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Community Service Reflective Paper:

20 Hours of Community Service

Alyssa Bradshaw
Department of Nursing, Utah Tech University
NURS 4301: Community and Global Health Nursing Clinical
Dr. Lori Mayfield
December 1, 2022
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Community Service Reflective Paper:20 Hours of Community Service

This semester I completed 20 hours of service in the community. A majority of my

service was in a memory care unit at Primrose Retirement Communities. Memory care units are

specialized places for people with memory and cognitive issues. Providing service to people has

taught me more about the simple joys that are often overlooked, I learned about the different risk

factors the population I served have, and I enjoyed the different activities I participated in.

I worked as an aide at Primrose for over a year and grew to love the residents there very

much. I used to bring my puppy in during some of my shifts. The residents there absolutely

loved him, and it brought them so much joy. When I got my LPN, I decided to move on to a

skilled nursing facility. It was hard to leave the residents I had grown to love. I asked the

activities director, Kathleen Edwards if I would still be able to bring my dog into Primrose, and

she said yes. Primrose had ab official emotional support dog that came in on Mondays, but they

fell through and could not keep coming. I brought Archie in most Wednesdays during the

semester. It was amazing to watch the residents with him. Their faces lit up, and a couple of

them would remember who he was.

I organized a craft for the residents at Primrose. I discussed with Kathleen what they

would be able to do since many of them had poor fine motor control. We decided on making

loop wreaths that they could hang up on their door. I went out and bought all of the things

needed for the craft and decided on a date and time that would work. I helped the resident put

their wreath together, and then glued it for them so they would not get hurt.

I also participated in the golf tournament with Root for Kids. We set up a station at the

golf course and tried to get the participants to buy tickets and participate in the raffle. The money

went straight to root for kids.

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Primrose is a facility with independent, assisted, and memory care living. I volunteered

with the memory care side of the building. The residents on the memory care side ranged from

95-year old’s with dementia, to 60 years old’s with brain injuries. Residents with memory issues

are more likely to be sick or abused. Memory cares provide these residents with the care they

need. The staff is, “… specially trained to deal with the unique issues that often arise as a result

of dementia or Alzheimer's,” (Crouch, 2021). The staff is there to reduce the risk of injury and

illness for the residents. Many of these residents experience function loss, which means they lose

their ability to perform tasks related to ADLs, reading, writing, and several other things

(Crimmins, 2004).

The older population I volunteered with is also at risk for illness. Many of the residents

have predisposing diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and kidney problems. As people age their

immune system begins to lose function. “During aging, immune senescence is a process that

affects the entire immune system. It corresponds to multiple alterations of the immune system,

which results in a higher rate of infections and increase of diseases,” (Fuentes et al., 2017). This

decrease in their immune response puts these residents at significant risk of sickness. Many

nursing homes require staff to wear masks for the resident’s protection.

Completing the twenty hours of service this semester was a good reminder of the

importance of doing things for others. Overall, I learned that providing a simple service for

others can bring them a lot of joy. I watched as I brought Archie to each of the residents and the

happiness it brought them. It was a good lesson about doing small and simple things can change

a person's day.
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References

Crimmins, E. M. (2004). Trends in the health of the elderly. Annual Review of Public Health,
25(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.25.102802.124401

Crouch, M. (2021, December 6). What is memory care and how much does it cost? AARP.
Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basics/info-
2019/memory-care-alzheimers-dementia.html

Fuentes, E., Fuentes, M., Alarcon, M., & Palomo, I. (2017). Immune system dysfunction in the
elderly. Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciências, 89(1), 285–299.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201720160487