Chester, Pa. – The Widener Community
Nursing Clinic was awarded a grant from the PNC Charitable Trust for $9,200 to implement
educational programs focusing on cardiovascular health to the community. This
is the third time the clinic received the grant since opening in 2011.
In order to reach the goal of
supporting heart-healthy living, the Widener Community Nursing Clinic used the
grant to put together a series of nutrition classes, as well as exercise
programs and smoking cessation sessions for residents of Cityteam.
Last spring, Widener nursing
students lead a number of nutritional classes for the residents of Cityteam.
In addition to the typical
programming the clinic offers, the volunteers decided to earn fruits of their
labor and work with the residents of Cityteam to build a garden.
Under the leadership of RitaAnn
Robinson, a volunteer nurse practitioner at the Widener Community Nursing
Clinic and alumna of the School of Nursing, and
Daniel Costa, mission program coordinator at Cityteam, volunteers prepared and
planted two large garden beds outside of Cityteam.
“It’s such a unique program, because
we were able to have support for the garden from residents of Cityteam,” Ellen
Boyda, director of the Widener University Nursing Clinic, said. “They helped
plant seeds from the very beginning and were able to care for the garden all
summer, and then enjoy the produce as part of their own meals.”
Over the summer residents of
Cityteam planted vegetables and herbs, from eggplant and squash to basil and
thyme. By the end of the summer they were able to harvest the results and use
them for meals that serve the Cityteam community.
Boyda was happy to see the mission
for the grant be implemented in such a unique way. “It was a success for the
clinic to establish an educational plan to help the residents of Chester think
more about healthy lifestyles and how they live and eat through real life,” she
said.
Kwinn Tucker, director of Cityteam,
agreed. “This is just another example of a great partnership Cityteam has with
the Widener Community Nursing Clinic. It’s been a great value to for our
residents to have a project like this to not only be a part of from the
beginning, but also to benefit from in terms of building a healthier
lifestyle.”
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