Pitt-Johnstown nursing students are injecting some care into the community with two monetary donations.
Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania members raised money for two local organizations, the Arbutus Park Retirement Community and the Johnstown Free Medical Clinic.
Nurses’ Association vice president Angela Battaglia said they chose Arbutus because members volunteered at Arbutus’s “Home for the Holidays” event last winter.
The event included a train display, horse-drawn sleigh rides and photos with Santa for the community residents and guests, Battaglia said.
“(The event) could not have been possible without the generous donations from the community,” Battaglia said.
Volunteering at the event inspired members to donate $500 to Arbutus. The money was presented 9 a.m. Feb. 6 at a ceremony in the Nursing and Health Sciences Building.
During the ceremony, members also presented $1,500 to the Johnstown Free Medical Clinic.
The clinic provides free medical and pharmaceutical services to low-income and uninsured Laurel Highlands area residents, Johnstown Free Medical Clinic Executive Director Rosalie Danchanko said.
The clinic consists of 27 volunteers, according to Danchanko. Four Pitt-Johnstown nursing students have filled out applications to volunteer, Danchanko said, and many students have expressed interest.
Danchanko said hands-on experience is important for medical students to learn their profession.
Battaglia said Pitt-Johnstown nursing students have a clinical rotation at the clinic, and their work there inspired them to donate.
The donation is to go toward buying supplies, Battaglia said. Danchanko said she plans to purchase a laptop for the volunteer registered nurses to use.
Members raised funds by selling Yankee Candles in the fall, Battaglia said.
Nurses’ Association adviser Liz Katrancha said the donations are the largest the members have made to date, and they hope to make it an annual tradition.
Danchanko said she was pleased with the contribution and the ceremony.
“It was awesome,” she said. “It was very nice, and more than I expected.”
