支持网络: Pen-pal friendship becomes encounter at hospital 护理专业学生

A pen-pal friendship became an in-person chance encounter at a hospital when an older man sick with 新型冠状病毒肺炎 symptoms was greeted by the nursing student with whom he corresponded.

Cassandra Campbell was one of 90 柯克霍夫护理学院 students who participated in a pen-pal campaign by writing or calling senior citizens who live in area assisted living centers. 这个想法 campaign came from a subgroup, Companion Support and Check-In, of the 大学的支持网络.

Campbell, a senior, said she wanted to write to a pen pal because she understood how lonely it must be for assisted living residents, particularly when family and other visitors were limited or banned. Campbell and her pen pal had exchanged one letter, in which he described being isolated in his room, before their encounter at an 区医院.

"When I was working that day, I realized my pen-pal's name was on my assignment list, and I thought, 'It cannot be him,'" 坎贝尔说. At the time, she was working on the hospital's 新型冠状病毒肺炎 作为资源地板护理技师.

It had been a week since their letter exchange. 坎贝尔去了他的 room to record vital signs and deliver a food tray. 我走了进去 向病人打招呼. 我记得他对我的微笑. 我知道在内心深处 that he realized I was his pen pal when I wrote my name on his white 董事会，”她说.

Rebecca Davis, associate dean of KCON research and scholarship, is co-chair of the Companion Support and Check-In subgroup with Ricardo Benavidez, from the Office of the President. 戴维斯的笔友说 campaign served as a good opportunity for students to "connect with and learn about older adults who may have been through pandemics before."

Davis took the idea to four of the assisted living centers in West Michigan where she conducts wayfinding research funded by the National 老龄研究所. Then she and Benavidez led a volunteer initiative connecting nursing and pre-nursing students with older adults living 在居民区.

She said they were thrilled to participate because of the social 给居民带来的好处. KCON，得到了 Provost's Office, provided students with stationery and stamps, several guidelines and conversation suggestions; and Carol Rausch, KCON administrative assistant, connected students with residents.

Students who participated in the project responded to a survey and 报告说他们觉得这个项目很有趣. 有几个学生提到 it helped improve their communication skills and provided an 有机会照亮别人的一天.

Campbell learned her pen pal was released from the hospital and has 回到他的家. "After the day I saw him in the hospital, I wrote to him and said it was a pleasure to take care of him even though I wished he would not have experienced this terrible 病毒，”她说.

Her pen pal experience brought the pandemic full circle, 坎贝尔说.

"People close to us will catch the virus and I never thought that I’d be on the frontline at 21 years old. 这段经历是我 driving force to continue working during this difficult time," 她说. "The shifts started getting harder and more exhausting, but I kept telling myself that I was doing it for people like my pen pal."

3月下旬，菲洛梅娜. 曼特拉问大峡谷 community to harness its collective talents and volunteer to assist 在新型冠状病毒肺炎大流行期间. 了解更多有关 支持网络 在线.