Fall 2005

Message from the Dean | Graduates Make First Class Gift | Carter-Fleck Professorship Contributes... | Weinert Named Carter-Fleck Professor | Geriatric Program Benefits... | Albers Champions Midwifery Program | Dominguez Receives Alumni Award | Simulated Learning and Online Programs Offer Realistic Training |

By Bethany Conway

Thanks to a grant from the John Palmer Fund, UNM College of Nursing students and Albuquerque area senior citizens now enjoy expanded opportunities within the Geriatric Education and Health Maintenance (GEHM) program. The grant allowed the College to hire Carolyn Johannes as an additional staff nurse, helping the program to better serve student nurses and the community.

A collaboration between the UNM College of Nursing and the City of Albuquerque, the GEHM clinics have been open for almost 20 years. The program operates clinics in five out of the seven senior centers citywide and serves 20-25 patients per clinic per day. The staff hopes to use the grant award to expand the clinic’s capacity, raising the number of patients seen annually from 700 to 825.

The purpose of the GEHM program is to promote healthy aging by informing seniors about their health care options and addressing their medical concerns. The clinics perform services such as health screening, physical examinations, medication management and education, and psychological support. Debra Long, the managing nurse of the GEHM program, and her associates call it “helping navigate the health care system.” Perhaps most importantly, the clinics provide access for seniors to learn about their medications.

Students participate in the program as part of the College’s community outreach efforts. College faculty RNs and third- and fourth-year nursing students provide the services to their senior patients. Students are able to fulfill the volunteer hours the College expects of them while learning skills such as charting, taking vital signs, assessing the condition of the patient and practicing time management. Real-life medical situations help teach the students to know their boundaries and recognize when someone needs to see his or her health care provider.

The senior centers in Albuquerque are busy, and with a new staff nurse the program can bring in more students and give them a greater degree of mentoring. “The program’s role is really important because we are always looking for sites to gives our students more opportunities,” Long says.

“This clientele is a very mobile and fairly independent group of citizens, and our students learn how to promote this wellness and independence,” Johannes says. “These are people who can help us cope with the aging process, as well as the loss of our parents and spouses,” she adds. Before joining the staff at the clinic, Johannes worked at the UNM School of Medicine doing diabetes research for 15 years. She feels that we have much to learn from our elders as well as much to give.

Along with medical care, seniors are also looking for someone with whom to talk. Says Johannes, “This is really their social family.”