Blue and You donates money for equipment to Arkansas State University
by March 7, 2019 6:07 pm 370 views
Executives with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas were on the Arkansas State University campus Thursday (March 7) to present a check to the College of Nursing and Health Professions.
The $89,098 grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas is being used to purchase a pediatric simulator for the College of Nursing and Health Professions SimBaby project.
As a portion of $2.7 million in grants to improve health in the region, the grant was provided to the ASU Foundation for use by CNHP. The Blue & You Foundation was established in 2001 by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a charitable foundation to promote better health in Arkansas.
Pediatric simulators for the SimBaby Project are designed to help healthcare providers recognize and respond to critically ill pediatric patients. It represents a nine-month-old pediatric patient and provides a highly realistic mannequin simulation that meets specific learning objectives focusing on initial assessment and treatment.
The grant allows education for 125 undergraduate nursing students per year at ASU to care for acutely ill pediatric patients in the Northeast Arkansas Delta Region. The simulation experience allows students to perform a variety of medical procedures including effective respiratory assessment and management, recognize signs and symptoms of common respiratory illnesses in pediatric patients, and safely prepare and administer appropriate medicines.
Additionally, it will help outline parental reaction to illness and hospitalization of their child, compare and determine the effectiveness of nursing interventions for a hospitalized child to that of an adult less than 12 months of age, identify examples of how care is prioritized, describe ethical and legal issues discussed or demonstrated while providing patient care, and demonstrate professional behavior.
The Blue & You Foundation awards grants annually to non-profit or governmental organizations and programs that positively affect the health of Arkansans. In its 17 years of operation, the Blue & You Foundation has awarded $33 million to 1,566 health improvement programs in Arkansas. Arkansas State is one of 42 recipients selected from 232 applicants for the 2019 grant.