在农村社区, 获得医疗保健的机会有限, 贫困程度增加, transportation challenges and higher unemployment rates conspire to create significant health disparities. 同时, a national shortage of health care workers has made it harder for aspiring nurses to gain the clinical rotation experience they need.
今年春天, 最靠谱的网赌软件’s School of Nursing plans to address both challenges when it launches a mobile health clinic in Southampton County, providing an additional option for much-needed care while simultaneously offering a training ground for nurses.
The van is an entrepreneurial solution to the limited supply of professionals who provide education, 临床环境中的监督和评估. “很难找到导师,卡罗琳·拉特利奇说, 护理学院副院长 who also serves as the project director. “因此，我们正在建设自己的基础设施.”
The mobile health clinic is funded through a four-year, $4 million federal grant from the 健康 资源 and 服务s 政府. The customized van will be operated by nurse practitioners and offer a spectrum of care provided by students and faculty from across the University, 包括心理健康, 物理治疗, 体育训练, 口腔卫生, 语言及人文服务. The van offers space to draw blood and conduct testing, 还有两间病房, 包括提供妇女保健的选项.
The school will incorporate telehealth to help residents connect with specialists and other allied health professions. Having the ability to bring health care directly to residents through telehealth services will enable the mobile health team to monitor patients with chronic conditions, 比如糖尿病或充血性心力衰竭.
By engaging with the community of Southampton County, ODU students and faculty working with community providers will have opportunities to practice collaboration while delivering culturally sensitive care, 据拉特利奇说.
在拨款周期内, the mobile health clinic aims to provide care at least three days a week. The project will be staffed by family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner providers and students. All advanced practice registered nursing students in the Nursing Scholars Program will participate in longitudinal rotations with an interprofessional team. Rutledge hopes students will be inspired to stay and help the community. “The people who want to do it are the people who really have a passion for it,”她说。. “ODU’s nursing programs have been very strong in drawing people who want to be in rural areas.”
The School of Nursing has discussed partnerships with Bons Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital, offering follow-up services for recently discharged patients, and telehealth screenings to limit unnecessary emergency room visits. The clinic hopes to collaborate with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore to present training on relevant topics, 比如糖尿病护理. They’ll also be working with the Western Tidewater Early Childhood Collaboration to work with the community’s underserved children.
“作为一项儿童早期倡议, we are looking forward to the ODU clinic providing physicals and immunizations to our youngest learners,玛丽·布拉德肖说, program coordinator for Smart Beginnings Western Tidewater.
从她的角度来看，这是一个完美的时机. The area’s only practice providing obstetrics and gynecological care recently announced plans to relocate farther away. “As you can imagine, this will surely impact women’s reproductive healthcare in our area. ODU’s mobile health clinic couldn’t arrive soon enough!”她说。. “感谢学校的慷慨, 创新和专业知识, 我们知道孩子们, 妇女和家庭将得到支持和繁荣.”
“当你真正审视医疗成本时, so much of the cost is due to health care needs not being met. If we can help our students learn how to break down barriers to care, 我们可以极大地推动事情向前发展.”
Rutledge believes the clinic, if successful, has the potential to provide stable, reliable care.
“They get physicians to come into the area, but they stay two years and then leave. They're looking for us to set up a model that would be continuous," she said. “我们只是没有尽我们所能做好工作. 当你真正审视医疗成本时, so much of the cost is due to health care needs not being met. If we can help our students learn how to break down barriers to care, 我们可以极大地推动事情向前发展.”
Karl Heck, president and CEO of Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc., is grateful for ODU’s outreach into the community.
“The ODU mobile health clinic will improve access to quality medical care for our neediest residents, which is critical for workforce participation and better educational outcomes. 让它更简单, 而且更实用, to obtain medical services in an area where transportation can be a key challenge will improve health outcomes and lifespans,他说.
“ODU’s initiative is bringing millions of dollars of valuable medical services here to improve the lives of our people. 我们非常赞赏这一努力.”