Smithfield CARES

Abstract

In general, the homeless population suffers from high rates of both physical and mental illnesses. The objective of this portion of the project was to develop a health promotion and education program that will positively affect the health and well-being of the homeless population at Smithfield Rescue Mission (SRM), a homeless shelter in a rural area of southeastern North Carolina. Education programs that were established as part of this quality improvement project included nutrition education, medication adherence, disease prevention and infection control, and hypertension management. Education was provided to the staff who then provide education to the residents of SRM. Educational handouts and references were supplied to the staff to guide their classes. The staff was also supplied with handouts to be distributed to the residents during these classes. Outcomes include the number of classes taught to the SRM staff, the number of staff that attend the classes, and the number of classes taught by the staff to the residents.