Today@Sam Article

School Of Nursing Alumnus Travels To Europe To Aid Ukrainians

May 6, 2022
SHSU Media Contact: Wes Hamilton

By Karen Leonhart

School of Nursing alumnus Kyle Cockerham is living up to the Sam Houston State University motto “The measure of a Life is its Service” by aiding Ukrainian refugees. Cockerham works as a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital, located in the Texas Medical Center in downtown Houston, but is currently overseas in the European country of Moldova serving on an international humanitarian healthcare mission to help the Ukrainian relief effort. His goal is to provide healthcare, healing, and hope to the thousands of refugees at the Ukraine border.

While there, Cockerham will help administer critical care and work to alleviate long term healthcare issues such as hypertension and pain management. Accompanied by the Director of Texas Children’s Global, Mike Wizma, Cockerham will deliverthe donations raised by Texas Children’s organization, including handmade projects from hospital patients. He will also attend meetings with the U.S. Embassy in Romania and visit the Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatric AIDS initiative location.

“They are just devastated in the Ukraine. Dads, husbands and sons have had to stay behind because they have been drafted into military service,” Cockerham said. “People are leaving their homes and lives as they know it behind. The last thing they need to worry about is their long-term healthcare issues.”

When Cockerham requested a leave of absence in order to join the relief effort, he said he received overwhelming support from his family, friends and colleagues at Texas Children’s Hospital. He sold custom t-shirts to help fund the trip and more than 40 members of the Texas Children’s staff purchased them to help.

“Serving others is my passion,” Cockerham explained. “When I did my first pediatric rotation at Texas Children’s, I knew this was the career and the place for me to grow. I also love the critical care setting. It is fast paced, requires a high acuity and provides a broad scope of practice.”

Cockerham’s goal is to lead future medical mission trips. Through the network of medical professionals he has met he now has an opportunity to learn from leaders in humanitarian healthcare missions with this current experience.

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Texas Children’s houses 969 patient beds and is the largest and the most comprehensive pediatric and women’s health care organization in the nation. Texas Children’s news website has documented Cockerham’s efforts and the media attention that it has received. For more information visit the Texas Children’s Newsmakers youtube page.

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