In order to graduate from BYU’s Family Nurse Practitioner program, graduate students must complete a research project. For their research project, second-year nurse practitioner students DeeDee Long, Mariita Carter, and Rebecca Drake collaborated with the Food and Care Coalition and the Utah County Public Works Red Warehouse warming center to provide healthcare to people experiencing homelessness.
Together with a team of 64 undergraduate students, they visited the warming center and the Food and Care Coalition to conduct in-person surveys that would provide insights into the health needs of this population. Mariita had high praise for the undergraduate student team’s adeptness: “I was so impressed with them. They went around and they talked to people, and they didn’t show any fear or reserve. They just show so much compassion and love to this population.”
The undergraduate and graduate students analyzed the survey responses and determined that some of the greatest needs of this population were footcare and diabetes care. A plan was then implemented that provided people experiencing homelessness with footcare cleanings and screenings, as well as A1C tests to screen for diabetes. In addition to participating in the surveys, the undergraduate students also provided basic foot care assessments and administered some of the A1C tests.
The nurse practitioner students had been told by the leaders of the Food and Care Coalition that the people in this population often have a hard time accepting help from others, so one of the main goals these students had was to build trust. To do this, the nursing students would sit down with each patient and talk with them. By showing compassion and ministering to each patient, they achieved this goal. “They recognized us. They trusted us,” said Deedee.
The project left a lasting impression on all who were involved. For Rebecca, this was an opportunity to connect with people who she hadn’t had a chance to connect with very often, a population she feels gets overlooked quite often. She said, “I feel like I have learned how to be like the Savior in that way of not overlooking those who are vulnerable.”
The patients cared for were grateful for the Christlike compassion and care they had received—when the nurses were leaving the warming center one day, the patients started cheering, “BYU!”
It made it all worth it.