission for the last nine years, and he remains committed to the work because it’s a group of like-minded healthcare professionals who truly believe in volunteerism and helping others.
“There aren’t enough words to describe just how special it is to be a part of this group,” explained Bruno, who is a physical therapist and site director for Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network. “Individuals are completely committed to helping people they have never met, and do so with the single goal of just helping a fellow human being.”
The origins of this medical mission started in 2005 when a long-standing employee at Harford Hospital wanted to help the people of his native Peru. Enlisting the help of doctors and rehabilitation staff from the Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network, a relationship was formed with the Neurosurgery Department at the Hospital National Daniel Alcides Carrión in Lima, Peru. The mission is always about bringing support and following the dream of giving back.
As colleagues within the Hartford Healthcare Rehabilitation Network, Bruno was able to connect with Holm to get involved with this year’s trip to Peru. For Holm, to be a part of a service trip like this one was a natural fit. The opportunity to impact people’s lives by providing compassionate care is everything she believes in as a person and as a healthcare provider.
“It is simply amazing to witness patients traveling as long as 16 hours by bus to be fitted for their prosthetic device,” explained Holm. “To watch the tears of joy flow as they are fitted is inspiring. The realization sets in that this is a life-changing moment for so many of the patients we work with. They have waited so long, and traveled so far, there is feeling of gratitude that just takes over everyone’s emotions. To watch people cheering and supporting each other during these moments, the tears of joy just take over.”
For Holm, she was able to visit Peru as a student when she took part in a service trip during winter break with the YMCA Club on campus. During that time, she discovered a passion for the culture in Peru, which made her return visit as a healthcare professional all that much more fulfilling.
“I really enjoyed working with all of the great people we met in Peru, and to be able to go back and build even deeper connections, it’s a special feeling,” explained Holm. “People are so supportive of each other. People will watch each other’s kids as they are waiting to be treated. I have never seen anything like it. It just represents a very wholesome moment of pure care for each other.”
Similar to Holm, Boscarino also participated in alternative spring break trips as a student, including a global health experience to Trinidad and Tobago with her PT peers and faculty. Being a part of the Trinidad experience prepared her to be comfortable while building connections with healthcare professionals in different countries and cultures.
“I feel Springfield College did a great job preparing me for this path of being dedicated to service to others throughout the world,” explained Boscarino, who has established a successful career as a physical therapist at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. “On this most recent trip to Peru, we were split up into different teams, and we started working with patients. You start building trust with the patients as you learn their personal history. We would set them up for their fitting and prepare them for PT exercises. You are working with a translator to communicate with patients. Just having the experience of a similar service trip as a student helped me a lot during the Peru visit.”
When recapping their trip together, Boscarino, Holm, and Bruno all expressed that they established a sense of connection with the rehab staff in Peru. Starting right away, there was a universal feeling of dedication to the patients who were being treated.
“We really bonded with the staff and people in Peru because we all share a love for what we do, and a passion for helping people,” expressed Bruno. “Everyone taking part in this trip is volunteering their time and dedicating themselves to assisting people. It truly is the definition of service to others.”
Throughout the week, Bruno, Holm and Boscarino worked with more than 50 patients. All three alumni described that what they were experiencing throughout the week was truly a triangle moment.
“The amount of professionalism and skill that was part of this year’s group was simply amazing,” expressed Bruno. “The amount of love and caring that was being shared, the patients felt it, and the practitioners felt it. This experience is a life-changer for everyone involved. The amount of gratitude we received from the patients is overwhelming. The treatment the patients receive is so much more than just receiving their prosthetic device. It changes the patient’s life because they now can support their family. They can see their future of change.”
Bruno, Holm, and Boscarino put their Humanics into action on their visit to Peru, bringing that spirt, mind, and body mindset out into the world. As described by the group itself, it’s a mission of one dream and one team.
“Everyone, has the ability to touch people’s lives, and it takes a special group who show up to do this,” explained Bruno. “We all had the mindset of saying, ‘I can help somebody today.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
