St. Anthony Health-Michigan City Nursing Students Help Better Prepare Community for Emergencies

St-Anthony-Health-Michigan-City-Nursing-Students-Help-Better-Prepare-Community-for-EmergenciesFor the second consecutive year, Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City Safety Committee members collaborated with Purdue University North Central nursing program officials to offer a Community Disaster Preparedness Event, focusing on disaster planning and other safety measures, at the hospital Oct. 27. The program came about after hospital and university officials met to discuss ideas, which resulted this year in 45 future nurses choosing related topics and interactive activities to educate hospital staff members and the public. Peggy Rose, Purdue associate professor of nursing, said the effort “fits the essentials that guide our curriculum in terms of community and public health.”

The goal was “to create awareness for all age groups related to community preparedness in disaster situations that may affect LaPorte County.” Also participating were the county’s Emergency Medical Services and Hazmat units, as well as its Health Department and the American Red Cross. Among the senior student participants were, from left, Alissa Marcum of LaPorte, Brittany White of Wheatfield and Randi Hickman of Chesterton. The seniors’ project, as explained by White, involved which items to include a home preparedness disaster kit.