Nursing students give back to the community through COVID-19 Care Bins

Care Bins, a vision of assistant nursing professor Dr. Leann Chisholm, has come to life and has been in full swing with area hospitals. Dr. Chisholm personally experienced and saw firsthand the strain our local hospitals were under and the daily challenges associated with caring for patients with COVID-19 and wanted to put into action a sincere demonstration of encouragement and support. covid-19-care-bins

“The pandemic has challenged our providers in unimaginable ways, therefore, any acts of kindness are the tools to refuel and regenerate what is needed to go on,” said Jenny Thedford, Instructor of Nursing. “We want them to know we do appreciate all of their unconditional care and perhaps in a small way, this will help them see that they are in our thoughts and that they are not alone.”

Through the creation of COVID-19 Care Bins, Dr. Chisholm’s vision gave the JoAnne Gay Dishman School of Nursing an outlet to give back to local agencies, many of whom are colleagues and alumni of the JoAnne Gay Dishman School of Nursing.

The Care Bins were created and filled with thank you cards, encouraging notes, snacks and various care items to show appreciation to healthcare caring for COVID-19 patients.

“Nurses work in very isolated situations and seeing these bins full of snacks, thoughtful takeaways and personal thank you notes will help them remember that what they are doing is not going unnoticed,” Thedford said.