FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State University School of Nursing has received a $40,000 grant from the Milan Puskar Foundation to help nursing students who are providing clinics and COVID-19 health and safety kits to homeless people in Marion and Harrison Counties.
“One of the major directives that Milan Puskar wished to address through the Milan Puskar Foundation is the growing issue of homelessness in West Virginia,” said Kyle Pratt, the foundation’s President. “The grant to the Nursing Homeless Outreach Program will help provide basic healthcare needs to the homeless and education to nursing students and RNs on how to better understand the challenges that such individuals face in order to improve the healthcare they receive.”
Milan Puskar Foundation board members hope the effort will help the students will build personal connections with the homeless that improves their lives by meeting some basic healthcare needs.
“We also hope that the educational sessions for the nursing students and RNs that treat the homeless and provide awareness on COVID, including mask use and care, handwashing, and an array of other imperative information, will be valuable training that results in other meaningful and life-changing impacts,” Pratt said.
Pratt said the goals that Fairmont State University presented were thorough, measurable, and the Milan Puskar Foundation believes that this grant will assist the University in improving the lives of homeless individuals in the North Central West Virginia region.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide our students with a comprehensive nursing education while assisting those in need within our local communities,” said Laura Clayton, Fairmont State School of Nursing Dean. “This project will allow us to further serve our mission to improve the health of West Virginia and the global community through a commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching, scholarship and service.”
“Experiential learning is the hallmark of a Fairmont State education,” Mirta M. Martin, president of Fairmont State University, said. “This generous gift will not only give our students real-world opportunities to apply classroom knowledge, but it also gives them the chance to do what Fairmont State does best: Change lives. With the help of this grant, the Nursing Homeless Outreach Program will have an immeasurable impact on the lives of so many in our community.”