A Spring Break of Service
Since 2009, Vicki Mercer, an associate professor of physical therapy in the UNC School of Medicine, has taken students — studying either physical therapy, nursing or public health — to Tyrrell County, one of the poorest and most rural counties in the state, for spring break.
Since 2009, Vicki Mercer, an associate professor of physical therapy in the UNC School of Medicine, has taken students — studying either physical therapy, nursing or public health — to Tyrrell County, one of the poorest and most rural counties in the state, for spring break.
“There is only one nurse practitioner. There is no physician in Tyrrell County.”
Since 2009, Vicki Mercer, an associate professor of physical therapy in the UNC School of Medicine, has taken students — studying either physical therapy, nursing or public health — to Tyrrell County, one of the poorest and most rural counties in the state, for spring break.
Since the county has shortages in health-care resources, the students are there to complete service projects and to help.
In 2018, a group of more than a dozen students and faculty members visited Tyrrell County elementary schools to teach about the importance of heart health and exercise. They also helped older adults at the Tyrrell County Senior Center with fall prevention exercises.
“Because we are a public university, it’s our responsibility to make sure that our state is taken care of,” said Candace Beddard, a student in the nursing program.
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This is story number 41 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.
