An Altoona woman knows that with perseverance, one person can make a difference in the lives of many people who live miles away.

Diane Pollard, a staffing specialist in human resources for Principal Financial Group Inc., fell in love with the people of Jamaica during a family vacation to Ocho Rios in 1998, and her heart ached because of the residents’ poor living conditions and lack of access to health services. Pollard’s account of the plight of the underprivileged children in Jamaica struck a nerve with the staff at Blank Children’s Hospital, and this week, a group of doctors and nurses are volunteering on a medical mission in the Caribbean country.

Dr. Steve Stephenson, Blank’s medical director, said the hospital has not sponsored any medical missions in the past, but the Jamaica trip is intended to be the first of many visits to that country.

“We envision this as a way for our staff to give back to another part of the world where the medical issues are extraordinary,” he said.

Three physicians, one nurse practitioner and six nurses arrived in Jamaica Oct. 8 to spend the week in Ocho Rios and surrounding communities providing pediatric health- care services. Although Jamaica has a national health-care system, Stephenson said, its resources are extremely limited. This problem was compounded last year when a hurricane hit the island hard and caused severe damage to health-care facilities.

“The hospitals lost much of their equipment last year in the storm, and they virtually have no resources for thermometers and simple drugs,” he said.

Since Pollard’s first visit to Ocho Rios eight years ago, she has returned a couple of times each year to deliver supplies and donations she’s collected to help needy children and families.

Stephenson and Pollard met last spring to talk about the health issues in Jamaica. Pollard explained that her connections at Couples Resort in Ocho Rios would support an organized mission trip to the country. Stephenson shared this information with his staff, who immediately wanted to get involved. Since then, “It’s been moving ahead like crazy,” he said.

Word about the trip circulated among Blank staff members, and more than 60 volunteered to pay their own travel expenses and use their vacation time to go to Jamaica to work with children at various clinics. Ten people from the hospital were selected for the first medical mission, including two nurses who have previously provided medical services in a foreign country.

“We have enough physicians and staff who want to be involved that we could do this for the next five years,” Stephenson said. “And nobody doubts that they’re going to be working hard, not lying on a beach.”

The Blank team expects to see 200-400 children each day of their trip, Monday through Friday. Pollard visited Jamaica in August to select the clinics the doctors and nurses will visit. Couples Resort has also helped coordinate the doctor visits within the communities. Some of the children who will be seen are afflicted with sickle-cell anemia, a hereditary blood disorder. One of the physicians on the trip, Dr. Stephen Elliott, a blood specialist, will be seeing these patients.

According to Deb Tell, Blank’s pediatric care manager and a team leader for medical mission, the group solicited donations from the medical community and collected about 1,500 pounds of supplies and medications to take to Jamaica. They raised about $3,000 to purchase medications that they couldn’t get through donations.

Air Jamaica agreed to transport the 25 boxes of equipment and supplies at no extra charge. When the airline said it would offer this service, Pollard asked a local charter bus company, Trans Iowa LC, if it could transport the medical team to Chicago for their flight. Randy Sackett, Trans Iowa’s president, agreed to provide a bus and driver.

“It’s heartwarming how much people want to help,” Tell said. “Even after Hurricane Katrina, people have been very supportive. They understand that no matter what is going on in our country, you still have to support other places that also need help.”

Tell said preparing for the trip has been somewhat of a challenge, due to having to meet the paperwork requirements of a multitude of Jamaican bureaus and government groups.

“There was a lot of red tape that we had to go through,” Tell said. “When you think you have everything approved by Customs and Immigration, there was also the Ministry of Health that we had to go through. It’s amazing the forms we’ve filled out and the materials we’ve had to send as proof of who we are.”

But Alice Curl, a registered nurse who is a part of the medical mission, said the amount of time and money she has invested in the trip is insignificant compared with what she expects to receive from going. She has traveled with her church group to Haiti five times to assist with cataract surgeries on adults.

“We go there to help some people, but we’re the ones that really get blessed by it,” Curl said. “It’s a life-changing experience that makes you appreciate what you have back home.”

Curl said she expects this trip to have an even greater impact on her because she will be working with children. She has a love for pediatrics, and has worked at Blank as a nurse for 33 years.

“I just hope that we can make a difference in the lives of the kids over there, that we can help them with some illnesses and provide some support for the families that are caring for them,” Curl said. “That’s my goal for everything, to make a difference in the lives of kids, and I think most everyone who works in pediatrics shares that same idea.”

Pollard agrees with Curl on the importance of helping children. She has volunteered as a child advocate in Des Moines for 20 years. But unlike Des Moines, families in Jamaica don’t have access to public support when times get tough, and the children often pay the price.

“Some of these kids have never seen a doctor, never owned a toy and never had a book to read,” Pollard said. “When you see the impact you can make on a child’s life and a family’s life, it touches you forever.”

This past summer, Pollard worked with her friends at Couples Resort to establish a non-profit organization, the Issa Trust Foundation, to build healthy communities and families in Jamaica. The foundation accepts donations of cash, medical and educational supplies to distribute to Jamaican hospitals, schools and associations. Pollard serves as vice president of the Miami-based foundation.

Now that Pollard has been able to generate interest from Greater Des Moines to address medical problems in Jamaica, her next goal is to help strengthen the country’s education system. While Pollard is working in the medical clinics this week, her parents, retired teachers Franklin and Alice Ruggles, will be visiting local schools to identify ways to improve children’s learning experience, possibly through a textbook exchange or purchasing fans for the hot schoolrooms.

“We need to ensure that every child is given a chance to go to school and develop their human potential,” Pollard said. “These children are the future, and knowledge is power for them.”

For more information about the Issa Trust Foundation, e-mail Diane Pollard at dbpollard@mchsi.com.