This initiative will help increase access to healthcare services throughout Westchester County while providing nursing students with vital hands-on experience in community engagement and health promotion.
Mercy University has received a $140,000 grant from the Phelps Healthcare Foundation to launch a new community mobile health screening initiative that strengthens access to care throughout Westchester County. This initiative will also provide Mercy’s nursing students with vital hands-on experience in community engagement and health promotion.
The mobile health screening program will bring Mercy’s nursing students directly into neighborhoods to better understand social determinants of health, offer free screenings and provide health education. Services will include blood pressure checks, glucose monitoring and guidance on health promotion and disease prevention. The initiative aims to break down barriers to healthcare access in underserved communities, particularly those facing high rates of uninsured residents, language barriers, and mistrust of institutional care.
“This grant allows us to extend our reach far beyond the campus, meeting people where they live, work and pray, and giving our students a real-world opportunity to impact the health of the community,” said Kenya Beard, Ed.D., AGACNP-BC, ANEF, FAAN, FADLN, dean of the School of Nursing. “Not only does this strengthen our students’ ability to serve as frontline health equity influencers, but it also directly addresses gaps in care across Westchester.”
Mercy University has previously partnered with the Phelps Healthcare Foundation to provide community members with access to therapeutic services in speech and hearing. This new initiative expands the partnership’s impact by engaging nursing students in grassroots healthcare delivery, fostering meaningful community relationships while addressing key social determinants of health.
Throughout the semester, nursing faculty and students will visit local neighborhoods, offering mobile pop-up health screenings at trusted community hubs, such as stores, libraries, and houses of worship. The School of Nursing will work closely with its Advisory Board and the Westchester County Department of Health to identify priority areas and establish partnerships with local organizations.
Students will provide education on asthma, hypertension and diabetes and share resources for continued care through Federally Qualified Health Centers, which offer services regardless of insurance status.
Program Launch
The mobile health initiative will officially kick off at 12 noon on May 31 at the ShopRite in White Plains (City Center, 13 City Place). Mercy University nursing students will be on-site every week thereafter from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through July, offering free health screenings in partnership with the American Lung Association.
