|
Dec. 12, 2005
Seven senior nursing students from Morningside College traveled to the Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Ky., to work as health care volunteers during the week of Nov. 14-18. The students assisted with primary health care in rural outpatient clinics and through home visits, participated in patient education programs, and worked in the mission’s preschool, among other things.
Students who participated in the service mission trip included: Melanie Mahr, Sioux City; Wendy Culligan, South Sioux City, Neb.; Ashley Fletcher, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa; Jill Arp, Manning, Iowa; Kristi Knoben, Aurelia, Iowa; Kim Parker, Cherokee, Iowa; and Heather Push, Kearney, Neb.
This was the first year nursing students from Morningside volunteered at the Red Bird Mission. The students researched, planned, and organized the trip with assistance from Jacklyn Barber, associate professor of nursing at Morningside. Funding for the trip was provided by the students, Morningside College’s Student Government Association, and the college.
Red Bird Mission is part of the Red Bird Missionary Conference, one of two national mission institutions related to the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. The mission is located in the remote Appalachian area of southeastern Kentucky. Its medical clinic provides health care services to approximately 470 clients each month. Access to the region is difficult and public services such as public water and sewer are virtually non-existent. Roughly 40 percent of the citizens in the area live below poverty level.
|
