College Nursing Program to Expand Free Healthcare Services With $75,000 Grant

PALM DESERT (CNS) – A college nursing program can expand its list of free healthcare services in the Coachella Valley thanks to a $75,000 grant announced today. Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus received the grant from the Houston Family Foundation for its Nursing Street Medicine program. "We are so honored to be chosen by the Houston Family Foundation to expand behavioral health services in the Coachella Valley," Department of Nursing instructor Diane Vines said in a statement. "We will educate our future Valley nurses on how to work with those vulnerable populations with empathy and skill." The program offers wound care, foot soaks, triage, health assessment, checking vital signs and glucose levels, medications management and other services for unsheltered, sheltered and vulnerable people in the Coachella Valley. According to the college, the funding will provide access to telehealth technologies at nurse clinics throughout the area and increase the ability to treat clients with mental health disorders. The program can also partner with other organizations to also offer behavioral health assessments, testing and medication administration. Vines said the program works with the Desert Healthcare District, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, the Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine and other organizations. Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc. CNS-06-09-2022 09:58