Educating Tomorrow ’ s Nurses to Care for the Least of Us
By Elizabeth S . Nix , Bilinda Norman , and Teresa Clark
When the year 2020 was named “ The Year of the Nurse ” in honor of Florence Nightingale , little did the nursing profession know that a pandemic would have such an enormous impact on working nurses and on nursing students . The pandemic changed the way nursing schools delivered education by quickly moving to online platforms and engaging with virtual clinical experiences so students could continue successfully complete their program requirements . These options worked well , but it still could not replace the human side and interaction students have with patients especially the vulnerable homeless populations .
Helping the Underserved Belong Community health nursing faculty successfully obtained a grant from the Arkansas Minority Health Commission to assist the homeless or nearly homeless individuals who use the Helping Underserved Belong ( HUB ) center . The HUB is housed in the basement of an activity center of a Christian Church with an adjacent gym that allows participants and nursing students to spread out to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and state COVID guidelines ( mask wearing , hand sanitizer and social distancing ).
A one-day community health fair was scheduled in the fall just as the weather was changing to much cooler temperatures at night , which makes it even more difficult for the homeless population to stay healthy . A poster was developed and provided to the HUB center to be placed where individuals could sign up . Individuals came by to sign up or called to schedule an appointment . The volunteer staff also called individuals who use the center if they had a phone number on the registration card . In addition , the faculty and students reached out to area hospitals , an outpatient mobile mammography unit , the Arkansas Department of Health , Area Church Health Center , and the Arkansas Minority Commission which provided funding and lab equipment for the health fair .
The senior nursing students consisted of 37 baccalaureate students who were completing their public health and community health clinical rotations . Students provided education on a variety of topics , such a CPR , stroke , diabetes , and oral hygiene . This provided an excellent opportunity for nursing students to engage with participants and talk to them in a relaxed atmosphere that complied with COVID requirements . Hand sanitizer was provided to each participant to take home and larger bottles were placed on each of the 14 tables .
The health department nurses and students provided flu vaccine , COVID rapid testing , and blood pressure checks . Participants were encouraged to have lab work drawn , especially for cholesterol and random blood glucose levels . If a participant had a high blood pressure reading or had elevated blood glucose or cholesterol levels , they were encouraged to contact the Church Health Center . The community has a regional Church Health Center that accepts patients who do not have insurance and can be seen by an Advanced Practice Nurse for a small fee or at no cost . The Church Health Center is located within walking distance four blocks away from the Church . Several participants were notified of an elevated blood pressure and given referrals with instructions on the health center ’ s location prior to exiting the fair . Each person was asked to sign in and out for contact tracing if necessary per guideline . To date , no COVID cases were reported due to this event .
The grant paid for 250 participants to receive cold weather gear ( hats , gloves , scarfs , and coats ) and hygiene products ( toilet paper , paper towels , shampoo , combs , hairbrushes , toothpaste , toothbrushes , hand sanitizer , disposable masks , and deodorant ). Each participant received a large plastic bag to put products in while they walked around the gym for education and screenings .
28 NSNA IMPRINT • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2022 • www . nsna . org