Continuation of Community Outreach: Nursing
Ms. Nedra K. Farcus
Instructor in Nursing
Office: 115 Sheetz Health Center
Phone: 814-949-5087
Email: nkf2@psu.edu
NURS 465: Adult Health Concepts
Students worked with residents at the Green Avenue and 11th Street towers of the Altoona Housing Authority. Class members designed 12 health education programs. Residents were surveyed to assess their wants and needs and lesson plans were designed, implemented and evaluated. Biweekly screenings of residents’ weight and blood pressure were conducted. Irregularities were posted on a student-created medical card which the 15 regular participants took with them to their regularly scheduled doctor appointments.
“It was a good learning experience for our students particularly through community education programs, and it was good for the residents to have this instruction.”
-Nedra Farcus
Penn State Altoona students originally partnered with the Home Nursing Agency to provide this service to tower residents. While our students are no longer directly involved with the Altoona Housing Authority, a new partnership developed alongside the blood pressure screening initiative as an outgrowth of the HUD COPC grant.
NURS 417: Family and Community Heath Concepts
NURS 418: Application of Family and Community Health Concepts
In collaboration with the Altoona Regional Health System (Altoona and Bon Secours Hospital Campuses) Penn State Altoona nursing students will now aid in collecting and analyzing data gathered from families living in the Altoona area. The Altoona Regional Health System’s strategic plan is aimed, in part, at preventing childhood obesity. As a result, students will participate in a study looking to assess the nutrition and exercise patterns of families in the community. Along with collecting data, students will make an analysis to determine what obstacles may impede families from eating healthy and exercising regularly.
