People of the U: Anna Jordan Butts

Published on Tuesday, November 26, 2019

By: Kate Royals

Anna Jordan Butts, a nursing student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has been traveling to Peru every summer since 2013, and each time she goes, her love for the country and its people multiplies. The seven years’ worth of trips has led her to her current career goal: becoming a nurse in a women’s health care clinic in Peru.

During her most recent trip, she found the perfect combination of her passions for Spanish, Peru and nursing while working at a public health center in Cusco.

Her relationship with Peru began as a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, which has a longstanding affiliation with Gamaliel Church in Pachacutec, an area right outside of Lima. Butts helped with the vacation Bible school and youth group, and as the years passed in high school and then at college in Mississippi State University, she continued taking Spanish classes and is now what she calls “conversationally fluent.”

“I built these relationships with people in Peru … I’ve watched these kids grow up and really had some great opportunities participating in the growth of the church and making friends with both the kids and their parents over the years,” said Butts.

She said it is the people who inspire her love for the country.

“They’re just so inviting and loving and thankful for everything we do, when really they’re doing so much for us, too,” she said. “It’s this mutual love and friendship … and it’s so encouraging to see the work the Lord has been doing through them when we go back year after year.”

For three weeks this summer, Butts worked in women’s health and pediatric triage clinics with doctors and nurses who spoke no English.

“It was really good exposure to see what health care was like there and a good opportunity to practice my medical Spanish,” she said. 

While there, Butts connected with some doctors and nurses from the United States who worked at a nearby hospital that did not have women’s health services, the area Butts wants to work in after she graduates.

“I was talking to the doctor and she was saying ‘I can’t open this part of the hospital because I need someone who’s trained who can help me do that,’ and she suggested I work in the U.S. and get some good experience, then come back to Peru” and they could potentially work together to offer those services, Butts said.

As a result, Butts plans to relocate to the Dallas area after graduating in May of next year because of its hospitals and the large number of Spanish speakers in the patient population, and eventually return to Peru – this time to stay.

Every institution is rich with personal stories. We want to know ours.

Do you know a student, staff, volunteer or faculty member at the University of Mississippi Medical Center whose story would make an interesting feature or deserves to be recognized?

Know someone who you think more people should know about because of his or her commitment to his or her job and/or the people he or she works with or for? Who has a fascinating hobby? Who participates in a remarkable group? Who has accomplished something amazing?

We want to learn more about each individual who makes up our extraordinary UMMC Family, and we want to share what makes each person unique and special in the Front and Center section of our dynamic new UMMC Intranet.

To nominate someone to be considered for a Front and Center feature, just complete and submit this short form. If that person is picked for a feature, a member of the Communications and Marketing staff will contact him or her to learn more about his or her personal story.

Soon, the rest of the Medical Center will know why your nominee is an outstanding reminder of what makes this place so special – the Front and Center.