Clinical Practice and Service to the Community

• Bolton Health and Wellness Center, which opened in February 2004 through a community-campus partnership to provide access to primary health care for underserved residents of rural eastern Columbus County.
• Camp Special Time, an organized weekend camp at Camp Lejeune, N.C. that offers respite care for military families of children with developmental and other disabilities.
• Camp BONES, a two week nurse careers summer camp sponsored by the School of Nursing, New Hanover Health Network and Coastal AHEC 8th and 9th grade students from under-represented populations, providing them with the opportunity.

International Collaboration

• Through a partnership with Iwate Prefectural University, lecture series, reciprocal visits and joint research projects.           
• Students and faculty practice community health in Arequipa, Peru, Alta Cayma Health Care Center. The center was founded 10 years ago by Father Alex Busuttil to provide health care for the area’s indigenous people.

Research

Current faculty research projects include:

• Testing the impact of the use of personal data assistants (PDAs) on clinical performance outcomes with baccalaureate nursing students.
• Evaluating stress among migrant and seasonal farm workers in rural southeastern     North Carolina.
• Comparing the incidence of and factors related to hypertension among                 populations in Iwate, Japan and rural southeastern North Carolina.
• Interdisciplinary projects in obesity prevention and domestic violence