For several years Greenbelt’s Community Nursing Program has brought area student nurses to eligible Greenbelt residents for in-home medical services. This spring a group of six exceptional young women from The Catholic University of America Conway School of Nursing has been coming to Greenbelt each week to deliver community nursing care to senior residents at Green Ridge House. Though the nursing program has partnered with Bowie State University and Washington Adventist University, this is the first time the Conway School of Nursing has participated in the program, creating a new partnership with Greenbelt Assistance in Living (GAIL) to provide greater health services for seniors and their caregivers in Green Ridge House.
Green Ridge House
The city-owned Green Ridge House, a HUD Section 8-202 apartment building for adults aged 62 and older, has 101 single-bedroom apartments with amenities that include a greenhouse, exercise room, computer room, social activities and a library. They also have a service coordinator to link residents with benefits and resources. The nursing students assist Service Coordinator Flora Li by meeting with residents to provide screenings, assistance in bathing, vital signs monitoring and health education. The service coordinator also assesses residents’ eligibility for a wide variety of programs and services that are available to them within the city and the county, which helps the residents regain and/or maintain their independence.
The six junior student nurses, all young women in their early 20s hailing from Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts, are required to complete 90 clinical hours in community/public health nursing as part of the Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing program. Through this clinical placement they are learning about health policies and programs, applying their health assessment skills, writing documentation and practicing therapeutic communication skills. These skills and experiences are vital and sometimes hard to gain in an acute care setting, where there is little time to build rapport and relationships with patients. In a community setting, students actively engage and spend an hour with the residents and learn from other community health advocates about resources and support that older adults need in the community.
The student nurses have gained confidence and independence and they’ve enjoyed working with Green Ridge House residents each week. In particular, they’ve been able to practice their assessment skills and develop their knowledge about the social determinants of health, including the impact of policies and programs on health behaviors and outcomes. In mid-March, they will meet with Mayor Emmett Jordan to learn about the health priorities in Greenbelt, which is seeking to become an increasingly dementia-friendly community.
“This experience allows me to practice the skills that I learned in the lab and allows me to develop a relationship with the residents,” says Hannah Buzgo from Massachusetts.
Partnerships
Sharon Johnson, GAIL community case manager, says “partnering with Schools of Nursing like The Catholic University of America allows the GAIL program to truly provide wrap-around services to at-risk and frail older Greenbelt residents who would not be able to afford these in-home services otherwise.”
Prior to the Community Nursing Program, qualifying residents were connected with local, county, state and federal programs to provide in-home support. The program has now grown to include a partnership with four schools of nursing and is provided at no cost to participants. Thanks to these continued partnerships, services continue to be offered during the spring and fall school semesters.
GAIL
The GAIL program was established in 2001 and provides information, assistance, case management, counseling and community services for seniors and adults with disabilities and their caregivers residing within the city limits of Greenbelt.
Kim Walsh is the director of Undergraduate Academic Programs at The Catholic University of America. She lives in Greenbelt.