An Academic-Service Community Initiative: Educational Empowerment, Risk Reduction and Community Protection in an Era of Reduced Resources and Increased Expectations

Wednesday, July 13, 2011: 1:45 PM

Susan M. Neville, PhD, RN
Nursing, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of academic-service partnerships as a strategy for providing more in a environment that has reduced resources.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to replicate the template model for developing an academic-service partnership in a community setting.

Academic-Service partnerships are essential in an atmosphere of reduced and strained resources. This presentation presents a collaborative Nursing initiative combining the strengths of academia and service in advancing community health.   The Nassau County Department of Health established a Medical Reserve Corps to augment response during public health emergencies and disasters. A Partnership Sustainability Education-Service Model was developed between the Nassau County Medical Reserve Corp and the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Department of Nursing.  This  relationship supports the mission and vision of both partners focusing on educational empowerment, risk reduction and community protection.  Last year, Nurses from the DOH and Nurse Educators from NYIT’s Department of Nursing responded to the H1N1 Flu Crisis by participating in flu vaccination clinics as educators and providers of service. Maintaining practice competency of the nursing staff in specific skill sets, such as vaccination administration, is pivotal.  Nurse Educators provide the MRC with in-service education programs and resources such as a state of the Art Nursing lab (including patient simulation) while the MRC provides nurse educators with specialized training in emergency preparedness and a formalized connection to the MRC and the community During the months that the county waited for the flu vaccine, NYIT’s nursing professors provided in-service vaccination administration training to MRC members in anticipation of the need to open and staff county wide vaccination clinics. A Workshop Manual was developed to guide the practice sessions held  in the Nursing Arts lab. These sessions supported and facilitated the attainment of outcomes related to the overall readiness and competency of the staff participating in the vaccination clinics. The clinic provided vaccine to NYIT students and staff as well as residents from the neighboring community. The service-academic partnership that has developed between the DOH and NYIT has enabled us to better serve our community.