Chu, Stephanie

Global Impact: Penn Global Nursing Fellowship Program* CerviCusco, Peru

Presented By

Stephanie Chu

Presentation Date

04/08/2022

Penn Nursing Degree(s)

BSN’10

Stephanie Chu, a 2010 BSN graduate, has had the desire to work with vulnerable, under-resourced populations ever since high school, when she decided to become a nurse. She has always believed that access to quality health care is a human right, not a privilege. The Penn Global Nursing Fellowship Program (GNFP) gave Stephanie the opportunity to not only help where need is great, but to give back in Peru, the country that her parents came from.

Stephanie was named a Renfield Fellow of the GNFP in 2021 and matched with CerviCusco, an organization in Peru founded by Dr. Daron Ferris, Recipient of the 2020 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health. Her three months in Peru included ongoing mentoring by Penn Nursing faculty, Dr. Alison Buttenheim.

As an ICU Nurse Leader during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC, Stephanie had to quickly build trusting partnerships and implement new procedures through detailed planning and organization. Those skills in the ICU context translated well to her projects in Cusco focused on the Azul Wasi Orphanage that included implementation of an electronic medical record, and contributions to classroom resources, and water filtration. Additionally, Stephanie’s heritage gave her an advantage in understanding Peruvian culture and accessing resources and advice when she had questions about how things work in Peru or where to go to find answers.

Stephanie’s contributions to the work of CerviCusco has been highly praised by its Executive Director, Dr. Deborah Krotish, and her impact has been so great that they are discussing the possibility of an appointment to the Board of Directors at CerviCusco. 

*The Penn Global Nursing Fellowship (GNFP) program matches our skilled graduates and faculty to meaningful health-related projects of global organizations committed to serving vulnerable populations.