RICHLAND, Wash. – Two nonprofits that provide free medical and social services to community members in the regional Tri-Cities now have iPads to help expand access to translation and interpreting services. The access to the technology was made possible by a partnership with Washington State University Tri-Cities nursing students and the .

provides free medical, dental and mental health services to uninsured individuals. The provides a free place to sleep, as well as social and medical support services, to regional homeless individuals.

Avonte Jackson, director of Grace Clinic, said the clinic serves a large population of individuals whose primary language is one other than English. She said it can be challenging to find volunteers who can interpret medical terminology. This is especially��difficult for family members who may be asked to translate medical jargon for relatives at their appointments, she said.

Giving back to the community as part of education

In a class focusing on community health practices, ���سԹ� nursing students examined what they could do to help expand medical access in areas where it was crucially needed. While completing clinical experiences at Grace Clinic, the group noticed the need for translation for patients that don’t speak English.

“As a group, we chose to focus on the immigrant and refugee population in the Tri-Cities area,” said Magaly Torres, a senior ���سԹ� nursing student at the time and now alumna. “While completing clinicals at Grace Clinic, we found that many patients do not speak English and the majority required an interpreter.”

Torres and fellow students Bridget Hohl and Beth Phillips came up with the idea to use iPads to provide the service, as they provided great versatility at a relatively small price point. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the group faced challenges with raising the funds needed to finalize the project.

���سԹ� student Mikaela Thepvongsa said where they would normally host public fundraising events, such as a bake sale, those opportunities were no longer an option, as of last spring. Their instructor, Jennifer Larson, came up with the idea to submit a proposal to the Kadlec Foundation this fall.

“The Kadlec Foundation graciously donated funds to purchase two refurbished iPads for Grace Clinic and the Union Gospel Mission,” Thepvongsa said.

Expanding translation and interpreting services

Jackson said the donation of an iPad will allow Grace Clinic to expand access to medical services in a large way.

“We serve a large Spanish-speaking population, but also individuals who speak a variety of other languages,” she said. “This technology will help us in communicating with patients and their family members as we seek to expand access to medical care in the Tri-Cities for those who otherwise couldn’t afford it due to lack of insurance or other factors.”

Similar to Grace Clinic, the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission serves clients whose original home countries span the globe. Chariss Warner, the ministry director, said an iPad will also allow their staff and volunteers to address issues in a culturally-sensitive manner.

“I can think of specific examples where words we use can cause fear or misunderstandings,” Warner said. “Having this ability to meet the clients where they are at will be life-changing for many. It will help us build trust and understanding between clients and the health care industry, as a whole.”

“I would just like to thank (���سԹ� nursing students) for seeing a need and then meeting the need,” Warner said. “It takes a special group of people to not just see a problem and walk away in judgement, but to come alongside and in partnership to raise the standard of care. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Support from Kadlec Foundation

Rebecca Thornton, development manager at the Kadlec Foundation, said Kadlec has made a targeted effort this year, especially amid the pandemic, to offer more community-facing programming and services outside of what they provide through the traditional clinical setting.

“That has been extra important, given the last year and limitations for in-person access to medical services,” she said. “Technology like iPads has allowed us to grow patient access to seeing medical professionals, as well as breaking down additional barriers to medical services. We are thrilled to be able to partner with the ���سԹ� nursing program to provide this resource to Grace Clinic and the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission.”

For more information about the ���سԹ� nursing program and ways to partner, visit tricities.wsu.edu/nursing.

 

Media contacts:

Avonte Jackson, Grace Clinic director, 509-735-2300, avontej@gracecliniconline.org

Chariss Warner, Tri-City Union Gospel Mission ministries director, 509-547-2112 Ext. 112, maegan_murray@wsu.edu

Mikaela Thepvongsa, ���سԹ� nursing student, mikaela.thepvongsa@wsu.edu

Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� director of marketing and communication, 619-403-3617 (cell), maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Eyes were opened and hearts touched as students in a Washington State University Tri-Cities psychology statistics course recently worked with homeless people at Tri-City Union Gospel Mission.

Each semester, Janet Peters, clinical assistant professor of psychology, has her students work with a local service-based organization to provide them with real-world experience.

“These types of opportunities provide students with a practical look into how they can use statistics in psychology,” Peters said. “They’re also providing a service to a local organization who may not have the time to dig deep into their data and do this type of analysis.”

The students spent the semester analyzing data from the facility determining factors that influence or relate to homelessness.��, in turn, can use the data to demonstrate to donors the need for its services and educate the community.

The class also spent a day volunteering at the homeless shelter — cleaning bathrooms, organizing the food pantry, scrubbing floors, folding laundry and decorating their sidewalks with sidewalk chalk, among other tasks.

For some students, the opportunity proved deeply personal.

“Having been homeless several times, it was humbling being able to serve and give back to resources that have such a large impact in our community,” said senior student Jacob Hafen. “As we demonstrated with our projects, homelessness isn’t necessarily centered around addiction or a mental disorder, although sure we do see homeless people who are suffering in either of those instances.”

Surprising factors contribute to homelessness

The students aimed to identify a relationship between how long an individual might be homeless and variety of influencing factors, including:

• Employment status
• Education level
• Drug use
• Number of children
• And a variety of other issues

Approximately 34 percent of the residents at the mission had been living with friends or family and, for whatever reason, it didn’t work out. Approximately 21 percent of the residents had been kicked out of their home. Approximately 14 percent of the residents had suffered from domestic violence.

The average amount of days stayed at the facility over the course of three years was just over a month (37 days) – a surprise to many of the students. And the leading cause for longer stays in the shelter was eviction, followed by domestic violence.

Drug use wasn’t as high of a determining of a factor as many of the students initially predicted. In their analysis, they found that a history of addiction was not related to how long the women stayed at the shelter.

Level of education, many said, was also surprising when determining if that had an impact on length of stay. High school graduates typically stayed slightly longer – 43 days, as compared to non-high school grads, who stayed for an average of 29 days.

While all the information was self-reported and dependent on the individual’s honesty, it proved to break stereotypes on homelessness for many of the students.

For junior psychology major Rocio Marquez, it was surprising to find that employed individuals didn’t seem to have an easier path. Employed individuals, she said, might stay just as long as non-employed individuals.

“You would think that because they’re employed, they will get back on their feet much faster, and they don’t,” she said.

Profound impact��

Junior Sarah Wright said the project has allowed her and her classmates to better understand the Tri-Cities community as a whole.

“Homelessness is much closer to home than we realize,” she said. “This could be your brother, your sister, your mother. It doesn’t take much.”

With former experience being homeless, himself, Hafen said often times, there are no easy explanations or answers to the issue of homelessness ― a concept that many of the students said they came to realize.

“Homelessness is really an ugly truth, and it’s good for people to realize that this is part of some peoples’ lives,” Hafen said. “We have the stereotype of ‘this is what homelessness is.’ Giving our time with this project helps debunk that.”

 

 

 

Media contacts:

• Janet Peters, clinical assistant professor of psychology,��509-372-7431,��janet.peters@wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan_murray@wsu.edu