UVI Nursing Students Create Programs to Improve Healthcare in the VI

 


UVI Nursing student and Registered Nurse Jane Bruno

explains her research.

 
 With the glint of graduation burning in their eyes, University of the Virgin Islands Senior Nursing Students displayed poster presentations of their final projects on April 8 and 9, at the University of the Virgin Islands’ Ralph Paiewonsky Library on the St. Thomas campus.

The projects were created to positively affect change in the healthcare system in the Virgin Islands. UVI Nursing student and Registered Nurse Jane Bruno created a prenatal loss support group on St. Croix. The support group began on March 15, and provides emotional support for women who have miscarried or whose children died soon after birth.

“They find comfort in one another because others have gone through it,” said Bruno. She was inspired to create the program after seeing devastated women leave the hospital without their babies. Bruno said the women share the pain of their loss and receive emotional support from the group. “The project was not created for a grade,” Bruno said. “I would like it to continue. I would like it to be an outpatient service.”

Previously trained in Dominica, Bruno wished to continue her education, but could not do so without first getting a bachelor’s degree in nursing at an institution of higher education in the United States. After graduating from UVI, she plans to get a graduate degree in midwifery.

UVI Nursing student Genevieve Vielbig presents her research.

UVI Nursing student Genevieve Vielbig’s project is designed to improve the healthcare of the mentally impaired. She launched the “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind” Program at Clear Blue Sky, a nonprofit that provides services to the mentally ill.


UVI Nursing student Nancy Jannette

Sanchez explains her poster presentation.

 Vielbig created a detailed fitness plan with dietary tips, fitness evaluations, a training video, workout classes, and used funds she raised to buy equipment for a small room now used as a gym at Clear Blue Sky. She was able to raise $2,400 through donations and an online silent auction. The program will exist long after she graduates.  Vielbig plans to return to New York after graduation. 

Some of the other projects included:
• “Teens Executing Excellent Nurturing,” a project that provides teens with neonatal care.
• “Men’s Talk,” a radio program that encourages men to take care of their health.
•  “Aiding Health Professionals in Dealing with Critical Events,” a support group for healthcare professionals.