CSUSB Palm Desert Campus receives grant from Desert Healthcare District & Foundation to expand Nursing Street Medicine Program

California State University, San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus has been awarded a grant from the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation in support of its Nursing Street Medicine Program, which provides compassionate, community-based healthcare to unsheltered and underserved populations throughout the Coachella Valley. The grant, in the amount of $88,013, will allow the program to enhance its outreach efforts, improve access to essential medical services and provide hands-on clinical training opportunities for CSUSB nursing students. Through this partnership, the Palm Desert Campus and the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation are working together to address health disparities and expand care to those most in need. The Nursing Street Medicine Program brings nursing faculty and students directly into the field – meeting patients where they are – delivering basic healthcare, wound care, chronic disease management, glucose monitoring, foot soaks, behavioral health assessments, as well as referrals to primary and specialty care providers and community resources. Nurse clinics are held at shelters, free food program locations, homeless encampments, senior housing, migrant worker locations and at cooling/warming centers. The program teaches empathy to nursing students and helps them achieve their clinical hours on their path to graduation. They also provide much-needed supplies to clients, including hygiene products, hand sanitizer, face masks, condoms, ointments, bandages, clothing, shoes, socks, lotion, backpacks and sunscreen, among other items. The Nursing Street Medicine team delivers a valuable service at no cost to those most economically in need of basic necessities. The program also increases the number of registered nurses in the valley who have experience engaging vulnerable populations. As collaborative partners in the community, the Department of Nursing at PDC is creating and contributing to an educated and empathic healthcare workforce. Visit the CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine webpage for more information about the program.