Coming Together for Service and The Greater Good

Sean Hennessey

Date

September 7, 2024

Topics

Area of Expertise

Annual Community IMPACT Day draws IHP community of nearly 600 to volunteer and help local organizations

When Jennifer Julca began her team’s cleanup efforts at Constitution Beach in East Boston, she thought the beach was in good shape and didn’t need much attention. Then she began to walk and discovered something different.

“I was definitely surprised by the amount of beer bottles and nips that I found,” said the first-year Speech Language Pathology student. “I’m kind of sad there is so much trash out there because it is a beautiful city and we’re trying our best to preserve that.”

Her colleague, Cileneuriza DaSilva, agreed.

“The beach looks pretty clean but when you get into the nitty gritty, there is a lot of trash that’s hidden,” said the nurse practitioner student. “Mostly a lot of cigarette butts and beer bottles.”

The duo joined a dozen others yesterday as part of the MGH Institute’s annual Community IMPACT Day, a designated time in the interprofessional curriculum when students from different programs are assigned to teams to work collaboratively together and support the community.

Two woman walk on a beach pick up trash — Jennifer Julca, first-year Speech Language Pathology student, opens the garbage for Cileneuriza DaSilva, a first year Nurse Practitioner student as they helped clean Constitution Beach in East Boston

A group of people walking away from the camera and picking up trash on the beach — A group of MGH Institute students clean up Constitution Beach

Two women on a beach with one holding a trash bag and then other using a tool to put trash in the bag — First year PA students Jenna Thomas (l) and Haley Thomas (r) cleaning Constitution Beach.

A group of people sit on benches while a person with a clip board tallks to them — IHP students, faculty, and staff volunteers are listening to instruction at Cradles to Crayons in Newton before beginning their service work.

Three women stand at a table with shoes and stickers in front of them — Madeline Kertson (l) and Aileen Rodriguez (center) work with Tasneem Pota sorting children’s shoes at Cradles to Crayons in Newton.

A videographer films a table with women around it who are working on sorting shoes — A news videographer from NewsCenter 5 captured footage of the MGH Institute crew working at Cradles to Crayons.

A woman holds a microphone toward another woman while a man with a video camera films them — Site leader Kim Mace interviewed by Katie Thompson of NewsCenter 5.

A group of people pose in front of a purple backdrop with the name Cradles to Crayons on it — Faculty, staff, and students who volunteered at Cradles to Crayons pose for a group shot at the end of the day.

Two men paint a half wall while a woman further back paints the other side — (l-to-r) Will Caruso and Navi Hedge paint a wall in the playground of the Harvard-Kent School.

A man and two women pose in front of a wall being painted white while holding paint rollers — (l-r) Alejandro Lopez , Dabirichi Chukwuezi, Vera Raskina paint a wall in the play area of the Harvard-Kent School

Three people look at the camera while painting flower stencils on the ground of a playground — (l-r) Emilee Wearing, Hannah Biebl, and Albert Wang paint stencils of flowers on the ground outside of the garden at Harvard-Kent School so the students can stand on them while waiting to go into the garden for class.

People line both sides of an outdoor wall with paint brushes — IHP volunteers painted areas around the entryway and playground of the Harvard Kent Elementary School in Charlestown.

A woman passes a box on an assembly line to a waiting person while two other people are further down the line — (l-r) Madeline Lucke, Ying Rossi, Jenna Connors and Paige Murphy fill one of the 360 boxes full of food at Greater Boston Food Bank.

Two women put food in boxes — Paige Murphy (l) and Elena Valiente (r) add cans of food to boxes at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

People work at an assembly line filling boxes while a man carries a finished box to a pallet with other boxes — Jiacheng Yang carries a full box to the pallet

A woman moves a box down a conveyer belt to another woman holding cans of food while two other people further down the line add cans to boxes — (l-r) Emma Bouvier and Madeline Lucke start filling a food box while Ying Rossi and Jenna Connors add food to other boxes further down the line.

Eight people pose holding signs about food — The group from the IHP at the Greater Boston Food Bank celebrate a job well done.

Three women pose holding cleaning items — Lauren Snow, Allison Wise, and Rania Karim helped clean the main floor of the Boys and Girls Club in Charlestown.

A group of people work on a flower bed — Students weed, prune, and plant the MGH Charlestown Health Center’s Garden to get it ready for fall.

People work on paperwok while standing and sitting around a table — The volunteers at Charlestown High School enhanced the learning environment by arranging and filing documents in folders, boxes and cabinets in the administrative office.

A group of people pose in front a sign that says, Charlestown High School and Community School — A group from the IHP worked together to update bulletin boards for the new school year at Charlestown High School and helped organize their files.

There are rolled up blankets on a table in the foreground while people work with blanks at tables behind it — Students at Inquilinos Boricuas En Accion (IBA) in the South End making no-sew blankets before the residents arrive.

People pose around a kitchen workspace with vegetables in various states of being cut and prepared — Misha Mistry, Izzy Schettino, Andrew Osemhem, Margaret Bouchard, Emily Payne, Brooke McEachern, and Bella Pierce mastered their chef skills while cooking 25 meals for the Ronald McDonald House families.

Eight people pose under a bridge with trash bags — IHP volunteers cleaned up the area under the Tobin Bridge during Community Impact Day.

Eight people pose in front of a digital screen that has information on social isolation and loneliness awareness — Team E2 worked together as a team to create a social isolation/loneliness awareness resource for the Barnstable Adult Community Center for use in the Brown Bag Program.

A group poses in the entryway of a building with an awning that has the words, The Children's Quarters and the number 36 — Students promoted physical activity for preschoolers at the MGH Children's Center.

“It was a great way for them to work as a team, outside the clinical environment but still working together,” said Team Leader Kevin Finn, Interim Assistant Provost and Dean of Students. “It was a great experience for our students to get out into the community and help where it’s needed. Everyone chipped in and it was a wonderful collaborative environment.”

In Newton, nearly two dozen MGH Institute volunteers spent their morning sorting clothes and children’s shoes at Cradles to Crayons, an organization dedicated to providing for families in need.

“I’m from New York so it’s nice to be involved in a Boston community - helping those around us,” said Emma Green, a first-year Doctor of Occupational Therapy student. “I think just giving back to a community that needs extra support, especially during the school year, that’s a great way to be.”

Jasmine Liu, a first year Speech Language Pathology student, said the interprofessional nature of the day was what made it so memorable.

“I think it’s amazing to be able to go outside of our programs,” said Liu. “I usually take classes only with SLP students but today we get to talk with the OTs, PTs, Nursing students, PAs, and it’s really awesome to hear their perspectives and just to meet new faces in our class.”

“For healthcare providers, teamwork is imperative and this is really instilling in students the importance of working together with people from difference disciplines, with people who have different objectives but really working together on a task,” said Team Leader Kim Mace, Director of Online Prerequisites Program. “And then I think understanding the impact that healthcare providers will have on their community is really important. It’s more than just treating patients when they’re sick, but really getting out there and starting those grass roots efforts to create contact with the community.”

At the Ronald McDonald House in the Charlestown Navy Yard, students did some cooking. They made 25 servings of a meal that included rice, chicken, veggies, and tzatziki for the families who stay at the Ronald McDonald House. The hope was to give those families a home-away-from-home feeling through interprofessional work, the hallmark of the MGH Institute.

“I feel like we all worked well together today,” said Bella Pierce, a first-year ABSN student. “We asked each other what we wanted to do, and if we noticed that somebody else was doing something where we needed to fill in, without even saying anything, we would. I feel like that goes for the hospital, too. If you notice that somebody else is struggling, you just try to help. Just kind of being there together and especially today. We all just worked well and smoothly, and it was great.”

Nearby at the Tobin Bridge, students spent the morning cleaning up trash under the bridge.

“I think it’s very important that we keep our own communities clean and safe since we’re all here as students, but we have to keep it clean for everyone else too,” said first-year SLP student Pravi Jain.

A few blocks away at the Harvard Kent School, painting and gardening were some of the day’s tasks.

“This is the outdoor classroom for the school so the science teacher actually brings them out here for classes,” said Emily Jo Venskytis, Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor for the Doctor of Audiology program while standing outside a fence-in garden. “They are helping to clean up the classroom so when kids come out here to learn, they aren’t tripping or finding trash.”

Kevin Berner, assistant professor, occupational therapy, noted that several of the MGH Institute students have their placement at the school so they are making the space better for the kids they are working with.Nearby, IHP students were helping with playground painting, including a line of flowers where the Harvard-Kent students will stand before entering their outdoor classroom.

“There are some stencils on the ground right now but we are painting new and brighter ones so they can find their spot to stand on,” said first-year DPT student Albert Wang.

Wang was working with Hannah Biebl, a first-year OT student and Emilee Wearing, a first-year student in the nursing DEN program.

“We are all in different programs which is nice because you can get to know other professions as well as how to communicate with them,” said Wearing.

And that’s the whole idea. Bringing together different experiences and educational backgrounds where students can learn from each other is what interprofessional education is all about. Because team-based care results in better patient outcomes, interprofessional education is a hallmark of the Institute. Having students participate in a day of service incorporating teamwork is most appropriate in their IHP educational career.

Over at the Greater Boston Food Bank, IHP volunteers worked in an assembly line putting together family meal boxes, with each student responsible for putting in certain items and then passing the box to the next person along a conveyor belt. They put together 360 cases which translates into 9000 meals. According to Kelly Sajous from the Greater Boston Food Bank, it takes 4,368 meals to feed a family of four for one year.

“The 360 cases was significant but when he broke it down to the meals in that box, that put it at a whole new level,” said Kathy Sabo, Director at the Ruth Sleeper Nursing Center for Clinical Education and Wellness.

This was the 13th year of Community Impact Day; this year, more than 500 students and nearly 80 faculty and staff volunteers combined forces to help 30 Greater Boston organizations.

“It went well. There are always some glitches, modifications, and necessary pivots, but that's part of life and definitely part of healthcare,” said Midge Hobbs, the assistant dean for interprofessional education who organizes IMPACT Day with a dedicated team of staff and faculty. “The students and team leaders did an amazing job and completed their assignments with patience, flexibility, and good humor. I've already heard great feedback from sites that are so grateful for our students and the IHP's commitment to supporting the community. The teamwork behind the scenes always deserves a special mention. It really takes a village to execute Community IMPACT Day.”

Members of Hobbs’ team include: Director of Academic Operations Heather Easter; Executive Assistant and Project Specialist Ellen Foley; Project Manager for Academic Affairs Lauren Talbourdet; Operations Manager Yolanda Mendez Rainey; IMPACT Peer Facilitator Lead Rachel Rubin; Assistant Professor Jane Baldwin; and Director of Community Engagement Pat Reidy.

Back in Charlestown, volunteer groups headed to the Boys and Girls Club to assist in property maintenance, including deep-cleaning several rooms within the two buildings and painting areas in need.

“We rely heavily on volunteer services and partnerships,” said John Killoran, Charlestown Club Director of Community Partnerships and alumnus. “MGH Institute has been a hugely valuable partner for us. They come up with students once a week and support our programs and bring an educational piece to our kids here.”

Over at the MGH Charlestown Health Center, students and staff were tasked with revamping the Center for both patients and staff to help boost their morale when walking into the building.

“They built an outdoor garden a little over a year ago for the mental health benefits of both their clients and their staff, and so we fully weeded and pruned and at the direction of the staff, cleaned up the garden to make it fall ready,” said Regina Doherty, team leader and Dean of Interprofessional Education and Practice. “My favorite part was actually watching the students work together and seeing them, hands-on, and then seeing the benefit for the community. Some patients were coming in and were remarking, so that's my favorite part.”

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