Community Volunteers Measure Success with Youth
MIKE youth discovered what medical professionals actually hear through a stethoscope, during a recent blood pressure clinic. As youth at De La Salle North Catholic High School eagerly donned white coats and blood pressure cuffs, they used the stethoscopes to listen to their own heartbeats.
The hands-on lesson introduces youth to healthcare careers while helping them understand a basic medical procedure. MIKE’s programming invites healthcare professionals and trainees to take part in the classroom activity to engage youth directly. This outreach effort brought together nursing students from the University of Portland, Linfield College and Portland State University, providing them with a unique service delivery experience. One mother-daughter team also volunteered.
MIKE encourages the youth to fully immerse themselves in the process to get a sense of what it’s like on the healthcare side of interacting with patients. MIKE provides medical white coats for the youth to wear during the activities. The youth quickly scoop up the coats and stethoscopes.
Roxanne Ushman, a retired neonatal nurse, joined her daughter Meghan, a health science graduate of Portland State University now interning with Moda Health, for the blood pressure clinic. Roxanne commented how it was important to inspire young people to pursue healthcare careers.
One youth was so excited to participate in the lesson, that she created her own nametag before trying on the white coat. “I want to feel what it’s really like,” says Monica, affixing a “Dr. Monica” tag to the coat. Madelyn Peterson, a nursing student at the University of Portland, guided Monica through the process of reading the gauge as she eagerly pumped up the cuff. Monica listened intently through a stethoscope and commented how she now understood what was really going on when she had her blood pressure taken at her doctor’s office.
Karis Stoudamire-Phillips of Moda Health also joined in on the activity. She visited De La Salle North Catholic High School to experience a firsthand look at MIKE’s programming. Stoudamire-Phillips welcomed the chance to take part. As the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Moda Health, Stoudamire-Phillips focuses on community engagement strategies and wanted to see how MIKE impacts and interacts with youth.
Stoudamire-Phillips observed each group of youth as they took turns using the blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes. The visits provide Stoudamire-Phillips with a means to highlight Moda Health’s three pillars of corporate giving: build healthier communities, enhance natural and built environments, and enhance social equity by reducing health disparities.
As part of Moda Health’s corporate giving, MIKE was recently awarded a grant in support of MIKE’s youth programming.