Emory nurses play vital role

For two years now, Refugee Family Literacy Program has benefited from a warm and welcomed partnership with students from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. As part of their Community Health rotation, eight students, supervised by Professor Elizabeth Downes, spend 10 hours each week at our school. In addition to engaging children and stimulating their development in classrooms, they make educational presentations to our adult students and conduct on-site children's health screens. Based on these screens, they report any concerns to parents and advise them on appropriate courses of action. For example, this past semester they noticed gross motor developmental delays in a 10 month old child in our program. After consulting with the mother and making a referral to Babies Can't Wait, they worked with the child in the classroom. In a short time (only two months), we saw dramatic improvement; he started crawling, supporting himself, and making eye contact and smiling at nursing students working with him. In addition, his mother gained awareness of ways she could work with him at home. We are convinced that we are bigger winners in the partnership for having such well-informed, nurturing, and committed volunteers in our classrooms each week, but it warms our hearts to hear how Refugee Family Literacy Program has made a positive impact on their lives, too. Thank you, Emory nurses for your powerful work!

Volunteer Testimonials:

"Working with Mommy & Me made me realize how much nurses can make a difference in communities."

"I have learned to look at the refugee community differently because of this rotation. The obstacles that they've had to overcome, along with their culture, have a lot to do with their day to day stressors as well as the way that they approach health. This rotation has taught me how to reach back to my childhood, use whatever I have on hand, and teach at a level that is simple and basic... I will apply my teaching experience that I obtained from Mommy & Me towards low literacy patients that I encounter throughout my nursing career."

"Working at Mommy & Me improves understanding of child development stages."

"It's an engaging environment striving for the best with amazing mothers and children wanting to grow and learn!"