My name is Cuca Ramírez Miranda, and I had the privilege of participating in the mini-grant program sponsored by The Allstate Foundation and Campus Compact for the Spring of 2024. As a senior from The University of the South, I have explored the disparities that marginalized and underserved communities face and how these impact their health through a lens of Women’s and Gender Studies in the classroom and in the field as a Canale leader at Partners for Healing, a free medical clinic that serves the working uninsured.
When I moved to rural Tennessee, I observed trends in the decaying lifestyle and wellness of members in my community due to the inability to seek preventative care; ultimately, our health impacts diverse aspects of our lives, which is why we must protect and maintain it. In light of these experiences, I posit that nurses have the fundamental role of educating patients on their health conditions and providing them with practical tools so patients can advocate for themselves in a society that continues to erase the needs of poor, marginalized communities. Education has been indispensable for me to break the cycle of generational poverty I was born in and has made me 
aware of the socioeconomic disparities I and others face and how these affect our health. An example of this was the COVID-19 pandemic and patient education on vaccinations. It became evident during the pandemic that individuals living in rural areas tend to have a clear mistrust towards medicine; for many, this is a barrier to seeking help. In my work as a medical intern and Spanish interpreter at Partners, I witnessed how the nurses were communicative, patient, caring, and intentional in spending quality time with their patients, discussing the benefits of being vaccinated and trusting a healthcare provider to work together to stay healthy. Vaccination rates in our patient population increased, as well as a sense of community protection and reliance on the nurses in our team. The quality of education a patient receives from a nurse, the healthcare provider who spends more time with the patient and shares a bond of trust, can have a lasting impact that leads to positive health outcomes.
Apart from all the impact the nurses at Partners were achieving, I identified a gap that prevented the nurses from continuing to provide excellent patient care. As technological advances increase in the healthcare field, it has become laborious to focus primarily on patient care due to additional responsibilities related to technology usage. For this reason, I decided to apply for a mini-grant to tackle and overcome the barriers to close this technological gap. Before updating the technology at the Nurses Station, the nurses had been using computers that were ten years old, which were not ideal for updating patients' charts, sending communications, and accessing educational resources. Thankfully, the $1,000 grant allowed us to equip the Nurses Station with two new computers. This upgrade allowed the nurses to spend more time providing patient care and less time spent on devices, and increased patient outreach through social media and the creation of educational content via applications and websites for our medical interns, who work alongside the nurses. My main priority for this project was to give our medical team the tools to provide the best resources for our patients without spending long periods of time navigating outdated technology.
Based on my experience, as we transitioned to having access to better computers, I became more involved in gathering data in athenaOne (our free EHR) for our annual report and the Partners for Healing’s Board. In addition, I supported our team by creating educational materials for English and Spanish-speaking patients, especially the undocumented Latinx population. The access to technology facilitated the process for me to recruit patients and share the resources we offer through our services with them. All in all, I was able to form connections with patients via consultations and scribing, explore best practices to recruit patients via social media, and develop educational materials more efficiently. Truly, a fulfilling experience.
For those of you considering starting a project in your community, do not be intimidated by creating something new and sustainable; the Campus Connect team will guide you throughout the process and give you all the resources you need to succeed and make an impact in your community. Not only will you meet other Newmans in the training and meetings, but you can collaborate with them and lean on each other for ideas, feedback, and genuine support. Everyone on the team wants you to succeed. Take advantage of this opportunity and challenge yourself! Lastly, I want to thank The Allstate Foundation and Campus Compact for allowing me to be a leader and agent of change in my community and for making this happen.