Midterm Service Learning Blog Entry

As hesitant as I am about the use of this blog, I am not hesitant to share my Service Learning project with anyone willing to listen (or read)! Welcome to my SL project!!!!

How would you describe your SL site?
Where are you Serving? I am doing volunteer work with the American Heart Association. I have worked with this team for two years and I was pondering how to proceed with my SL project when they sent me an email and asked if I would co-chair the Evidence Base Practice portion of the project I had been so attached to for the last several years. The project is called Mission Life Line. I meet with team of professional cardiac care providers from the entire state of Colorado. The meetings are at the AHA on Parker and Leetsdale Roads, Denver.
What does the agency do?
Almost everyone is familiar with the AHA. They sponsor programs to increase the public awareness of heart diseases: heart attack and stroke. The AHA is involved with many professional level activities including funding, research, education, sponsorship, publication and conferences. This project is sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). It is a national level project, with the Rocky Mountain region involved in the current work.
Who are the clients and what needs are served?
Our team is working on the state of Colorado and specifically we are reviewing the assets in rural setting for care of the ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) such as Critical Access Hospitals, pre-hospital service providers and incidence of transport for STEMI. We are working to identify the needs for access to major hospital providers for percutaneous coronary interventions for STEMIs.
What is the agency funding support?
The AHA is funded by donations from the public and major contributors of industry such as Southwest Airlines, Qwest, Direct TV, Kellogg Foundation etc.
What is it about the community partner that calls you to work with them?
Why are you engaged with this agency?
I became interested in the AHA when I heard they were looking for a manner to develop a network of hospitals which would cover acute cardiac illnesses. I had been envisioning a Level I Cardiovascular Center program, much like the Trauma Service levels of care. I admire the Trauma program, sponsored by the American College of Surgeons and knew I need a huge sponsor, with political neutrality (not the ACC) to take on a project destined to last a decade. When I approached the AHA they enveloped me. It was a match made in heaven. I had a successful STEMI program, was willing to travel around the country and lecture for the AHA. The AHA offered the network of peers, all determined to make this system happen.
What is your passion here?
I remember the trauma services banding together to build the levels of trauma providers. Political barriers, funding barriers, temperament barriers and facility barriers prevailed.. The teams persisted and it has grown into one of the best system of health care delivery in the world. I want the same for the cardiac patients. It should not be based upon pride or rumors which Emergency Departments have the back up to provide 24/7 care toe STEMI patients. It should be pre-planned, well know, well defined and designed to save lives, not reputations.
As a new nurse, I watched as the STEMI  population- uniformly died. We had no interventions. We had no treatments to offer, other than morphine for comfort. I now see people every day who left untreated would have died, but walk out of the hospital in 36 hours- comfortable, pink, warm skin, cognitive and pain free. I think it is incredible and I want this for all people. The AHA can help us provide this care.
What is your current role in this SL experience?
I am the co-chair of the evidenced Based Practice Committee of the Mission Life Line project for the Rocky Mountain region, sponsored by the AHA and ACC. I just assembled  about three dozen recent publications for the team to review (mostly the same as as our literature review!). We will have a meeting on Weds Feb 23, another in April which I will co-chair with a cardiologist from Banner in Greeley.
What hours did you spend at the site and what activities were performed?
So far, I have attended the meeting in which they nominated and elected me co-chair (January). I have communicated with Dr Jim Beckmann (cardiology co-chair) to design and set up the meeting for Wednesday. I have reviewed the applications for the team and made recommendations to the AHA. The AHA will contact the members as they need paper work (conflict of interest documents). I believe I have about 8 hours in the project at this time and will have at least four more this week. the anticipated workload will be 4 hours of prep for 3 hours of meetings per month. Independent review of the literature and work with Dr Beckmann will add another 6 hours/month.
What are the opportunities there?
The opportunities are limitless. I have turned down a position at the AHA as I wanted to be on the resource side of Mission Life Line. We will publish our work, present around the country and set a benchmark for other regions. The team is so impressive, I  stand in awe: Governor's office, MPHs from Rural programs, EMS, and University of Colorado, cardiologists, nurse program managers, researchers and pre-hospital service providers.
What can you see yourself doing more long-term?
The work group is so impressive, I decided I needed a doctorate to continue on with the team. This project is the reason I'm seeking my DNP. I hope to work on this issue until my retirement in 11 years. I hope to successful start Level I, II, III CV Centers and then assist other regions in the same work. I want to study and document the impact of this type of program. I want to push the margin and assure the highest level of clinical standards are set, avoid the politics of the facility competition and save lives. I am in this for the long run and my DNP is a very nice launching pad. The team is very supportive of my SL project and Capstone.

Thank you for the opportunity to present this story to you all. I am very passionate about this work and enjoy every minutes of every time it consumes!

Julie Benz