Grant Proposal Task

Cover letter (one page briefly summarizing the requesting organization, a brief description of the project, and amount of the funding request)

MEGAN

Application Cover Sheet

MEGAN

Grant Proposal

CHAD

Organization Information

The Seventh Avenue Apartments are located on East Seventh Avenue in Hibbing.  This is a 69-unit complex is located close to shopping, clinics, and hospital and specifically houses older low-income adults (HibbingHRA.org, 2018). It is run by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) of Hibbing.  As beneficiaries of subsidized housing, rent is no more than 30% of income for low income. Tenants are only required to pay rent based on the gross income of the family members, independent of market rates (HibbingHRA.org, 2018).  This facility is right next to the hospital for fast access to medical care for its residents as well.

CHAD

Need Assessment

There is a concentration of elderly adults living alone in Hibbing in the “Seventh Ave Apartments”. This is a nicely kept apartment complex, with common areas full of couches, games and reading material. These areas go largely unused, however, due to the inability or difficulty, many residents face when trying to go anywhere due to age and medical problems. Discussions with local home care nurses have revealed that many of these elderly people living here have their home care nurse as the only person they see all week. People living under these circumstances are at a high risk for depression and other problems. Home care nurses spoken too on this subject report their patient’s complaints of being lonely, with many exhibiting signs of sadness and withdrawal. While there are common areas in the building, many cannot use them due to limitations caused by their medical problems.

            This can be improved through a program of volunteer visitors for these residents. With a small amount of funding for transport, high school children who volunteer to participate could be transported by bus to the Seventh Ave apartment complex and be matched with participating residents for some time to visit and bond. This would help improve the mood, happiness, and mental status of the elderly residents, but would also be beneficial to the high school kids who are learning about a different generation and getting to experience the joy of truly making a difference in another person’s life.

CHAD

Grant Purpose

            We, the triad of nurses, are seeking a grant to rent a charter bus to pick up volunteers from the Hibbing High School and transport them to the Seventh Avenue Apartments and then transport back to school after a specified amount of time to allow visitations with the elderly and improve their quality of life. This would take place twice a week for one month. After evaluation, a longer-term grant may be considered to continue the program.

The Seventh Avenue Apartments have 69 units housing low-income elderly residents, many of whom are at risk for social isolation. Having a young, energetic visitor to talk, to play games, etc., and create a bond with, can significantly improve the quality of life for the elderly residents that live here. It can also benefit the students who participate and can learn a lot about life from those who have the life experience to share. Funding for the amount of ( $, gotta call for rates ) is requested to pay for transportation from Hibbing high School to Seventh Avenue Apartments twice a week for one month, and then transport the students back to school, for a total of 8 visits.

As healthcare professionals, we want to make a positive impact on the health of our community, both physical and mental. The negative impact that social isolation has on the elderly is preventable and we can work together to make a large, positive difference in the lives of the elderly in our community. We look forward to your financial support in bringing together two different generations to bond and to do what we can to combat social isolation among the elderly in our community.

BECCA

Solution: Objectives and Evaluation

            Process objectives and evaluation. The following process objectives will describe the planned actions to achieve this grant proposal’s overall goal; to transport students from Hibbing high School to Seventh Avenue Apartments and back to school to improve the quality of life of the elderly residents.

Meet with the Seventh Avenue Apartment staff/secretaries to discuss the scheduling of the visits and the activities the participants will engage by 30th

March 2018.

Acquisition of a bus transport 62 seater to ferry the students to Seventh Avenue Apartments and back to school by 4th April 2018.

Conduct a patient survey to assess and measure their depression levels before and after the intervention. The before survey will be on the 5th of April 2018 and the post-implementation survey will be after 6 weeks. i.e. by 17th

may 2018.

The RNs will print the results of the pre-intervention and send them to the grant proposers by 6th of May and the post-intervention results by 18th may 2018.

BECCA

Evaluation of Outcomes/Objectives

            The outcomes and objectives describe the expectations of the grant proposal. Below is a list of the outcomes objectives which are specific to this grant’s goal and purpose, they are measurable, achievable, realistic and also time bound. To ensure that the project achieves its objectives, the grant proposal recommends an evaluation using the geriatric depression scale at the first visit to determine the levels of depression before the implementation of the project (Conradsson, et al., 2013). Studies show that the GDS – 15 has an overall efficiency in assessing depressive symptoms among the elderly (Conradsson, et al., 2013).   The second evaluation will be after three weeks of the project and the third evaluation of depression would be after six weeks of the project implementation.

5th

April 2018 - Acquisition of a 62 seater buses for transportation of the volunteering youth from Hibbing high School to Seventh Avenue Apartments and back to school.

26th

April 2018 – The second evaluation. The social visit to the seniors’ home will reduce patient depression and increase their quality of life.

17th

May 2018 – week six after the project implementation. The second evaluation. The number of patients with depression will significantly reduce. With the elderly residents of seventh avenue apartment showing a positive change of attitude towards life.

The acquisition and the staffing of the bus will be complete by 5th April 2018. The General Motors vehicle company will provide the vehicle to ferry the students from school to the seniors’ apartment and back to school. The secretaries and administration of the Seventh Avenue Apartments will provide the necessary support to ensure that the program runs smoothly by organizing activities which the elders and the students can participate.

Research shows that older adults develop more psychological problems who reside in old age homes and rehabilitation centers as they begin to experience a reduction in the number of visitors (Jee & Lee, 2013).  Consequently, the interaction between the young students and the seniors will reduce the elderly depression; the data from the pre-intervention and post-intervention will show a reduced depression level. The reduction of depression levels will promote the seniors’ quality of life. Studies reveal that in the United States, the elderly’s satisfaction with the amount of emotional satisfaction received or perceived usually results in better self-reported health status (White, Philogene, Fine, & Sinha, 2009). Consequently, their quality of life improves.

BECCA

Description of Key Staff

            The grant proposal has been developed by a triad of nurses. However, the grant process will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to improve the quality of life of the senior residents in Seventh Avenue Apartments.

            Two Registered Nurses from recover health will conduct the pre, during and post implementation of the project surveys. They are responsible for the seniors’ medication set up to and including wound care.

            Teresa and Mary are the staff/secretaries of the apartments. They have worked with the facility for 10 and 7 years respectively. They will ensure that they can schedule activities that both the seniors and the students can engage. They will also organize the logistics of transporting the students to and from the facility.

            Steve is a maintenance assistant that has worked in the facility for five years. His work will be to ensure that all the systems and machinery in the facility are working to facilitate the program. He will also ensure that the facility environment promotes quality living experience.

Chad

Grant Proposal Budget

MEGAN

Conclusion

???

References

Conradsson, M., Rosendahl, E., Littbrand, H., Gustafson, Y., Olofsson, B., & Lovheim, H. (2013). Usefulness of the Geriatric Depression Scale 15-item version among very old people with and without cognitive impairment. Aging & Mental Health, 17(5), 638 - 645. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3701937/

Jee, Y. J., & Lee, Y. B. (2013). Factors Influencing Depression among Elderly Patients in Geriatric Hospitals. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 25(11), 1445 - 1449. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3881474/

”Low-Income Public Housing Apartments | Hibbing, MN.” Hibbing HRA, 2018, www.hibbinghra.org/public-housing/.

Machielse, Anja. ”The Heterogeneity of Socially Isolated Older Adults: A Social Isolation Typology.” Journal of Gerontological Social Work, vol. 58, no. 4, 2015, pp. 338–356., doi:10.1080/01634372.2015.1007258.

”Hibbing, MN.” Data USA, 2015, datausa.io/profile/geo/hibbing-mn/#health.

White, A. M., Philogene, G. S., Fine, L., & Sinha, S. (2009). Social Support and Self-Reported Health Status of Older Adults in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 1872 - 1878. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2741527/