Community Nursing
As a student, you’ll get hands-on clinical experience working in one of four urban, culturally-diverse neighborhoods in Grand Rapids.
You will learn the health care strengths and needs of these neighborhoods and have the chance to engage in service-learning and neighborhood renewal. Working with people in their own environment will give you a context when you are getting clinical experience in the hospital.
The nursing department curriculum flows from the mission of the university to prepare students to be agents of reconciliation and renewal in our world. Join us in continuing the university's commitment to service learning and community partnerships.
Baxter - Madison
Since 2002, ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’s School of Health has partnered with the Baxter-Madison neighborhoods to promote community wellness and provide students with hands-on learning experiences. This long-standing collaboration connects nursing students with children, families, and older adults in meaningful, real-world settings.
What Students Experience
As a junior nursing student, you’ll spend your first semester immersed in the Baxter-Madison community. You may:
- Shadow a school nurse to understand their role in supporting children’s health.
- Teach health lessons—like nutrition and exercise—at the community center and local schools.
- Partner with a senior resident to complete a full health assessment and provide personalized health education.
- Work in a holistic health clinic at the Baxter Community Center, gaining experience in community-based care.
These experiences help you build clinical skills while forming relationships with people in their own environments—outside the walls of a hospital.
Neighborhood Survey
After a neighborhood survey revealed women were interested in learning more about their bodies, seniors partnered with a community health worker and do home visits. Surveys were done in 2003, 2010, and 2017.
- 38% agree that lack of health insurance prevents them from receiving the health care they need.
- 48% have at least one person in the household with hypertension.
- 33% have at least one person in the household with asthma.
- 27% have at least one person in the household with depression.
- 24% have at least one person with diabetes.
- 20% state they had a time where they needed prescription medications but could not get them because of cost.
Burton Heights
The Burton Heights neighborhood has many community resources like schools, clinics, and pantries. It has a large Spanish-speaking population, offering students a chance to grow in cultural awareness and language skills.
Calvin students who partner with Burton Heights learn about the social factors that impact health, like transportation, employment, education, and legal status
What Students Experience
Nursing students who partner with Burton Heights will:
- Work in diverse settings like clinics, schools, food pantries, and client homes.
- Shadow public health and home care nurses, gaining insight into community care.
- Team up with community health workers to bring health education directly to residents—through schools, churches, exercise classes, and even door-to-door outreach.
- Engage with culturally diverse clients, learning to communicate with sensitivity and compassion.
Survey results
Calvin nursing students conducted community-based participatory research in 2002 with focus groups, community leaders, and door-to-door surveys. It identified neighborhood strengths, areas of growth, and solutions to residents' health concerns and how they thought Calvin nursing students could partner with them to promote health in their areas of concern. Research was done again in 2009 and 2016.
Research demonstrated:
- 27% percent stated that they have had to choose between paying for essentials, like food or rent, and buying medical care.
- 32% agree that lack of health insurance prevents them from receiving the health care that they need.
- 65% are Spanish-speaking.
- 37% visited the ER in the last year (2008).
- The top five neighborhood health issues addressed were lack of access to health care, mental health asthma, diabetes, and hypertension.
- They believe that family, education, and faith are important in day-to-day life.
Creston - Belknap
With an established presence in the Creston-Belknap neighborhood, our students focus on health education for the whole community and learn how to make strategic plans for a neighborhood.
Calvin students have conducted door-to-door surveys in 2004, 2011, and 2018. The data helped shape a neighborhood strategic plan that is updated annually. Students actively contribute to this plan, making a real impact on community health.
What Students Experience
Nursing student can be part of a strategic, neighborhood-wide health initiative shaped by years of collaboration and research.
Junior Year:
- Teach health topics to children and teens (ages 5–18).
- Conduct screenings for blood pressure and blood sugar.
- Work alongside clinic nurses and meet with residents to support their health goals.
Senior Year:
- Assess neighborhood health needs and help update the community’s strategic health plan.
- Plan and host the Palmer Health Fair, using a public health model.
- Join a Community Health Worker (CHW) team, to meet residents where they are: at community meals, local gathering spots, or door-to-door. The most frequent resident concerns are access to health care, such as dental care, available health clinics, health insurance programs, and prescription assistance programs.
Heartside
Our partnership with the Heartside neighborhood began in 2011. Students work primarily with with a large population experiencing homelessness, learning to listen to the voice of the patient and understand their environment.
Many Heartside residents live in shelters or subsidized housing. The neighborhood has no single-family dwellings. Apartment buildings, hotels, commercial buildings, churches, missions, and other service providers are prevalent in the neighborhood. Nearly 75 % of the Heartside population is single males between the ages of 35-64, and most have limited resources.
What Students Experience
- Work with clients in shelters and subsidized housing, learning to provide care with empathy and respect.
- Practice therapeutic communication and health assessments, including blood pressure checks and care planning.
- Shadow nurses in community settings to understand their roles and build confidence in patient interactions.
- Provide health education to both children and adults in schools and neighborhood groups.
You’ll also participate in the Heartside Drop-in Depot, helping connect residents with essential resources like:
- Primary care providers
- Medication guidance
- Health education and fitness programs
Because walking is the primary mode of transportation in Heartside, students also host a monthly foot spa clinic at LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church. This is a chance to meet clients in a relaxed, welcoming environment.
Heartside is home to missions like Guiding Light Mission and Mel Trotter Ministries, where students offer:
- Health screenings
- Flu immunizations
- One-on-one health education
Calvin’s nursing department is currently conducting a neighborhood health assessment to identify goals and future projects that will improve community wellness.