Gurnick Gives Back

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts students, faculty, and staff regularly represent their campuses by reaching out to community service-related outreach projects within their learning spheres. Whether small, random acts of kindness or large, organized endeavors, these humanitarian efforts continue to add value and affect their served communities for the better.

The Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts volunteerism represents an array of causes, including Christmas toy drives, Flu clinics, clothing drives, food distributions, and the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s and COVID-19 support.

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts believes in giving back and is excited to find more opportunities to serve communities with talents and time. If you represent a charity, non-profit, or other organization with volunteer opportunities, please feel free to reach out to connect to see if Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts and its staff, faculty, and students may be a good fit for you.

CONNECT WITH US

If you represent a charity, non-profit, or other organization with volunteer opportunities, please connect to see if Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts and its staff, faculty, and students may be a good fit for you.

Since 2016, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts students, faculty, and staff have participated in the annual National Walk to End Alzheimer’s, the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research to fight against the disease. Students and staff are encouraged to raise funds that advance the mission of the Alzheimer’s Association.

The 2020 walk was slightly different, as supporters had to follow COVID-19 social distancing protocols. The teams showed support in their communities, neighborhoods, and parks. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts’ A-Team in Modesto met in ten (10) or fewer groups to participate in this year’s Alzheimer’s Walk.

The Fresno campus raised over $2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association in 2020. Names of individual donors were placed on purple flowers and posted on the Fresno campus’s windows to recognize donors’ generosity. Other times, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts teams have carried Promise Flowers representing their reasons for walking while waving “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” flags along their route.

A handful of Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Sacramento campus students administered COVID-19 Vaccinations at Fair Oaks Urgent Care Now and Arden Urgent Care Now facilities on February 10, 2021.

The community’s first responders, medical professionals, healthcare workers, educators, and older adults benefited as students provided upwards of 200 vaccinations per day, estimated at 200 a day for the last several weeks for about 4,000 vaccinations. If you multiply this by two sites, our students have administered almost 8,000 vaccinations. This is the first time, but it will be an ongoing effort.

“Students have been an invaluable source of additional help in distributing the vaccines for the community,” said a site manager.

One student, Casey, said it was fascinating to be part of a historic time in medicine when COVID-19 impacted our lives. He gets to bring things back to normal by administering the new vaccine.

The San Mateo County Health Department contacted Fred Faridian, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts San Mateo campus director, for critically needed volunteers. More than 20 vocational nurse and medical assistant students stepped up, answering the call to fight COVID-19 as part of a county-deployed medical task force.

The request sought to mitigate a staffing shortage for seniors at a Redwood City residential care facility. By filling the vacancies, student volunteers freed emergency personnel to concentrate on the areas of the greatest need.

During a routine clinical site visit to Samaritan House, Sashi Bir, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts San Mateo campus VN clinical coordinator, he met with Rob Mabe, Samaritan’s associate director of Clinic Operations. When he mentioned Samaritan was searching for volunteers for an upcoming clinic, Bir considered her students’ opportunity and experience.

Within a short time, she had all the volunteers needed. Bir, Krystie Matthews, a Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts VN Didactic instructor, and eight (8) vocational nursing students collectively administered 75 free Flu immunizations at Samaritan House locations.

The two-and-a-half-hour service window provided students with vocational nursing time management experience, working within the nursing process, potential Side Effects (SE), documentation reinforcement, and safe Intramuscular (IM) administration skills.

Holiday Food Distribution— As a follow-up to the Flu Shot Clinic, Sashi Bir and ten of her students volunteered again, but this time in Samaritan House’s Annual Food Distribution in Redwood City, November 19 for Thanksgiving and December 17 for Christmas. Food distribution went smoothly. In all, about 170 families were served by the volunteers.

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts San Mateo Campus participates in an annual toy drive led by Fred Faridian, campus director, that provides new clothing and playthings for children and families in need every Christmas season.

Hosted by the San Mateo County Health Foundation, new toys are purchased for children served by the San Mateo Medical Center and its sister clinics for every dollar donors give.

The campus contributed and raised above our $2,000 goal. The deadline is the end of the day, December 22, when the total will be announced. Learn more information or support the cause by visiting https://www.smchf.org/gurnick.

Some stuff stockings, while others stock food packs. Van Nuys campus participants built 110 food packs and sorted through five (5) pallets of donations at the Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) in December 2020.

The volunteer group effort “will go far in helping churches be equipped to deliver food and share the gospel with families throughout their communities,” says CHF representatives. “Food and other valuable resources will be delivered to children and families in need here in the U.S. and worldwide.”

The organization was founded in 1991 to equip volunteers to reach suffering children and families in their communities by delivering food and hope.

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts students, staff, and faculty from the Fresno campus participated in Toys for Tots, a toy drive for underprivileged children. The effort was picked during a 2019 Student Ambassador Council meeting, and its overwhelming success led to the second annual toy drive in 2020. “The hope is to make it a recurring event,” says Michael Lucero, Student Services coordinator.

The Fresno campus received two bins of donated toys from students, staff, and faculty in 2020. Lucero continued, “We cannot wait until next season to do this again.”

Led by Shelvia Salvano, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts assistant program director and simulation manager, the Concord and Fresno campuses began answering Christmas wish lists in 2020 by collecting specific gift items for children and their mothers residing at the Modesto Gospel Mission.

The shelter also serves as a clinical site, where students develop their skills while helping those living there. Both campuses contributed to the gifts and members of the community. Overall, more than 50 gifts have been purchased for children in need.

With the holiday season approaching, Fresno Poverello and Naomi’s houses had a dire need for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, along with warm jackets and blankets. A call was made for donations. 

Sandee Sims, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Outreach Development manager for the Fresno Campus, solicited donations in an all-campus email, saying, “It may seem like we’re cleaning out our closets, but we’re doing so much more!”

Approximately 450 winter items were collected and donated in 14 large bags—making the season a little warmer.

“We truly appreciate the partnership and support Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is offering to our ongoing effort to respond to the vulnerable populations in our community.”

— Travis Kusman, Emergency Medical Services Director, San Mateo County Health

“Children’s Hunger Fund could not do what we do without the hard work of our Volunteer Force. Our gratitude goes out to the hard-working volunteers from the Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts for the time you spent recently volunteering at our Sylmar Distribution Center. Thank you for helping us deliver hope to suffering children worldwide.”

— Mattea Cattaneo, Volunteer Program Coordinator, Children’s Hunger Fund

“We appreciate Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts volunteers for helping distribute food to our community during the 2020 Holiday Program.”

— Volunteer Department, Samaritan House

“Our connection and support of San Mateo County Health (SMCH) are important, especially because they focus on the county’s underserved population. I also happen to sit on the SMCH Foundation’s Board, so I know how important support from institutions like ours is to the overall quality of life in the communities we serve.”

— Burke Malin, Chief Operating Officer, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts

“We have established a strong working relationship with the medical community. When the county approached us for volunteers to help with the COVID-19 outbreak at a local facility, our students rose to the occasion and provided much-needed help. This event led to the county recommending us to other medical facilities when searching for help and volunteers. I truly admire their focus to help the community during these challenging times.”

— Fred Faridian, Vice President of Campus Operations, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts

“Engaging in community service provides students with opportunities to become active members of their communities and has a lasting, positive impact on society.”

— Sashi Bir, San Mateo VN Clinical Coordinator, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts

“From the Kaiser Permanente Flu Shot Clinic volunteer opportunity to being one of the assigned First Aid personnel at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s awareness event, I have truly enjoyed serving my community while acquiring essential nursing knowledge, skills, and experience.”

— Gabriel M., Alumnus, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts