The purpose of this poster is to describe the collaborative pilot program Master Retired Healthcare Professional Educator Volunteers between the College of Nursing and the College of Agriculture.  Background

Delivering effective preventive health care is a complex issue, one which cannot be accomplished without partnerships and collaborative agreements.  To address this complexity the University Of Kentucky College Of Agriculture established the Health Education Through Extension Leadership (HEEL) program.  HEEL is a collaboration between Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Social Work.  Building upon principles of a land-grant institution HEEL utilizes county extension agents as change agents in communities across Kentucky.  To enhance the current HEEL program a new pilot program is being implemented, the Master Retired Health Care Education Volunteer (MRHEV).Methods

The MRHEV is modeled after the Master Health Educator Volunteer from Mississippi State University and Master Volunteer programs at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.  A training module consisting of educational programs addressing the top five leading causes of death and disability in the state will be developed.  Diversity of the training module will allow volunteers to culturally individualize their counties preventive education.  Pilot program volunteers will be retired registered nurses.  Working as partners with the county extension agents these volunteers will deliver preventive education to their community.  Particular emphasis will be placed on evaluation of program effectiveness through behavioral changes in the communities.Conclusion

Forming effective collaborations and partnerships with communities across Kentucky is essential in decreasing unnecessary death and disability due to chronic disease. Further, by implementing this pilot program retired healthcare professionals will be given the opportunity to utilize their expertise to empower communities across the state to make sound and logical decisions regarding their healthcare.

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)