Asset-Based Community Development Reflection

Evelyn Vandervoort

This semester I am interning with Loyola University Chicago’s Wellness Center. My

position specifically is within the COVID-19 Care Coordination efforts on Loyola’s Lakeshore

campus. Additionally I assist with COVID-19 Contact Tracing for all Loyola affiliated students

and faculty. As a Healthcare Administration major this internship has applied to both my

education and future career in many ways. This connection has allowed for deeper reflection and

application when analyzing the organization I am interning with.

As Loyola welcomed students back to campus, they obtained the responsibility of

keeping students and faculty safe while enforcing COVID-19 guidelines. The Wellness Center

completes contact tracing in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. When a student or staff

member tests positive, those they may have come in contact with must be notified. These

individuals are expected to quarantine and the Wellness Center is responsible for providing any

resources they may need. In order to complete such tasks and others, the Wellness Center utilizes

the asset of students studying or interested in healthcare. Multiple times in the past year, the

Wellness Center has invited students to complete contact tracer training and certifications.

Loyola has a large population of undergraduate students looking for relevant experience or

remote volunteer work. The Wellness Center focuses on this asset of student contact tracers by

inviting all undergraduates and allowing very flexible scheduling. The asset of the knowledge,

accountability, and time of college students is unmatched for such an organization.

Personally, I fit into this category of an asset and was even able to invite two friends in

Loyola’s nursing program to join the Wellness Center as contact tracers as well last August. The

Wellness Center focuses on the asset of students by providing a plethora of resources, training,

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and support from the supervisors. Contact tracers and volunteers are greatly valued, often met

with gratitude, and provided resources for future endeavors such as letters of recommendation or

resume help. The Wellness Center aims for students to gain knowledge from their work and

actively implement change based on feedback. Valuing student contact tracers allows this

organization to create a positive experience for volunteers.

Within my position I work first hand with the Wellness Center’s focus on deficits. As I

complete wellness checks on students in quarantine on Loyola’s campus, I am able to directly

ask for their feedback. In such a new and difficult time, many protocols are newly developing

and the only way for the processes to improve is by bringing shortfalls to the surface. As an

intern, I keep an online record of this feedback for my supervisors to implement and I am

responsible to offer suggestions on next steps for them to take. Luckily the Wellness Center

values feedback and understands they must continue to adapt processes.Within the last few

months, I have seen change implemented due to student’s responses.

For example, a quarantined student provided feedback on the meals delivered to them. As

a result of this feedback, the Wellness Center improved the process to allow students to submit

preferences regarding meals as well as include drinks with meals. Deficits in the organization

often occur as a lack of experience, since COVID-19 protocols are constantly evolving and many

processes are unprecedented such as providing meals to isolated individuals on campus. The

response and action taken demonstrates the value of deficits to this organization.

My internship is widening my understanding of community development in relation to

COVID-19. As a result of relevant training, I have a better understanding of public health and its

impact on individuals of a community. For example, I have learned the danger of making

assumptions of an individual's ability to safety quarantine. When informing an individual that

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they may have come in contact with COVID-19, it’s imperative to first confirm their safety,

source of food, ability to call off work or work remotely, and more. These concerns must predate

any request on their behalf. Loyola’s Wellness Center plays a crucial role in listening to the

inequities faced in the community.

Only then can the Wellness Center address areas of concern and fill gaps to promote

health in the community. By working alongside those affiliated with Loyola, I have learned and

acknowledged the resources of some are able to greatly impact the needs of others. The Wellness

Center has the reputation and resources to gain trust from those the organization aims to support.

In my internship, I focus on the assets of Loyola in a variety of ways. For example, at the

beginning of my placement I offered to create a Resources Document to be sent to every

individual who tests positive for COVID-19. By focusing on the assets of the community and

Loyola, I provided links and descriptions of an array of anything from free virtual counseling to

nearby restaurants offering contactless delivery. By acknowledging the physical and mental

needs of an individual in isolation, I was able to compile suggestions of assets still available to

them.

I enjoyed this project as I truly valued the impact it could potentially make for an

individual. I valued the work I completed by asking others with different interests and needs their

feedback on what would be helpful. In the same example of this project, I focused on the deficits

of those impacted by COVID-19. In conversations to determine what resources would be desired

or necessary, I focused on the struggles those might face in the time of isolation. An individual in

quarantine on Loyola’s campus will be without friends, access to exercise, or ability to travel to

see family. These restrictions impact a person’s mental and physical health, thus the example of

Loyola’s free resource of group counseling over Zoom. As well as, I collected ideas and

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resources regarding online exercise classes conducted by Halas. I greatly value the focus on

deficits as it often indirectly leads to a resource. I found this project challenging and rewarding,

while I learned to value the understanding of assets and deficits of those impacted by the

Wellness Center’s COVID-19 care.