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Coffee for a Cause Bene ts Students and Community
Each Friday morning, before classes start and the business of nursing education gets underway, faculty and sta gather in the Dean’s conference room for a casual 30-minute meet-and-greet, supportive fellowship opportunity. But what started as a way to build relationships and
communication within the School of Nursing has positively impacted both the Health Sciences Center and the community.
“We came up with the idea for our Co ee for a Cause program a er reading
a book on organizational culture,” says Jennifer B. Martin, DNP, CRNA, chairperson of the Faculty and Sta Life committee. “It was an activity suggested in the book to enhance engagement and organizational citizenship. We launched the program last summer as a casual and fun way for faculty and sta who do not get to see each other during the work week to come together and just chat.”
With a dozen or more people in attendance each week, conversation flows, ideas are exchanged and donations are received for community support projects.
“We ask for a $1 donation, but attendees usually donate more,” says Dr. Martin. Last year the initiative raised $1,500 to replace textbooks, supplies and uniforms for nursing students a ected by the devastating floods in the Baton Rouge area. This year donations are on track to reach $2,000, and will be used to rebuild one of the community playgrounds in Baton Rouge that was destroyed by flooding.
When several faculty from other schools within the Health Sciences Center attended the event, they brought the idea to the Faculty Senate. “The entire Health Sciences Center has now instituted a campuswide Co ee for a Cause each month, which is helping to foster relationships across the entire Health Sciences Center of six schools,” says Dr. Martin.
Free Health Screenings During National Night Out
LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing students and faculty volunteers met with neighbors and friends and o ered free health screenings at the October 2017 National Night Out Against Crime event at Joe. W. Brown Park in New Orleans. The event gave participants an opportunity to support law enforcement and first responders and to get to know members of the community.
Community Service in Action
Members of the Student Nurses Association participated in the annual Touro Health Fair and taught high school students how to take a blood pressure and a pulse, normal ranges for these assessments, and what deviations from the normal range can indicate. They also talked to the students about what it’s like to be a student nurse, including di erences in studying, the various clinical experiences they have and what it means to really care for a patient and family.
Zoo-To-Do
LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing volunteers sta ed the Tulane Pediatrics/Safe Kids Louisiana tent at the annual event that supports the Audubon Zoo.
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