Published: October 05, 2008 08:23 pm      

Students, faculty volunteer

From Staff Reports



Navarro College recognizes and commends the college nursing staff and students who volunteered their time and efforts in September to assist the Hurricane Ike evacuees who were temporarily housed at the Cornerstone Baptist Church shelter in Corsicana.

“The students had a great experience working at the shelter,” said Cathy Van Zandt, Navarro College nursing instructor. “There were a large number of evacuees who had special medical needs that were not anticipated. Several students went to help out overnight and on the weekend in addition to their clinical days. The students indicated that they really enjoyed working there and learned a great deal about triage and creative nursing care.”

Van Zandt also added that she had spoken with a Red Cross nurse who said this was the most unique shelter operation she had ever seen. She said it was really a sense of community, and it is quite evident that the community really came together to make it an awesome experience for everyone. The Red Cross nurse went on to say that the students were a real asset to the health-care process for the shelter.

“Having them mingle with the evacuees enabled us to quickly identify those with needs and problems,” Van Zandt said. “We were also able to avoid outbreaks of infections by promoting good hygiene and working a clinic when the doctor came to the shelter.”

College nursing instructors Delores Price and Julie Arteaga also volunteered their time and services to the evacuees at Cornerstone.

“In September, I had an opportunity to volunteer my services to the Cornerstone Baptist Church shelter for the hurricane evacuees,” said Aaron Stewart, nursing student from Midlothian. “The experience was a first for me, and it provided a great learning experience. I was able to perform physical assessments on a wide variety of individuals. The range of people included elderly with multiple disease processes to well adults and children.” Stewart added that he had performed many student nursing interventions while volunteering at the shelter, including basic patient care to social listening and interviewing. He was surprised at how some, if not all, of the people were very grateful for his services.

“The time I spent has helped better prepare me to become a nurse,” Stewart said. “It has allowed me to understand the need for disaster relief and the benefits of volunteering. I am forever hooked. I will be committing more time to relief efforts.”

Two other Navarro College nursing students who volunteered a great deal of their time at the Cornerstone Baptist Church shelter were Laurinda Abbie from Corsicana and Mitzi Marshall from Waxahachie. Other nursing students who volunteered were: Fatima Fofana, Corsicana; Alimah Tijani, Dallas; Jessica Thiebaud, Mesquite; Ashlee Baker, Groesbeck; Nancy Fread, Corsicana; Christina Jimenez, Athens; Jennifer Barton, Richland; Brandy Kennedy, Mexia; Terrie Huskins, Italy; Jessie Blackwell, Corsicana; Jackie Herron-Smith, Red Oak; Tammy Cress, Rice; Mary Jo Filer, Hubbard; Peggy K. Morrison, Groesbeck; Heather Hogan, Fairfield; Miranda Quinn, Teague; Dena Looney, Wortham; Cristi Schmidt, Corsicana; Sheri Smikle, Mexia; Chantal Teer, Teague; Valerie Torgerson, Teague; Courtney Withrow, Corsicana; and Hope Wallace, Thornton.