March 22nd Post:  How would you describe in detail your service learning site? My service learning site is a 98-bed long-term care nursing facility.  The Sisters of Benedictine started it in the community of Mt. Angel, Oregon in 1955. The current building broke ground on 1957 and the home was purchased by Providence Health and Services in 1998.  
◦ Where are you serving? Providence Benedictine Nursing Center 
◦ What does the agency do? Provides aging services 
◦ Who are the clients and what needs are served? The “clients” are the 24 residents that currently reside on a long-term care nursing unit.  The needs served are: engaging them in conversations about their well being, who they were before coming to the home, who they are now, and how we can best serve them on a day-to-day basis.  
◦ What is the agency funding support? Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, private pay, and foundation dollars. 
• What is it about the community partner that calls you to work with them?  I think it really important to serve the underserved.  This is part of the Providence mission.  People do not grow up wanting to live out their last days in a nursing home.  I want to give them a sense of “home” because that’s what they deserve.  
◦ Why are you engaged with this agency? Providence is a mission based Catholic organization that upholds the teaching of Christ.  This is why I came to Providence.  
◦ What is your passion here? My passion is to serve the underserved.  I want to improve quality of care and ensure that these people are seen as people and are treated with respect. I want the staff to really know who they are taking care.  
• What are you currently doing with this organization and how do you see it evolving as you sustain your commitment with them?  I am currently working on my capstone project.  This entails implementation of a person-centered care model of nursing on one of the long-term care units.  I hope to expand this model through out the building and show how it can be replicated and sustained.  
◦ What is your role in this service learning experience? My role is to head up my capstone project.  I work with my mentor who is the resistant care manager on the unit very closely.  
◦ What hours did you spend at the site and what activities were performed? Clinical hours I've spent here are 185 hours.  Within those hours I've spent 15 service learning hours.  I've spent time in one-on-one conversations with the residents to find out how we can better serve their needs and what thier wishes are for self-directed care.  I think the time I've spent with the residents has lended itself to servinvg them as a companion as many of them do not have family that come and visit.  I help take them to activities and at meal time as well (for those that need assistance eating).  It has been very humbling to get to know these residents and find out what lives they lived prior to coming to Providence Benedictine.  
◦ What are the opportunities there? The opportunities here are: improving the bathing process (there is money available that no one has put to use- it was designated by a donor specifically for the shower room), improving the care model delivery from a medical model to a person-centered care model.  Providing a volunteer companion to sit and talk to with the residents as a part of their weekly routine.  
◦ What can you see yourself doing more long-term? I see myself staying involved long-term for the sustainability of the new nursing model of care.  In the literature reviews I’ve done I have found that person-centered care must be “kept up” or care models can slip back to post-implementation models.  
• Are people you came in contact with through this experience having some needs met through the community activities? Yes.  I think the staff and residents have already had needs met.  They have a sister-nursing center in Seattle that was able to successfully implement person-centered care and they strive to replicate that success.  They are excited about the upcoming change.  The community activities would be the informational  question and answer staff forums.  Also the involvement in the acitivites and mealtime process.  I think by getting to know the residents better I can help the staff know them better as well.  
• Are community activities like these necessary and/or sufficient to fulfill these community and individual needs? I think the forums are necessary because staff feedback is vital. Resident feedback is also vital.  
• Do you see other means to do so? Yes.  Staff could be interviewed one-on-one or surveyed.  
◦ What was the best/worst/most challenging thing that happened this semester? I think the most challenging thing that has happened this semester was hitting the ground running.  It was hard to balance three classes, life, and work.  It was also hard to get people talking about the change that needed to happen.  I think the best thing thus far is the reception of staff I have for my capstone project.  I have also been invited to Seattle to spend a day at Providence Mt. Saint Vincent to see how their person-centered care model works.  I am going on Tuesday March  25th.  
◦ What have you learned about yourself? I have learned that I need to take better care of myself and not try to get everything done at once.  I have learned that this is a process that will take time and deserves the time I give it.  
What are your future service learning plans? My future service learing plans are to continue to serve Providence Benedictine in other aspects of care delivery.  I want to ensure that the residents and staff needs are being met.  I want to be able to help them through challenges of care delivery change and help them see that they can make a difference in each others lives as well as the community.