Care beyond borders

For Nate Homsey, a trip abroad once meant sightseeing in Europe. But this summer, the recent University of Delaware graduate traveled thousands of miles to Kenya to help save lives.

"Some of the world's most vulnerable populations are severely underserved," Homsey said. "I wanted to travel and help people who don't have good access to high-quality healthcare."

After graduating from UD's College of Health Sciences in May 2025 with a bachelor's in medical diagnostics with a pre-physician assistant (MDD-PPA) concentration, Homsey embarked on an International Medical Aid (IMA) internship, where he spent a month shadowing physicians in Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital in Mombasa.

Homsey, a career firefighter and EMT with the Avondale and Longwood fire companies in Pennsylvania, completed rotations in internal medicine, emergency, surgical and the comprehensive care unit, focused on HIV/AIDS treatment. It was his first experience shadowing doctors, giving him coveted shadowing hours needed for physician assistant (PA) school.

"Patients traveled hundreds of miles to attend this free clinic because they didn't want to be seen by clinics in their hometown due to the stigma," Homsey said. "But they were so grateful for the care."