Nursing clinics in elder housing: providing access and improving health care outcomes

This article describes one approach to helping elder individuals residing in subsidized senior housing achieve better health outcomes by providing health promotion and disease prevention services at on-site student nursing clinics. Clinics operate 2 days a week in the community room at the elderly housing sites and are staffed by senior baccalaureate nursing students who are in their community health clinical rotation. The student nursing clinic outcomes demonstrate improvement in residents' health through increased access to care, better identification and management of hypertension, more involvement for residents with diabetes in monitoring and management of their conditions, and better preparation for emergency medical situations.