The Granville Neighborhood Health Center was chosen by the Southeast Regional Office State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide an H1N1 vaccination site. Patients from age one year to 90 years old received either the nasal mist vaccine or the injectable vaccine on Saturday, February 13. Many of those receiving vaccine were new to the center, having heard about the service through a mass media campaign, coordinated by Mosaic Media, volunteering their services for the Health Division’s special outreach effort. This included television news coverage, guest spokesperson Dr. Janie Washington, presentations at Risen Savior Lutheran Church, and flyers distributed through the community.
Both WISN 12 and Fox 6 News spent the morning at the center interviewing volunteers and patients.
Over 130 people attended the open house of our new nursing laboratory today! The day will truly go down in history as a memorable one for the nursing program at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
The festivities started with an open house for the WLC faculty, staff, and students from 11:30 a.m – 1:30 p.m. Professors and students who were in class in the same room just a few months before were amazed at the transformation. Some desks and chairs still remain, but the room looks much more like a healthcare setting than a classroom. Five patient care areas surround the perimeter of the room, each occupied by a member of the Sim family (the patient simulators).
Ten minutes before the official start time of our community open house session at 4 p.m., guests began filing in to the lab. For the three hours that followed, sophomore nursing students proudly demonstrated the capabilities of the simulators and the features of the lab. Their poise was impressive and presentations were informative – a wonderful example of the blessings God has provided to our program.
We are grateful for the many guests who were able to attend the open house. Representatives from area schools, healthcare facilities, churches, and businesses were in attendance, as well as prospective students and family and friends of the students and faculty. It was certainly a diverse group, but one that represents many resources of support for this new program.
We look forward with great enthusiasm as we continue to build the nursing program at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Wow! What exciting times this is for the nursing program at Wisconsin Lutheran College! From the inaugural class entering its sophomore year in the program to our new nursing professor, Professor Sheryl Scott, to a new class of nursing students, there is plenty for the students to be excited about! We are certainly blessed!
Our first Student Nursing Association meeting of the year started out with plenty on the agenda. After everyone introduced themselves, the group got down to business. A T-shirt design committee was chosen to design shirts for SNA as well as the nursing program. We can’t wait to show our pride and excitement to the student body and community by wearing the shirts! New members were also encouraged to participate in the Granville Neighborhood Health Center, a free clinic which serves uninsured members of the Granville Neighborhood. GNHC allows nursing students to gain clinical experience and serve in whatever way they can, whether through child care, set up and take down, or at a vital sign station. The experience is rewarding, worthwhile, and beneficial to all who come: patient and provider alike.
The next big event for SNA will be our first ever food drive in November. After collecting non-perishable food items for a few weeks in food bins around campus, SNA will have a one-day food drop-off in our front circle, in the hopes that members of the community will contribute to the drive. SNA hopes the inaugural food drive will be a smashing success!
I am very happy to announce our newest addition to the Nursing faculty, Sheryl Scott!
Sheryl comes to WLC from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee, where she has been involved with staff development and hospital safety. She has a special expertise in both Health Literacy and Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN).
Sheryl will be integrally involved with the ongoing development of our nursing program. One area of emphasis is the ramp up the new nursing laboratory, scheduled to open in January 2010. Besides teaching nursing courses, Sheryl will be assisting with curriculum development and the accreditation process.
Her enthusiasm and vitality are delightful characteristics in my new colleague! Welcome aboard, Sheryl
Participating in public debate is a role of the professional. Today’s Health Care Forum, hosted by Kathleen Dunn of Wisconsin Public Radio, in the lovely venue of the new Clinical Cancer Center of Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, provided such an opportunity.
Participants included health care providers, payees, and legislators. I was invited to the microphone to share my perspective: Nursing is especially suited to health promotion and prevention of illness. At the same time, a nursing shortage looms before us - will that further complicate the health care climate?
Key points shared by the guest panelists:
One-third of medical costs are due to waste, i.e. unnecessary tests and treatments.
50% of insurance claims are a result of “self-infliction” i.e. smoking, obesity, alcohol.
The health care consumer must accept responsibility for minimizing health risks.
The Northern Athletics Conference Scholar-Athlete Award is awarded to all full-time student-athletes competing in the NAC maintaining a grade point average of 3.25 or higher for the current academic year. A total of 964 student-athletes from the conference’s 13 member institutions were named NAC Scholar-Athletes.
We would like to especially recognize Nate Rosenberg and Erin Mathiak in the nursing program for their exceptional efforts! Nate was a sophomore football player. Erin, a freshman, played women’s soccer.
What do blood sugars and baptism have in common? Both are critical to life - one for earthly well-being, the other for eternal well-being. Last Saturday the volunteer health care team at the Granville Neighborhood Health Center (GNHC) witnessed God’s gentle hand firsthand. A volunteer RN was reviewing the blood sugar log of an Hispanic gentleman whom had been seen on the opening day and given a blood glucose monitor, with instructions to write down all of his blood sugars at home and return with this documentation. The RN was pleased that the man had done his “homework” and followed up as needed. This patient encounter was facilitated by a Spanish-speaking seminary student.
What Lynn experienced next was a clear illustration of the mission potential of a free neighborhood health center. The patient suddenly asked, “Can someone baptize my baby?” As the good Lord would have it, the Hispanic outreach pastor “just happened” to be in the gym. The seminary student “just happened” to be the senior student assisting with the Hispanic outreach ministry. The health center “just happened” to be housed in the school gymnasium, attached to the church.
The volunteers were expecting to plant seeds through this care ministry. The good Lord shared some early fruit!
Then He said to His disciplies, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Matthew 9:37
The Granville Neighborhood Health Center (GNHC) opened it doors on April 25, 2009. The GNHC will serve the uninsured low-income residents in the community surrounding Risen Savior Lutheran Church at 95th Street and Brown Deer Road.
U.S. Census Data suggest that a staggering 45 million individuals are without health insurance at this time. The statistics suggest that based on the median income of $26,909; that 75% percent of persons in the community are minorities; with 33% living below the poverty line; and 30% led by single parent households demonstrate the need for the GNHC services.
Public health is a major concern in the Milwaukee community and is not being adequately addressed by mainstream institutions. The Risen Savior community and GNHC supporters believe it is a moral imperative to respond to the health care crisis and serve the needs of its community.
Wisconsin Lutheran College nursing students will engage in clinical experiences at the new health center throughout their academic development at WLC. Additional opportunities for volunteering outside of coursework will be available ongoing.
It is the intent that the GNHC will be financed with private, public, in-kind donations, and through voluntary labor. Rebekah Carey, WLC Director of Nursing, is president of the Board of Directors, which will serve as the governance body for the clinic and provide sustainability for the future. The GNHC has been well received by stakeholders within the community, and we are confident our structure and expertise will enhance the quality of life for the residents in the community, and help close the gap of the need for health care services for the uninsured, low-income persons in Milwaukee.
On Tuesday, March 3, 2009, seven students and I travelled to Madison for the Wisconsin Nurses’ Association Spring Conference at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. National Nurse Association leaders shared their insights into and predictions for the future of healthcare and the state of nursing. Although experts agree that a completely nationalized system is unlikely in this country, steps must be taken immediately to assure health care for the millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. This includes many who are working but who have inadequate health insurance coverage. The profession of nursing is at the forefront of this with its ability to provide holistic, responsible and cost-effective care at a time when some partners in the health care industry seem to be paying more attention to profits than to people.
Nursing education in Wisconsin is undergoing changes, too. As with our colleagues around the country, nurses in Wisconsin will be encouraged to obtain the BSN degree within 10 years of becoming licensed as a registered nurse. The state of California is legislating this directive, but it is still voluntary in Wisconsin. This simply reflects the long-held recognition that nursing is a highly-specialized professional role which requires the sophistication of the baccalaureate graduate at the minimum.
A special note of appreciation to WLC Student Nurse Association president, Kristen Luebbe, who coordinated the trip. Along with Kristen, others who attended included: Melissa Krug, Leslie Ramirez, Allison Page, Samantha Lemke, Amber Marshall and Brianna Stein.
At the December 10 Anniversary Baccalaureate Education Conference in San Antonio, Texas, “Keeping Pace with Rapid Change in Baccalaureate Nursing Education,” I celebrated with 520 attendees the recent poll which continues to find nursing is the most respected among its professional peers.
The challenge to nurse educators is to create and sustain educational systems which guide and nurture future nurses, while at the same time recognizing the changing social and economic dynamics within which we live and work. One speaker discussed the challenge of New Learner/Same Faculty. Integrating innovative technology through the use of Second Life gaming and other simulation devices are becoming popular in nursing programs. Some have concerns about costs of initiating such programs with ill-defined learning objectives and measurement of learning outcomes.
Developing cultural competency within the nursing curriculum is guided by standards from the American Association of the Colleges of Nursing. Demonstrating accomplishment of such will now be integral to school accreditation. Competency in applying knowledge of social/cultural factors and their affect on health care is foundational to professional nursing. Continuous cultural competency development is crucial for faculty as role models to students. An interesting and valuable Web site is thinkculturalhealth.org.
Wisconsin Lutheran College nursing is already well on its way to guiding its students through the complexities of the professional world. The Nursing Laboratory will soon be one more vital learning environment. Watch for updates in the coming months.
I am very happy to announce our newest addition to the Nursing faculty, Sheryl Scott!
The Northern Athletics Conference Scholar-Athlete Award is awarded to all full-time student-athletes competing in the NAC maintaining a grade point average of 3.25 or higher for the current academic year. A total of 964 student-athletes from the conference’s 13 member institutions were named NAC Scholar-Athletes.
