Betty B. Daniels, RN, MN, Community Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, 6933 Ayers Court, Atlanta, GA 30360-1302, 770-394-3412, bettydan@bellsouth.net and Lee A. Farris, RN, MSN, Oglethorpe County Health Department, P.O. Box 245, Lexington, GA 30645.

Resources, both financial and human, are becoming more and more scarce in public health and academic arenas. This situation has necessitated the development of stronger partnerships for mutual benefit. Nursing students enrolled in a community health course and a nurse manager from a county health department collaborated in an effort to provide evidence for the need and to secure funding for a childcare center associated with the local high school. Students assessed the community and reviewed the current literature in order to provide documentation of the need. They were able to apply concepts learned in their research and community courses as they explored potential funding sources and the associated application requirements. The county nurse acted as a liaison to key leaders and members of the community as well as served as a role model for interdisciplinary collaboration and leading change. The benefits of this association for the nurse manager included a well-organized compilation of the data necessary for a grant application and a list of potential benefactors at minimal cost to the agency. The benefits to the students included an increased understanding of the nurse’s role in promoting health in a community and satisfaction that their academic efforts resulted in tangible benefits to the community as a whole. The advantages to the university are a stronger relationship with the public health agency and high school as well as a potential new site for faculty practice and student placement.

Learning Objectives: