SARASOTA – A Sarasota man just returned from a medical mission trip in Ukraine.
“I want to be there, I want to be in country, I want to make a difference,” said Respiratory Therapist at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Nate England.
Nate England, a Respiratory Therapist at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital knew he needed to do something for Ukraine after months of devastating war. England is returning to the Suncoast after a 12-day medical mission trip in Ukraine with Dr. Novick and the Novick Cardiac Alliance, to bring sustainable health care solutions to children with cardiac disease.
“I do ECMO right now I do CV-ICU, he does cardiac surgery in different countries this is a better use of my skillset that I have right now, so I was like, I’m going to do it,” said England.
For Nate’s family, the thought of him going straight into a war-zone was quite overwhelming
“I wanted to be able to support him, so I got it together and was all for it, and my kids and I got a bunch of toys and diapers that he was able to take over firsthand in the hospital and once we got over the initial shock of it, I was so excited for him to be able to make a difference like this,” said Nate’s Partner, Lindsay Landers Niedenfuer.
Working in a warzone, was eye opening for Nate.
“Just seeing the conditions at the hospital, it made me feel really fortunate for what I have to work with and the healthcare we have in the states, I was trying to do the job I do now, with none of the resources,” said England.
Nate worked close to 14 hours days on the ICU team, and even donated his own blood to help kids in need. As many hospitals were closed throughout the country, Nate and his team were able to provide vital surgeries during the trip.
“Literally our team going there made a life or death difference for the kids we operated on that week,” said England.
As Nate is back home, he is thankful to be able to share his story and encourages others to help in any way they can
“Novick has a worldwide organization that you can donate to, he’s always looking for nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists that want to volunteer in different countries around the world, it was an amazing experience as a healthcare provider, and see how different the rest of the world is,” said England.
Nate is already planning to return to Ukraine in September with the same team under the Novik Cardiac Alliance.
