Dominican Sister of Adrian Patricia Erickson, OP, Spends Saturdays Treating People Seeking Asylum

December 31, 2019, Tijuana, Mexico – As a nurse practitioner, Sister Patricia Erickson, OP, sees special patients every Saturday: people seeking asylum in the United States, but staying in shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, while awaiting their asylum hearing. She is among many health care workers and other concerned individuals who volunteer their time with Refugee Health Alliance.
Saturdays find Sister Pat and other volunteers gathered at a coffee shop in a strip mall on the U.S. side of the border. Here, they organize themselves into two teams, making sure that each team has a group of medical providers, people to help set up and work in the clinics, and others who can serve as translators. Each group offers health care in three shelters that day – which can last from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or even later.