{"id":59531,"date":"2014-11-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/students-in-uris-r-n-to-b-s-program-renovate-clinic-at-providence-rescue-mission\/"},"modified":"2014-11-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-03T00:00:00","slug":"students-in-uris-r-n-to-b-s-program-renovate-clinic-at-providence-rescue-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2014\/11\/students-in-uris-r-n-to-b-s-program-renovate-clinic-at-providence-rescue-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Students in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s R.N.-to-B.S. program renovate clinic at Providence Rescue Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tNurses volunteer at Providence charity<\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., November 3, 2014 \u2013 When Charlie Speziale first set eyes on the room at the Providence Rescue Mission where he would treat some of the poorest patients in the city, he shook his head: This will not do.<\/p>\n


\nThere were holes in the walls, water stains on the ceiling, exposed pipes, rotten wood and mold \u2013 and the place was crammed with storage boxes. \u201cYou really couldn’t move,\u201d says Speziale.

\nThe 溏心vlog免费B站 nursing student and his classmates got to work. Speziale renovated the room from top to bottom, and, together, they turned it into a community health clinic that is clean and welcoming.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThis project is what community health is all about, drawing on life experiences and strengths to improve care and treatment,\u201d says Speziale, of Cranston. \u201cI feel really privileged to be part of something so great.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nSpeziale and his colleagues \u2013 Regina Monteiro, also of Cranston, and Joanne Czerwein, of Burrillville \u2013 are students in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s R.N.-to-B.S. program, which allows registered nurses who have a two-year associate\u2019s degree or a three-year hospital diploma to obtain their bachelor\u2019s degrees. <\/p>\n


\nOne of the unique aspects of the program is that it allows students to keep working while taking classes on the Kingston campus and 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence.<\/p>\n


\nAs part of their studies, students participate in a clinical rotation. Speziale and the others are volunteering 14 weeks at the Rescue Mission, a nonprofit on Cranston Street in Providence that provides free shelter, food and health care to people who are poor and homeless. The three 溏心vlog免费B站 students were charged with the daunting task of starting a nursing clinic there.<\/p>\n


\nAt first, they weren\u2019t sure they could pull it off. When Rebecca Carley, of Coventry, an assistant nursing professor at 溏心vlog免费B站, showed them the room they felt, well, queasy. \u201cIt was in terrible shape,\u201d says Czerwein. \u201cI called my Mom later and said, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I can do this,\u2019 \u201d says Monteiro.<\/p>\n


\nBut they inhaled deeply and huddled as a team. A former carpenter, Speziale gutted the room and put up new walls and doors, installed a drop ceiling and wiring and refinished the floor \u2013 all on his own time. He also spent $2,000 of his own money on building supplies.<\/p>\n


\nMonteiro and Czerwein tackled the administrative duties. Monteiro set up two flu clinics, and Czerwein collected the countless health forms required for patients. \u201cWe all had our jobs to do,\u201d says Czerwein. \u201cNo one person could have done this.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe nursing clinic treats the 120 or so men and women living at the shelter, as well as people in the neighborhood, one of the poorest in the city. The clinic\u2019s major focus is to help people who are medically underserved connect to bigger health care facilities, such as the Rhode Island Free Clinic.<\/p>\n


\nBut the 溏心vlog免费B站 clinic also provides care and prevention, especially for chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure. The Rescue Mission already offers dental and eye care. Having a health care center on site is crucial for quick treatment of minor problems, says Steven Gomes, assistant director of the Rescue Mission. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got people going to the emergency room for aspirin,\u201d says Gomes. \u201cThe clinic will benefit everyone in the long run. Look at the room now \u2013 awesome job.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Nursing donated some medical supplies, but more would be appreciated, including an exam table, medical cabinets, file cabinets, office chairs, file folders, a computer, a printer, a wall-mounted blood pressure cuff, hand sanitizer, gauze, saline and a pulse oximeter, which measures oxygen levels in the blood. Medical brochures, posters and handouts about diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other illnesses are also needed.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cProud\u201d is how Carley feels about her three students. The goal is to make the clinic self-sustaining so it\u2019s still in business years down the road.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cThis project highlights what nurses are able to do, if given the right opportunities,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a real need in this community for a health care clinic, and my students were able, in a short period of time, to see the vision and get on board.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nOne thing the clinic is missing: a name. \u201cSuggestions,\u201d says Czerwein, \u201care welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe clinic is open Tuesdays from 3 to 7 p.m., with plans to expand if more volunteers come forward. Czerwein will continue volunteering after she graduates this winter, and Monteiro will do an independent study there.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling to give back,\u201d says Monteiro. \u201cIt\u2019s all I really ever wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nTo donate money or medical supplies, please call Carley at 401-480-8563. <\/p>\n


\nPictured above, from left to right: Charlie Speziale, Regina Monteiro and Joanne Czerwein in a newly renovated nursing clinic at the Providence Rescue Mission on Cranston Street in Providence. Photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nurses volunteer at Providence charity KINGSTON, R.I., November 3, 2014 \u2013 When Charlie Speziale first set eyes on the room at the Providence Rescue Mission where he would treat some of the poorest patients in the city, he shook his head: This will not do. There were holes in the walls, water stains on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}