Civic Engagement: Senior safety Program

Title of Project: Senior Safety Project

Grade Level:  Students entering the second year of a two year associate degree nursing program

Number of Students Participating: 40

Contributed by:

            Teacher: Denise Rohr

            School:  Cincinnati State

Overview/Description of Project: Nursing students will make home visits to seniors living in a high rise senior apartment building located directly across from the college main campus.  Each student will make one visit per week over a 5 week period.  During the visit, the student will use a Senior Home Safe Check list to perform a home safety assessment with the senior citizens living in these apartments.  After performing the assessment, the student will sit with the senior or seniors and describe situations considered to be unsafe within the apartment.  The student will assist the senior in making any agreed upon changes that are within his/her abilities (e.g. removing carpet mats which could be tripped over).  Changes that may be suggested but are to extensive or expensive to implement will be discussed with the social worker employed in the high rise.  During week six, all of the students and seniors will participate in a celebratory luncheon and safety presentation in the multipurpose room in the high rise.

.Goals:

Increase awareness of senior safety issues in both senior nursing students and a selected group of senior citizens.

Expose nursing students to seniors living independently in the community rather than those who are sick and institionalized.

Provide a connection to the community of which the college is a part because of it’s location.

Core Content Areas:

Senior Safety, Home Safety, Medication Safety and Food Safety

PARC MODEL STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

STEP 1: PREPARATION

Review of Gerontology Content related to home safety including, environment, medication and food safety.

Review of Senior Home Safe Check List.

Project orientation, meeting with high rise manager and social worker.

Determine which seniors will agree to participate in program.

STEP 2: ACTION

Brief students and provide them with assigned seniors and their apartment numbers each week.

Schedule appointment time with senior.  Instructor will be on site and available via cell phone.

Debrief students.  Review safety forms.  Review student interactions with client.  Discuss common/frequently seen safety issues.

Student journaling to be completed by following Sunday night.

Repeat weekly.

During final debriefing review problems commonly seen over the 5 weeks during the final debriefing and plan final presentation for next week.

STEP 3: REFLECTION  ( Reflection is not sequential; rather it is encouraged throughout the lesson)

Each student involved in this project will keep an online journal, The student will be required to submit a journal entry by Sunday at 11:59 pm each week of the project.  In the journal the student will be expected to discuss the findings of the safety assessment, actions implemented or planned, results if available and how helping the seniors made them feel. 

A final reflective 3 page paper is due at the end of the course describing the interventions,  outcomes and why the student felt the project was successful or unsuccessful.

STEP 4:  CELEBRATION/DEMONSTRATION

Project assessment form to be completed by both the senior and the student. after each appointment.

Overall project assessment to be completed by senior and faculty member

Home Safety Presentation to be complied by the students and travelers, used to present problems.

Celebratory lunch final week of program.