Today was a very eventful day and was such a great learning experience . We started off the day by listening to presentations of the Norwegian students as they presented and talked about the similarities and differences between the healthcare systems in the United States vs Norway which was very interesting.  I had traveled to the UK twice, to London, Leicester, and Birmingham and had to go to the Emergency room for motion sickness and it really opened my eyes to how different the healthcare systems are world wide between different countries.  I found it nice how healthcare costs are covered by the state if they are registered as a norwegian resident. Overall, this experience taking a course with students from abroad was amazing and they really taught  us a lot that will definitely help our care in the future. 

After the presentations were complete, we then transitioned over to one of the major Mid Ohio Markets located in the WestSide of Columbus.  This was my first time ever going to a pantry or a market and I was not too familiar with the system. We met with our group and headed inside and were greeted by the manager. There was also another group from Ohio Health that was volunteering their time so he divided us up into stations. Three of us including me were on registration duty helping get people checked in. Another group set up in the front and were doing blood pressure tests, and glucose screening to the families that were coming there. 

One of the employees, Mike, gave us a tutorial on how to get people checked in. He showed us how to verify peoples address to ensure that they live here and also how to get them enrolled. The majority of the people that we were checking in were from South America,  Ukraine,  and Africa and the majority of them were non-English speakers and we had to adapt and use google translate a lot . We also had a lot of posters and signs up in different languages to make the process go smoother. They also had a process where they were only letting small groups come in at a time then when a cart becomes available the next person would go.

All in All, it was a great learning experience and it was nice to see families being able to get access to healthy fresh foods instead of eating a lot of processed box foods or even in worst case scenarios eating from fast food joints as a last resort. Sustainable goal 2.3 states, hunger persists with nearly 1 in 10 of the world’s population facing it in 2022, while 2.4 billion people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. Achieving zero hunger requires intensified efforts to transform food systems towards sustainability, resilience, and equity. These Markets are crucial to our community giving low incomes  families access to food weekly so they do not have to worry about not having food for their families. 

Welcome to the Columbus Public Health Clinic- (The heartbeat of healthcare in Columbus Ohio). Join us as we spend the day at this historic facility in the heart of Columbus OH and learn about the various resources and services that  they have to offer.

Upon Arrival, We met up with our other clinical groups from our Community Course alongside the Norwegian students who were very excited to meet everyone from the course and to tour and learn about one of the most important Public Health Facilities in Columbus. This was my first time getting to meet all the students in person and exchanged laughs about some of their experiences on their flight here and their target shopping spree the day before as we were waiting for the staff to finish setting up.

We then gathered at  Dr Teresa C Long Auditorium located on the second floor of the facility and were greeted by Beth ransopher and Courtney  Daniels and were handed out folders containing information packets about some of the resources that  the facility has to offer.

Opening up the presentation was Beth Ransopher who is the workforce development manager and she talked to us about her role at Columbus Public Health.  She then introduced us to Courntey Daniels who is the quality assurance nurse at the facility ensuring that staff is following all the policies and procedures in place to ensure that they are giving their patients that best quality care possible. She also explained her journey as a nurse and how she started off as a Pediatric Nurse then went back to school to get her Masters in Education and Leadership which then led her to  Quality Assurance which I found very interesting. It really opened my eyes to the various pathways nurses can go into outside of the bedside.

We all then took a 15 minute break and grabbed some snacks from the vending machines and we refilled our water bottle. Courtney than took us on a facility tour allowing us to explore the various clinics and talk to some of the staff and we got to ask questions. Our first stop was the Sexual Health and Wellness Center and we were greeted by one of the staff. She talked to us about the various comprehensive sexual services including STI testing and treatment, partner therapy, and education and even services for young teens as well. What I found very interesting was how teens are allowed to get care here without their parents. CPH has a couple of hours during the day where it is strictly blocked off just for teens. This allows teens to feel more comfortable reaching out and obtaining care without having to feel uncomfortable.

We then shifted over to the Women’s Health and Wellness center and got to learn about what they have to offer and got to see some exam rooms. They offer annual examples, birth control , screening, pregnancy tests and many more! This is amazing especially for people who do not have a primary care doctor or even for those who can afford to pay out of pocket. The Columbus Public Health does not turn ANYONE away and they really strive to care for the people of Columbus.

One of the main focuses of Sustainable goal 5 of the  United Nations is Gender Equality and are working to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences. This clinic  is funded through city, state, and federal grants which helps them provide care to our community.

Concluding our Tour we got to enter the Tuberculosis Clinic and got an in depth presentation about Tuberculosis and how it is impacting our community. She explained the different between people Latent vs Active and how that can impact them Later on in life. She also talked about contact tracing and how important it is and how important it is to locate the source. Which I found really cool was how the room was a negative pressure room making the pressure in the room lower inside then outside which I found very cool.

After concluding our tour we went back to the auditorium and worked on an Applied Health interactive case study with some of their staff trying to locate the source of an ill person getting E. Coli. We broke up into groups and were given the role of a Mom and nurse and we worked on trying to pinpoint what led to the child getting sick.

After our exercise, Beth and Courntey conclude the presentation and thanked us for coming. I really learned a lot and never been here even though I grew up in Columbus but was never able to get the opportunity to go inside.  I appreciate how our instructors took the time to coordinate this and now  that I know about the various resources available , I will keep this in mind as I transition  from nursing student to working as a nurse!!!

What an amazing, eventful day! Very Excited for the future.

What if we could eliminate hunger in Central Ohio and provide the adequate resources to the members of our community to help them get back on their feet? Well, that is exactly what St Sophia mission and vision is. We first arrived to a small church located on the Northside of Columbus Ohio. We were met by our fellow Norwegian friends who had on white scrubs which reminded me of my Aunt who graduated nursing school back in 2002. We quickly gathered supplies and talked about the itinerary for the day. We discussed our schedule for the rest of the week.

We were then greeted by Claire who is a rising Senior at The Ohio State University and is in the Traditional BSN program. She is the NSPIRE President and was an excellent resource to all of us. The main focus and mission of NSPIRE is to raise awareness and help provide education about the various healthcare inequalities amongst the underserved and underrepresented population. Sustainable goals 10.3 states that it will work to ensure  equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard by 2030.

NSPIRE works to prioritize outreach and they go all over central Ohio and help educate and help many people in the community. 

As it reached 9 o’clock in the morning, we started making our way inside and followed Claire. We were then greeted and welcomed in by the pastor who talked about the history of St Sophia. He providede education to us on the resources offered by St. Sophia’s Church and the impact they hope to make in the community. People than started to flow in as it was breakfast time and they were excited to be able to get a hot meal and coffee. St Sophia’s Cathedral not only offers breakfast but they also then  offer lunch between 11:30-1 pm. On today’s menu was fresh pasta with beef which a lot of the people were looking forward to.

After the introduction , Claire divided us into different groups and different stations. Some of us were tasked to do blood pressure and Accuchecks while the rest of us were on foot care duty. I  was a part of the foot care station. She showed us where to fill up the water and provided us with towels and she also took the time out of her day to make goody bags for the participants. It included a fresh pair of socks and had some hygiene items in there.

After helping the participants out, we went outside and talked to some of the people that came to get breakfast. Some of them shared their stories and it really touched my heart and I wish I was able to help them more.  Anything can happen at any given time, and anyone can end up homeless and it is definitely not by choice. It really inspired me to do more research on how I can help the young woman try to get back on her feet so she is able to see her children.

All in All, we had such an amazing time and we concluded with a group photo. Having Norwegian students is a blessing and not a lot of people get this opportunity to engage with other nursing students from another country. Looking forward to the potluck this week !!