Sanderson Farms first: SON staffs first aid tent
Published on Monday, September 23, 2019
By: Kate Royals
With temperatures sometimes in the high 90s and few clouds, golfers and tournament spectators filtered in and out of the first aid tent at the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament last week.
This year marked the first time students and faculty members from the University of Mississippi School of Nursing staffed the tent. They could be seen doling out ibuprofen, sunscreen, chapstick and bandaging wounds.
Jennifer Lariccia Prevost, a student in the adult geriatric nurse practitioner program at UMMC, volunteered at the tent most of the week. One day, she and other volunteers faced an even more serious problem than sunburn or a headache: a man in his late 30s came into the tent with chest pain.
Breeland, right, a masters of health care administration student, talks about volunteering at the first aid tent while Pickle, an R.N.-to-B.S.N. student, listens.
The nursing volunteers paired up with American Medical Response to hook the individual up to their machine.
“We saw ST elevation changes which signals a heart attack,” said Prevost. “We advised him you need to go to the hospital – time is of the essence.”
Another younger tournament staff member came to the tent exhibiting signs of high blood pressure.
While being treated, she told Dr. Mary Smith, associate professor and director of the adult geriatric nurse practitioner program, she had not taken her blood pressure medication in over a year because she couldn’t afford it. Smith got her contact information and has since been in touch with her about finding an affordable solution to managing her blood pressure.
Being at the tent “gave me a chance to counsel her,” Smith said.
This is the first time the SON has staffed the first aid tent after Jennifer Hospodor, director of community partnerships at UMMC, and a representative from Sanderson Farms, the title sponsor of the tournament, approached SON officials about the opportunity.
Smith
“The School of Nursing has school-based health centers, and I think that (played into) them thinking we’d be a good fit for this,” Smith said. “I think it’s a great service and a great experience for the students.”
As of Saturday afternoon, volunteers had seen around 40 patients through the week for everything from a minor abrasion to heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Three students staffed the table Saturday: Chelsea Pickle of Grenada, a student in the RN to BSN program; Ashley Breeland of Brandon, a student in the masters of health care administration program; and Kayleigh Moore of Morrisville, N.C., a student in the accelerated program.
Smith, a nurse practitioner with the ability to evaluate and administer treatment and medications, oversaw them as they checked blood pressures and handed out ibuprofen and band-aids.
Tournament attendees pass by the first aid tent manned by School of Nursing faculty, staff and students.
Anne Norwood, interim associate dean for advanced practice and director of the Jackson school-based health clinics, said they would love to man the tent again next year.
“We were delighted to participate … the School of Nursing has always been so involved in community outreach and we felt like this was an even more appropriate time to offer our services and provide services for our own Children’s Hospital,” said Norwood.
The Sanderson Farms Championship is an annual stop on the PGA TOUR hosted by Century Club Charities, and its primary beneficiary is Friends of Children’s Hospital, a nonprofit benefiting Batson Children’s Hospital. The tournament has been part of the PGA tour schedule since 1968. Sanderson Farms of Laurel is the title sponsor.