Nursing students put care into chili dinner for families

UNMC nursing students took time Wednesday to make life easier for families at the Ronald McDonald House.

The students, members of the UNMC Chapter of the National Student Nurses Association, served homemade chili, cornbread and dessert at the house near campus where patients and their families can stay while receiving treatment at The Nebraska Medical Center.

From left: Paula Schaefer stirs the chili with fellow cooks, Emily Gardels, Amanda Longly and Kim Dizona. (Ashley Holdsworth, College of Nursing)

The students are part of an army that makes it possible for families at the house to receive a home-cooked dinner six-days-a-week throughout the year.

“It has been great to work with a committed group of students for this and the other meals we have served,” said Ashley Holdsworth, who heads UNMC NSNA chapter. “The Ronald McDonald House provides an excellent service to families in need, and we are honored to play a very small part in it.”

Nursing is more than just working with families in the hospital, said Paula Schaefer, one of the students who helped out Wednesday.

“Providing meals to the families at the Ronald McDonald House is a way to offer more to the families we serve,” she said.