When Sinclair School of Nursing Professor, Mary Fete, first inquired about the possibility of placing two nursing student interns at Granny’s House, my initial thought was, “Whaaaaaat? We don’t deal with sick kids here.” After meeting with Ms. Fete to brainstorm, however, I came away with a totally different perspective on how nursing interns might actually be an incredible asset to Granny’s House families in the wake of so many African and Middle Eastern refugee families moving into public housing. In recent years, the Granny’s House enrollment had transitioned to approximately fifty percent African refugee children. I couldn’t think of a single family who would not benefit from having ready access to basic health and hygiene information; our little haven on Trinity Place seemed to be the ideal vehicle by which to distribute that information to, not only new-to-the-neighborhood refugee families, but also to those who’d been living in the community for years.
The nursing students’ collaboration with Granny’s House is an integral part of their Nursing in Communities Class and is designed to take the students out of the hospital setting and expose them to the real world of vulnerable populations and, in our case, vulnerable children living in public housing. Our collaboration with the Nursing School continues to be an invaluable asset in helping all of our families, especially the children from refugee families. In addition to helping with the day-to-day activities, each intern does a Capstone Project for the kids, volunteers, and staff members on important topics ranging from basic health and hygiene to safe babysitting and CPR. Their investment in Granny’s House has been invaluable!
A couple of times each month, Granny’s House hosts two pediatric resident physician volunteers from the University Hospital’s Pediatric Residency Program. They begin their time with us by viewing the Granny’s House video, followed by a brief orientation. And, just like every other first-time volunteer, they wash their hands, don a nametag and a pair of blue latex gloves and begin helping serve the evening meal in the dining room to the kids who show up after school.
The resident physicians’ collaboration with community organizations like Granny’s House is an integral part of University Hospital’s C.A.R.E.* Program, a vehicle to familiarize doctors in training with available community resources for their young patients and families. “I wanted to ensure that young physicians understood the importance of community knowledge and involvement so they could advocate for their patients more effectively and provide that natural link to much-needed services,” says Dr. Kristin Sohl, C.A.R.E.’s founder. “We want to care for the whole person, not just their medical issues…. to know that the overall wellbeing of our patients and their families is as important as their medical well being.”
At Granny’s House, volunteers like Anjalie, John, Hille, and Paul shed their titles and the sanitized halls of the University Hospitals to spend a couple of hours on Trinity Place hanging out with kids who cross our threshold everyday. -Granny Pam
