EIU College of Health and Human Services

 Project: Panther InterProfessional Education Services (PIPES Initiative)

 Lead: Dr. Jill Bowers (HSCL)

 Collaborators: Dr. Nikki Hillier (PUBH) and Dr. Jackie Frank (HSCL)

 The pandemic has impacted several areas of higher education, including the internships for students across disciplines. Many internship sites emailed students to cancel their spring/summer appointments due to COVID-19 related issues; this includes sites that were considered essential as many site supervisors were overwhelmed and did believe that they could take on student interns. The Departments of Human Services and Community Leadership and Public Health created a virtual internship program through PIPES, yet students struggled with access to technology and Wi-Fi during the first year. The purpose of this grant funding was to support students’ technology needs and access for internships, as well as research to better understand organizational needs for virtual interns. 

 Project: Bridges Alternative School Health Fair

 Lead: Ms. Megan Cotner (PUBH)

 Collaborators: Dr. Lauri Deruiter-Willems, Ms. Jennifer Cannon and Mr. Greg Rogers (PUBH) and Dr. Krystal Lynch (NTR)

 Department of Public Health and Nutrition and Dietetics students are collaborating to create an online video library that contains lectures, lesson plans and activities centered around health and nutrition. It is with hopes that local area schools will utilize this resource as a means to provide health education to middle and high school aged children.  The schools will also be provided the necessary materials to effectively implement these lesson plans and activities. It is with great joy that EIU students are able to provide this online resource as well as supplies to expand young student’s knowledge on health topics such as nutrition, sexual health, personal hygiene, mental health and many more.  

 Project: LifeSpan Senior Isolation Phone-Calling Program

 Lead: Dr. Lauri Deruiter-Willems (PUBH)

 Collaborators: Dr. Nikki Hillier (PUBH) and Dr. Kathleen O'Rourke (HSCL)

 Staying in Touch is a phone calling program through Public Health at EIU in which student volunteers from across campus make regular phone calls to older adults in Coles County. The program goal is to minimize loneliness in older adults that may be heightened due to sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our program utilizes the UCLA Loneliness Scale and modeled after a similar program being conducted in northern Illinois.

 Project: Students Working With Local WIC offices to Assess New Process

 Lead:  Dr. Nikki Hillier (PUBH)

 Collaborators: Dr. Jill Bowers (HSCL) and Dr. Lauri DeRuiter-Willems (PUBH)

 Students in Public Health and Human Services and Community Leadership are working together to assess the transition to a new system for the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC). The students worked with WIC leadership in two WIC offices to develop surveys for WIC staff and clients and will report findings to WIC programs. 

 Project: Aging Awareness Simulation

 Lead: Dr. Jeanne Lord (HSCL)

 Collaborator: Dr. Kathleen O'Rourke (HSCL)

 The aging awareness simulation project is an experiential learning process that is designed to educate students on the various changes that can be characteristic of older adults during the aging process. Students will learn through experiencing, sharing, processing, and applying what it can feel like to grow older and what happens to our bodies as we age. A guided process will include such activities as experiencing changes in vision, hearing, touch and dexterity, and taste and smell. Following each guided activity, discussion questions will be used to debrief.

 Project: A Holistic Development Approach to Student Engagement and Recruitment

 Lead: Dr. Krystal Lynch (NTR)

 Collaborator(s): Ms. Bethni Gill (NTR) and Ms. Melissa Maulding (NTR)

 In Fall 2020, undergraduate nutrition students interviewed graduate nutrition students about graduate student experiences to learn qualitative interviewing and networking skills. Since December 2020, a student has been working to help develop social media posts that include videos from students and alumni and content from student interviews. The social media campaign will include posts and videos about events happening in NTR and EIU.