Ohio State University. Office of Outreach and Engagement
Abstract
The Community Care Network is a unique program at The College of Wooster in which students interested in pursuing medical school are paired with patients in the local community through a partnership with Wooster Community Hospital. This initiative helps to develop practical approaches for improving the health of patients by reducing the frequency of re-hospitalization through preventative measures. The students begin with a one-semester training seminar followed by an internship in which the student, under the supervision of hospital staff, provides weekly visits to patients in their homes, checking on their physical and emotional well-being, and discussing lifestyle choices that impact their health. In the academic year 2012-2013, the Community Care Network was launched. A total of 25 students are selected every semester to complete a one-semester seminar taught by health care professionals from WCH on a weekly basis. For 14 weeks, students learn about diseases, illnesses, specialty areas such as pulmonary and cardiology, and about the health care system. During this time, they also learn how to take blood pressure and other vital signs as well as develop an understanding of frequently prescribed medications for diseases like diabetes and congestive heart failure. Upon successful completion, student health coaches are trained by home health care nurses who pair them with patients accepted in the program. Students then meet weekly with their assigned patient and develop a relationship with the focus of guiding the patient to meet their health care plan goals. From the beginning, this program has been mutually beneficial to both the college and hospital. Now in its fourth year, more than 250 students have successfully completed the seminar and have become active health coaches. Each health coach meets with a team of health care professionals on a weekly basis to discuss his or her patient, a requirement of the program. They are considered an equal member of the health care team. The outcomes for students and patients alike have been astounding. The Community Care Network key players, Robyn Laditka, pre-health advisor at The College of Wooster, and AlexSandra Davis, RN director of the Community Care Network at WCH, report several sets of outcomes since the inception of the Community Care Network. Students gain valuable direct service experiences now required to enter most health care professions, but that is only the starting point. They gain insight that doctors can't possibly know about by going into the patients' homes. They learn about the issues of poverty, hoarding, and multiple prescriptions to keep track of on a daily basis. They learn to build relationships to gain the trust of the patients. The hospital experiences fewer hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Robyn Laditka, Pre-Health Advisor, the College of Wooster, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Alexsandra Davis, RN Director, Community Health Network, Wooster Community Hospital.The Community Care Network is an unique program at The College of Wooster in which students interested in pursuing medical school are paired with patients in the local community through a partnership with Wooster Community Hospital. This initiative helps develop practical approaches to improve the health of patients by reducing the frequency of re-hospitalization through preventative measures. The students begin with a one-semester training seminar followed by an internship in which the student, under the supervision of hospital staff, provides weekly visits to patients in their homes, checking on their physical and emotional well-being and discussing lifestyle choices that impact their health
