School of Nursing Community Leadership Practicum Students win 2010 Community Engagement Award for Student Engagement

Student Engagement

Eleven students from the School of Nursing Community Leadership Practicum course received the award for their spring 2010 efforts to provide health education and services to about 300 backside workers at Churchill Downs.

In partnership with the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center and under the direction of faculty member Marianne Hutti, the students developed and implemented a program that included researching the health issues that most often affect racetrack workers; developing a communication strategy that gave information - in English and in Spanish - on preventing and treating those issues; obtaining donations of much-needed over-the-counter pain medications to be dispensed to the workers.

The students also organized the collection and dissemination of more than 100 backpacks to the “Blessings in a Backpack” program at Semple Elementary School, where many children of the backside workers attend. The program provides healthy food over the weekend for children who come from economically challenged households.

In addition, the students collected and donated more than 200 items of basic clothing to backside workers’ children.

The students received a $2,500 award, which will support future community engagement activities of students in the course. They also received a matching grant of $2,500, which has been designated to the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center.