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Hartford Hospital nurse prepares for her next healing mission
May 23, 2025
Cheryl Mitchell, MSN, MBA, RN, far right, was joined by Hartford Hospital colleagues on a mission trip to Costa Rica. From left are: Nelson Amador, Corner of Love founder; Amanda Antonacci, RN; Laura Johnston, RN; Dawn Surprenant, DNP, RN; Katie Vees, MSN, RN; Tanya Amador, Corner of Love founder; and Richard Andrew Mitchell, RN.
Cheryl Mitchell’s passion for mission work began as a teenager on church youth group trips to Appalachia.
As an adult, she felt called to continue serving and involve her family and colleagues.
Mitchell’s next mission trip to Costa Rica is July 17-23. She will be joined by her husband, her son, Richard Mitchell, RN, Bone & Joint Institute, and Dawn Surprenant, RN, DNP, and Sara Ruddy, PA, from Hartford Hospital and invites others to join or support her.
In 2012, Mitchell, who works as a patient care administrative nurse supervisor at Hartford Hospital, traveled to Uganda for a mission trip with her husband and their children, then ages 11 and 12. The trip had a lasting impact — son, Richard, is now a nurse at the Bone & Joint Institute and her daughter is studying to be a physician assistant.
Inspired by her son’s senior nursing project, Mitchell traveled with him to Costa Rica in 2022 to support a medical mission. She’s since returned several times, bringing six colleagues with her the last time. “I love that my friends trusted me to bring them. It’s an amazing time to share with nurses who I deeply care about,” she says.
Volunteering with Corner of Love, Mitchell and her team provide basic care to refugees and migrants from Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela, treating dehydration, infections and chronic illnesses. A newly hired dentist helps meet a critical need for dental care.
“It is eye-opening to see how much need there is for basic care that we take for granted,” she says. “It humbles you to realize how privileged you are.”
Beyond medical support, the mission offers prayer, emotional support, clothing, non-perishable food items and school supplies for refugee and migrant children and families.
Mitchell’s next trip to Costa Rica with Corner of Love is July 17-23. She will be joined by her son, husband and Dawn Surprenant, RN, DNP, and Sara Ruddy, PA, from Hartford Hospital.
If you are interested in joining the trip, contact her for more information at Cheryl.Mitchell@hhchealth.org. You can also donate medicine, food, clothing and school supplies by clicking HERE.