Hello! Progress!
All is well in Pearlington! My SP2 partner and I visited with so many amazing residents during the past few days. We spoke with an elderly women with oxygen dependent COPD, and she explained that she lived in a tent for weeks without oxygen or access to medical care after the storm. During this time, she was also caring for many other elderly residents. We spoke with another resident who independently rebuilt his home at night while working days and being the primary caregiver for his extremely medically complex wife. The residents are often open to sharing their stories with us, and their stories of resiliency are absolutely amazing. Many Pearlington residents are fighting for grant funds and attempting to rebuilding their homes while caring for their families and managing their chronic health conditions. Many residents are focused on their housing struggles, so their diabetes and hypertension are often secondary concerns. The SP2 students and the nursing students are trying to use our visits to assess residents' needs, allow residents to voice their stories, and reinforce positive, self-care behaviors. (The SP2 students are an amazing resource! Their compassionate listening skills are enabling the SP and nursing students to understand the relationships between residents' psychosocial and physical needs. I think that the greatest challenge for the SP2 and nursing students is our limited abilities to provide concrete interventions for Pearling residents. We all know that nurses are trained to assess, plan, intervene, and evaluate. However, now the majority of our work is focused on assessing residents' physical and mental health needs, and providing health education and psych care are often secondary concerns because basic needs are still unmet and health resources are currently so limited. I believe that the health fair is the first step towards connecting residents with available community health resources, and so many residents are looking forward to this community event. (Yeah!) My SP2 buddy said it best: "We are acting as nurses, social workers, and researcher assistants." The SP2ers and nurses are collecting the data and setting the stage for even more effective future nursing and social work interventions. I know that the SP2ers and nurses are learning so much from the Pearlington residents and each other, and I am really looking forward to seeing serious progress in the near future! Have a happy day! Alexis
4 comments:
Hi Ladies! Since I believe you will be returning on Sunday and may not have time to write, can you give us a brief overview of what the health fair will include? Thanks!
As I continue to read your blogs I marvel at the stories that you have to tell and the suffering of these families. Here in Philly, it's all about the warm, nice weather and the kickoff celebrations for our new mayor. There's a lot of talk about the outcomes of the primaries. It seems that even in the primaries, the dismal conditions that you are seeing and the lack of recovery are not on anyone's radar screen. It's all about the next disaster. Why do people forget so fast and only want to focus on the latest news or tragedy. We move on too quickly.
I just hope that this experience is an ever-lasting one for each of you and that you will not forget, nor allow others to forget the circumstances that people have to cope with in our own country. I am so proud and Penn is proud of each and every one of you. Fondly, Linda McCauley
To the terrific group of students who stepped out of their comfort zone to give to a community in need -- thank you!! And well done!! We are learning a great deal from your experiences, and what you are doing will have ripple effects educationally, clinically, and experientially on our entire school community. I am so proud of you for many reasons, but here are just a few of those reasons -- You are translating some of the knowledge that you have learned; you are reflecting the best values of Penn, and you are cultivating new experiences that will make you even more sensitive clinicians to the needs of diverse populations. We welcome you back with open arms. Travel safely. My best, Afaf Meleis
Just wanted to let you all know that I think what you are doing is really inspiring. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be to not have a home to return to at night or a place to feel safe and secure. The residents of this area are dealing with so much and for you to put your own needs and desires aside and go help them through their struggles is really incredible.
:)
-Hannah Weiss (freshmen)
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