Health Commons at Pond adds mental health services
Program pivots to meet demographic shifts
For years, students and faculty in the School of Nursing have helped families get the healthcare they needed at Health Commons at Pond, a free and charitable school-based clinic located in Bloomington, Minnesota. Typical services included vaccinations and immunizations, routine checkups, illness visits, and sports physicals. One area in which they hadn’t offered services was mental health--until now.
“The pandemic wreaked havoc on all of us, especially on the children,” says Dr. Pat Beierwaltes, an associate professor in the School of Nursing and pediatric nurse practitioner. “We saw a huge number of children coming in with mental health needs, depressive symptoms, and anxiety.”
Mental health services offered at Pond — which is near Bloomington Kennedy High School and affiliated with the Bloomington Public Schools with care provided by Minnesota State Mankato — help the district meet the needs of their students while providing very real-world experiences for current and future health care providers.
“One of our nurse practitioners, Dr. Jennifer Marr, has an interest in children with behavioral health issues, and she tag teams with Dr. Ross Aalgaard, licensed counselor in Social Work,” Beierwaltes says. “He'll see patients independently but can refer back if he feels there's warranted intervention beyond his scope.”
Expanding services for changing needs
In addition to adding mental health services, faculty and students that work with Pond continue to expand their services to best meet the health and wellness needs of the patients.
When a dramatic outpouring of immigrants fled Brazil during the pandemic, many ended up in Bloomington with one of their first stops the Pond Clinic. An influx from Arizona, Afghanistan and Ukraine followed.
“Nurse practitioner services are probably in the highest demand,” Beierwaltes says. “We do well-child physicals, and the majority of the physicals we do are immigrant children.”
To aid in communication, Beierwaltes said they’ve utilized mobile translation apps and, if necessary, have access to a call-in translation service.
The variety of services - mental health, speech, language and hearing services and nursing, combined with the opportunity to work in a medical clinic makes the Pond Clinic a unique and sought-after learning environment for Minnesota State Mankato students.
“For undergrads, it's often the first time they've worked with a patient and they may be giving vaccinations for the first time,” Beierwaltes says. “This is an ideal introduction and setting for first-year nursing students and an opportunity to experience the rich diversity we see in the clinic.”
The same is true for the graduate students studying to become nurse practitioners. Beirwaltes says the Pond Clinic allows the Doctor of Nursing Project students to experience a variety of patient demographics, what it's like to use a translator while providing care, and even the chance to pursue community and quality improvement projects through research.
Beierwaltes says students and faculty have become active in sharing the Pond Clinic resources with the community. They received a $5,000 grant to conduct an outreach program specifically directed toward middle school students and hosted a "Jump Into Summer" event designed to encourage healthy habits throughout the summer break.
“These opportunities benefit everyone," Beierwaltes said, "Our students, the students and families in the Bloomington School District and ultimately the community as a whole."
More about Health Commons at Pond
