05/11/2023
Please take a moment to read about how Platt students are working to support our communities.
"Me and two of my classmates, Rachel and Alexis, did some of our community health clinical hours at Aurora Community Connection (ACC). Aurora Community Connection helps low-income Latino Families in Aurora. They provide families with health education, tutoring for children, immigration classes, a summer camp for kids, and help provide families with supplies such as food and diapers. They also have a health fair coming up on May 20th.
Aurora Community Connections is launching a newborn, breast feeding, parenting course. All of the programs through ACC are minimal cost or free for families, ACC really relies on donations in order to continue to provide these resources at little to no cost.
The three of us knew we wanted to hold some sort of donation drive to help these families, but we weren't sure what to do. We felt if we held a food drive we would mostly be supplied with dry goods and non-perishable items, which isn't really what the families need. We corresponded with the education director at ACC, and she told us about the new parenting classes. We thought we would hold a diaper and baby wipe drive to give to the new parents starting these courses.
We really hope that people will donate. A lot of families in the community rely on free and donated items like healthy foods, baby formula and diapers. Donations of diapers and baby wipes, which are a necessity for these families, can help them free some of their budget to afford other items. Even if it's just a week or even a day's supply, this can make a HUGE difference for these families!
It's incredibly important for nurses to work with local community services. This helps the nurse gauge what kind of disparities and resources are in the community and ways that they can help. Nursing care isn't just in the hospital, it starts in our community. It's really important for nurses to understand what resources are available for people to use and what resources are attainable for people. Not everyone has the same social, educational, emotional, or economic background. Nurses must be able to take all of these factors in account when educating patients and families about care before and after hospitalizations. Working with local services helps the nurse better understand what they offer in order to refer patients and families to resources that fit their needs." -Haley H.
