ETSU Student Pharmacists Bring Care — and Compassion — to Belize
By Stephen Woodward
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (August 26, 2025)—For a week in June, students and faculty from
East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy journeyed from Appalachia
to the heart of Central America, joining forces with ETSU Quillen College of Medicine
on an interprofessional medical outreach trip that left a lasting impact far beyond
the clinic walls.
Partnering with Body and Soul Ministries, the team — including Dr. Kylie Futrell,
recent Academic Pharmacy Fellow, and student pharmacists, P4s Kaylee Duff Rasnake,
Mallory Johnson, and Whitley Hudson — traveled to Belize’s rural Cayo District, seeing
patients in clinic settings, consulting on medications, and supporting home visit
teams in villages where access to health care is scarce.
Boots On the Ground
Alongside 16 medical students and local community health workers, the interprofessional
team provided free care to more than 350 patients across five underserved villages,
supporting Gatton’s mission to train collaborative pharmacists who improve healthcare
in rural and underserved communities.
“These visits allowed our team to care for some of the sickest and most vulnerable
individuals in the community,” said Hudson. “We would gather our supply and medication
bags, then head out to provide care directly in patients homes. These visits gave
patients the chance to share not only their health concerns but also their personal
stories. This gave us the opportunity to learn more about the people of Belize and
their beautiful culture!”
“This trip was a remarkable and truly impactful experience for me not only as a student
pharmacist but as a person,” said Mallory Johnson. “My role switched every day with
responsibilities that ranged from community pharmacy to ambulatory care, to even home
health pharmacy.”
Under the guidance of Dr. Futrell, students immersed themselves within the interprofessional
team dynamic, learning to collaborate across disciplines and cultures.
Of all the experiences, it was the home visits that left the deepest impression.
“Each day, there was a team consisting of a student pharmacist, physician, and medical
student who partnered with a community health worker from each community who knew
which patients needed care directly in their homes,” Johnson explained. “We spent
quality time with these patients in their homes and did as much as we could with the
equipment and medication on our backs.”
Lessons for a Lifetime
For the student pharmacists, the lessons learned in Belize reach far beyond borders.
“One of the most important lessons I took away from this experience was the value
of meeting patients where they are,” said Hudson. “There were several instances where
first line or even second line treatments were not the most appropriate option due
to limited access to follow-up care for monitoring or access to the medication itself.
This changed us to think creatively and adapt treatment plans that were practical
for each patient.
“Serving the rural and medically underserved in Belize proved to be directly applicable
to our local population by learning how to optimize our limited resources to form
a safe and appropriate care plan for our patients,” said Johnson. “This experience
will undoubtedly change how I care for my patients moving forward.”
