MADISON, Wis.— A Wisconsin startup is helping homeless shelters stay coronavirus-free by using RNs, retired nurses, and even nurses in training.
Nurse Disrupted was started by nurses Tracy Zvenyach and Bre Loughlin in response to the pandemic. The goal is to provide virtual COVID-19 screenings as people enter businesses, schools, or even shelters.
As people walk into Porchlight or the Salvation Army Women’s Shelter in Madison, they’re greeted by a temperature check and a tablet. On that tablet is a nurse waiting to talk to them.
The nurse asks them questions about how they’re feeling, and how they’ve been feeling over the last few days.
“Tablets are strategically placed on site, and then individuals approach the tablet to have a virtual COVID-19 screening with a registered nurse who is then connecting from home,” Zvenyach said. “So it's a face-to-face interaction.”
These screenings have been in place for months now. “To date, we have conducted over 6,200 COVID-19 screenings across both shelters,” Zvenyach said.
So far, there haven’t been any outbreaks of coronavirus at those shelters. “They've been doing a tremendous job with safety precautions,” Zvenyach said. “Ensuring that shelter guests are wearing masks, and washing hands, using hand sanitizer and socially distancing.”
However, they need a lot more nurses to expand these virtual screenings to other organizations and businesses. That’s part of why they extended the call to Marian University and Marquette University graduate nursing students.
“Many schools of nursing have seen clinical site closures or reduced hours that they're able to go into the clinical settings,” Zvenyach said.
Lots of nursing students are struggling to get their clinical hours required to graduate, now that hours are often limited.
Now, they can get their hours by logging into the Nurse Disrupted Virtual Volunteer program. Sixteen Marquette graduate nursing students are now participating, giving virtual screenings to people in the shelters.
Not only do they get their hours, but they also get experience serving more vulnerable people. That could make them better nurses in the long run.
“Having exposure to diverse populations, having an interaction with vulnerable populations, strengthens a clinician’s skill and strengthens our background,” said Zvenyach.
To learn more about Nurse Disrupted screenings available, or the need for more nurses, click here.