Creston - Belknap

Long-term partnership

Calvin nursing students have had the privilege of working with the Creston and Belknap neighborhoods for many years now. By partnering with one another, the Creston-Belknap neighborhoods and Calvin nursing department aim to promote the health of the neighborhood residents and provide community-based experiences for students.

Calvin nursing students completed a random door-to-door survey of Creston and Belknap residents in the springs of 2004, 2011, and 2018. 

From the initial data in 2004, a neighborhood strategic plan was established, and it's updated yearly.  First-semester junior students participate in activities within the strategic plan. They teach health-related topics to students age five through 18, do blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, and work with neighborhood clinic nurses. Junior students also meet with a resident of the neighborhood to promote the individual’s health.

Second-semester senior students assist in ongoing neighborhood assessment and review of the strategic plan. Senior students use a public health model to plan, publicize, and present the annual Palmer (elementary school) Health Fair. A third major activity for the senior-level students is participation in the Community Health Worker (CHW) Program. A lay CHW is paired with two nursing students to create a CHW team. Each team identifies an area to meet with residents, finds out where residents gather, or go door-to-door talking to residents about their health. For example, some residents go to Supper House, an outreach of North End Community Ministry (NECM), where residents can be served a free hot meal every Thursday evening. The most frequent resident concerns are access to health care, such as dental care, available health clinics, health insurance programs, and prescription assistance programs.

Maintaining a presence in the Creston-Belknap neighborhoods serves a two-fold purpose for the Calvin community: We are able to show to others the compassion that Christ displays to each of us, and also learn valuable lessons from those whose experiences differ from our own.