Service Learning Project

NUR 4144
Blair Holston
Kim Nguyen
Tiffany Henry
Amy Guzman
Katie Kretcsh
Community Assessment
Reinhart Guest House

-Guests must live outside 30 miles of SMH; guests must be referred by a

healthcare personnel at St. Mary’s Hospital

-Any family member of a patient receiving medical care at a Bon Secours facility.

-People of all socioeconomic backgrounds can stay at the Reinhart Guest House.
The establishment runs fully on donations. Guests are asked to pay $45 a night,
however if costs can’t be met, people will not be turned away. (CITE pamphlet)
Community Assessment
Leading causes of death within the area:

1. Heart disease
2. Diabetes
3. Cancer (societyhealth.vcu.edu)
Community Assessment
3 Leading Health Problems

1. Cancer
2. Hospice Care
3. Any disease that requires extensive medical care or extended hospital stay
Reinhart House- Environment
Gives families a caring and calm environment to relax while their family member
receives treatment.

-16 private guest rooms, each with T.V. and Wifi

-Fully stocked kitchen

-Reflection room

-Living room

-Laundry facilities
Health Resources
The Reinhart House is conveniently located right behind St. Mary’s Hospital.
Community Partnership
Community Liaison: Ms. Elisabeth Rigsby, House Coordinator.

-Annual fundraiser, Rockin’ on the Avenue, has raised more than $200,000
and attracted more than 600 supporters

-Reinhart House has provided 9,422 rooms and 467 meals for caregivers
from 48 states. There have even been international guests to stay.

Community Needs: A communal place for families to gather that’s proximal to

their sick family member; somewhere that they can find peace and comfort during
a sad and stressful time. Reinhart House provides food and shelter at a very
affordable price ($45).
Assessment Summary
Community Strengths: The overall sense of community and caring environment
of the Reinhart House.

Weaknesses: The organization could consider expanding to other hospital

locations within the Bon Secours Health System.
Planning & Implementing of the Activity
a. Target population: The guests of the Reinhart House
b. Date & time: Sunday, March 18th, from 1:30-5:30pm.
c. We planned on spending time with the coordinator and getting to know some
of the guests to evaluate the effectiveness of the activity; face-to-face contact.
d. Resources used: We used our own money to buy the ingredients for the
meal; the Reinhart House provided pots, pans, utensils, plates, etc., and the
kitchen to cook in; the Reinhart House also had extra ingredients within their
refrigerator if need be; the coordinator was a very helpful resource regarding
general information about the organization, we each received a basic handout
of information.
Community Involvement
● The community has made generous financial donations to the Reinhart
House and contributed to wish list items to help the house feel like home.
● Guests are encouraged to make a donation of $45 per night for their stay
● This helped build the fully stocked, in-house kitchen.
● The coordinator informed us that the Reinhart House will be able to provide
us with a kitchen to cook in so we used our own money to buy the food.
● Staff members helped spread the word by informing families that a home-
cooked meal would be prepared that day.
● Families were welcomed to join us as we prepared meal.
Our Experience Yum!
Full hearts and full bellies
In the kitchen - everyone helps with prep
Amy - Kept us clean and
in line !

Blair - Therapeutic
communication in the
milieu !

Katie & Kim - Our master

chefs !

Tiffany - Professional
photographer !
Evaluation of Service-Learning Activity
Formative Evaluation
The targeted population for our project was not dependent upon age, race, sex, or
socioeconomic status but rather the need for housing while loved ones underwent
medical treatment at SMH. The target population was reached as all guests met
requirements for housing of the Reinhart Guest House prior to our meal
preparation.
Challenges
The challenges our group expected to encounter were mostly due to individual
scheduling. To combat this, our group communicated face-to-face, via email, and
group/private text messages. The initial agreed upon date had to be rescheduled
due to existing activities at the Reinhart Guest House. This setback was overcome
by group flexibility and open communication.
For logistical feasibility the group appointed one person to coordinate with the
Rinehart House representative and one person to purchase the ingredients for the
meal. All members were active participants in meal preparation and clean up.
Summative Evaluation (after the activity)
Community Members: We would describe the characteristics of our group as
caring individuals who enjoyed spending the day together as classmates and
friends chopping vegetables and laughing together. We felt genuinely pleased to
be able to offer this meal service to those in need. Blair went the extra mile and
stepped aside to talk with a guest who was going through a particularly tough time
emotionally, while her daughter was recovering in the hospital.

Objectives: The goal of this activity was to prepare a hot, homemade meal for the
guests of the Reinhart House. The purpose of this was to provide a hospitable
environment for the guests so they did not have to worry about spending money at
a restaurant. We set up the meal in the dining room and when we left we saw
guests enjoying the food.
 Summative Evaluation (after the activity)
Actual Experience: We were very satisfied with
this activity. It was an enjoyable experience to
cook this meal in a large, beautiful kitchen and
knowing that by doing this, it would be one less
worry for the guests, as they focus on being by
the side of their sick family member. We know
that the guests were thankful for the meal we
provided because on our way out, they thanked
us for coming. We also received a nice thank you
note from the House Assistant, Mary Good.
Conclusion
We believe our meal preparation for the Reinhart guests went well. We arrived in the early evening and
had plenty of time to prepare a large meal from scratch. Katie had done a great job planning the grocery
list and purchasing the ingredients in advance so that we had plenty of time to cook and serve the meal
that evening.
If anything could have been done differently, it would have been nice to meet and talk with more of the
guests. We did not have the opportunity to visit with most of them because there were few to be seen.
Some guests were receiving a tour of the home, while others were upstairs in their rooms resting or
visiting at the hospital.
A lesson that was learned by the group is that we were able to see the need for facilities such as the
Reinhart Guest House. Some guests do not have reliable transportation or the necessary funds to travel
long distances to visit sick family members. Guests of the Reinhart House are able to see that members
of the community are here to support them by offering lodging and food close to the hospital so they can
spend their days with their sick family members during a difficult time.
 References

Zimmerman, E., Haley, A., Walker, A., Woolf, S., Nguyen, K., Kelley, L., ...
Chapman, D. (2016). Health equity in Richmond, Virginia.
Retrieved from https://societyhealth.vcu.edu/media/society-
health/pdf/RVAHealthEquity

Evelyn D. Reinhart Guest House - Bon Secours

reinharthouse.com/