Upon completing my internship at the Stafford County hospital and the Stafford County Eco Devo I have such a different feeling about the two small towns that I spent this summer working in. Though the towns are not very big in size, Stafford County as a whole is continuing to grow through the hard work of its residents. This summer I was able to have the opportunity to be in two different towns and not only was I involved in the nursing aspect of a rural community, but I was able to be in the economic development. At first when I was told that I would be helping in the Eco Devo I did not know how to feel, mainly because I had no prior knowledge about economic development. Through the help of Carolyn Dunn and Ashley Bevan I was able to learn just a slight amount of what those two do to help the communities in Stafford County continue to grow.
While I was at the Stafford County Eco Devo I helped to rebrand the Healthy Communities Initiative to Live Well Stafford County. I made brochures that are out in the community that have facts about what Live Well Stafford County is as well as why there is the push to try to make Stafford County a healthier county with its overall health statistics. To help promote Live Well Stafford County, and to stay up with all of the social media demands, a Facebook page and Pinterest page was made. The Facebook page is a way to help get members of the community involved with one another and the Pinterest page has a variety of workouts, healthy meals, and guilt free snacking. My biggest challenge helping with this project was gathering all of the information for the brochure and making sure that it was the most up to date, and correct information.
Working in a rural hospital showed me how important a small town hospital is to its community. There was the sense of welcome in the Stafford County Hospital because everyone knew everyone, and some members of the community you would see every day. Not only was I able to follow the nurses from Home Health around the entire county to take care of patients in their homes, but I was able to follow the nurses in the hospital, and got to spend a couple days with the Physical Therapist. I am so glad that I was able to be in such a positive environment in both the Stafford County Hospital and the Stafford County Eco Devo.
