The School of Nursing continued its community engagement with Charlestown’s John F. Kennedy Family Service Center through the Annual Competency Training for Home Health Aides and Homemakers with Skills Review. The training session brought Kennedy Center home care staff to the Institute for a classroom refresher and hands-on skills review focused on safe, respectful, and competent care in the home setting.

The training grew from the relationship between the Kennedy Center and the Ruth Sleeper Nursing Center for Clinical Education and Wellness. Through the Sleeper Center's mobile health program, Kennedy Center staff introduced MGH Institute nursing students to the services the center provides to older adults, families, and community members in Charlestown and surrounding communities. Over the last three years, this partnership has created opportunities for shared learning and for the School of Nursing to support the Kennedy Center’s home care workforce through annual competency education.

The session was organized through Kathryn K. Sabo, Director of the Ruth Sleeper Nursing Center for Clinical Education and Wellness, and Director of Community Engagement. Dr. Eleonor Pusey-Reid led the classroom teaching, with support from teaching assistants Eleanor Graber and Taryn Randall Marquis, who facilitated the hands-on skills review in the lab.

“This partnership reflects a reciprocal model of community engagement,” said Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor Eleonor Pusey-Reid. “Kennedy Center staff share their knowledge of community needs, home-based care, and the realities of supporting clients outside clinical settings, and the School of Nursing contributes faculty expertise, teaching space, simulation resources, and student involvement. Together, the collaboration supports the preparation of home care workers while expanding student teaching assistants’ understanding of community-based care.”

The training addressed core competencies for home health aides and homemakers, including communication, observation and reporting, infection control, vital signs, personal hygiene, safe transfers, ambulation, positioning, nutrition, hydration, emergency response, confidentiality, professional boundaries, and recognition of abuse or neglect. Participants also worked through real home care scenarios designed to strengthen judgment, documentation, and communication with supervisors.

A central part of the session took place in the skills lab, where Kennedy Center staff reviewed hands-on care techniques in a supportive learning environment. The lab offered space to practice, ask questions, and reinforce safe approaches to client care. For the School of Nursing, the training also provided a meaningful opportunity for teaching and mentoring. Teaching assistants supported participants during the skills refresher and helped translate nursing knowledge into practical coaching for home care workers who provide essential services in the community.

The workforce training session also highlights the role of home health aides and homemakers in supporting health, safety, and dignity. Home health aides and homemakers often notice early changes in a client’s condition, support daily routines, assist with home safety, and help clients remain connected to care. Annual training reinforces those responsibilities and affirms the value of their work.

“Through this ongoing collaboration, the School of Nursing and the Kennedy Center continue to build a partnership grounded in shared learning, service, and community commitment,” noted Pusey-Reid. “The training supports workforce readiness, strengthens ties between the Institute and its Charlestown neighbors, and creates learning experiences for faculty, student teaching assistants, and community care providers alike.”