Unitek College Licensed Vocational Nursing Program
For the past six years, Unitek College’s LVN Program and LIFE ElderCare’s Fall Prevention Program have worked together to help frail seniors in the Tri-City area. We spoke recently with Margarita Valdes, Administrative Director of Nursing at the college. Margarita was instrumental in developing the curriculum and format for this remarkable collaboration and we extend our hearfelt thanks to her for her vision and for her continuing efforts to make this partnership a rewarding experience for both students and seniors.
“Because hospitals no longer hire LVN’s, many of our graduates will be working in home health care settings with elderly patients. In their first semester students learn about geriatrics in the classroom and in their final semester they get to synthesize what they have learned and apply it in a real world setting. Feeling confident and comfortable working independently in a elderly patient’s home is a unique and valuable skill. The Fall Prevention program provides experience in building supportive relationships, using their critical thinking skills and in managing their time effectively. While it can be a little intimidating at first, the students find that most of the elderly patients are extremely grateful for the care that is provided. The experience helps develop understanding and compassion for people who are ill at this stage of their life.”
California State University, East Bay
Dr. Loretta Scott King once said, “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” For almost a decade the partnership between Cal State East Bay nursing students and Life ElderCare’s Meals On Wheels program has helped to improve the lives of frail seniors in the Tri-City area.
The partnership gives registered nursing students a chance to get real world experience in geriatric care through home visits that include: blood pressure monitoring, medication review, safety checks and health education. The seniors, in turn, help young students appreciate what it is like to age in America.
Recently, the nursing students developed an educational resource guide that helps seniors check their own blood pressure and make lifestyle changes that can lower their blood pressure if it’s too high. The guide also includes information on the warning signs of a stroke. As a result of their participation in this program, 10% of the seniors with high readings have seen their physician to start or change their blood pressure medication.
As the nursing instructor for this program I witness lives being changed – and even saved – everyday and I see how the whole community benefits from this mutually enriching experience. I hope it continues forever.
– Mary Fraga, R.N., M.S.N., Professor, Cal State East Bay. Marty’s program, Public and Community Health, Clinical, is a vital component of LIFE ElderCare’s direct services and a public health course offered by Cal State East Bay.
