This summer, I was blessed with the opportunity to intern at the Posey County Health Department with Kelli Goedde, RN, and fellow Wabash student, Dalton Kuhn. During my time, I was challenged to find new ways to strengthen community health engagement while also prioritizing accessibility through different clinics, events, and programs.
I have always felt drawn to the medical field and serving my community, and this internship allowed me to bring those two passions together. Contributing to the health of Posey County was both exciting and transformative, as I gained first hand experience with the essential role health departments play in supporting communities. Much of my work focused on researching infectious diseases most prevalent within the community and developing procedures and protocols for responding to specific cases. For example, I created protocol documents for situations such as rabies and animal bites. Since animal bites pose a serious public health concern due to the risk of rabies, developing these protocols not only provided me with the opportunity to contribute to community safety but also deepened my understanding of a critical area of public health.
Beyond infectious disease, I was also exposed to environmental and human health cases, including pre- and post-natal care. I was blessed with the chance to learn about the programs initiated by the department and contribute to their growth. One of these programs, the PEACH Program, is a program aimed at assisting new parents with newborns up to a year old with care and development of the baby. To be able to coordinate and attend events regarding the PEACH Program, while also develop information sheets for those involved gave me valuable insight into how health departments foster healthy beginnings.
In addition to supporting program development, I participated in clinics across the county where I conducted vital signs for elderly patients and learned techniques such as measuring heart rate, blood sugar, and blood oxygen levels. These experiences provided valuable skills that I look forward to applying in the near future.
Overall, I am extremely grateful for the experience I gained this summer. I sincerely thank Kelli Goedde, RN, Kellie Waller, and the Posey County Health Department team for a summer full of learning and growing. I would also like to thank the Wabash GHI program and its sponsors for making this internship possible for me and future Wabash students.
