Running head: WINDSHIELD SURVEY

Windshield Survey
Leslie Rush
Ferris State University

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2
Windshield Survey

This survey was done in the community of Lakewood, which encompasses the town of
Lake Odessa, Michigan (MI). Lakewood is considered a small, rural, farming community.
There are long standing traditions within the community, tight knit family units, and a difficult
for outsiders to look in. The purpose of this survey, is to look at the community, as a whole, and
identify various aspects that could affect its health.
Community
Community is defined by the textbook as "A group of people sharing common interests,
needs, resources, and environment; an interrelating and interacting group of people with shared
needs and interests" (Harkness, 2012, 175). The Lakewood community has a laid back, easy
going environment with common interests in the high school sports programs, farming, and
taking care of the community.

Community Health
Dictionary.com defines community health as, "a field within public health concerned
with the study and improvement of the health of biological communities" (2014). The four
aspect of community health that could be possible areas of health risk are the decaying homes,
obesity, underage drinking/drug use, and teen pregnancy. Looking around the community at the
homes, many of them were built when asbestos was used for insulation and lead was in the paint.
Both lead and asbestos, have health risks if ingested over a period of time and if not properly
removed. Obesity seems to be a problem for every community. Being overweight has been
linked to many diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Underage drinking/drug use and
pregnancy can be linked together, even though they represent individual issues. Many teens do

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not realize the impairment or health problems that come with consuming alcohol and drugs. This
impairment can lead to unprotected sex and result in pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs).

Community as Client
"The concept of community as client is based on the assumption that community nursing
practice is "community oriented," seeking "healthful change for the whole community's benefit"
regardless of the "unit of service""(Dunn, 1990, 131-132). There is a need for good
biking/walking trail and renovation of the locate gyms in the area. At the various community
sponsored event, there could be tables set up with information about weight loss, proper
eating/nutrition, and diseases that are highly impacted by being overweight. These are a couple
of ways to improve the overall community health.

Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicator

According to the Healthy People 2020 website, "Diet and body weight are related to
health status. Good nutrition is important to the growth and development of children. A healthful
diet also helps Americans reduce their risks for many health conditions" (2013). Obesity is
clearly a problem within this community. As a nurse in the community, one of roles would be
to help present the health information in a consumer friendly package and answer any questions
that the community member may have.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lakewood is a small, tight knit community that has several common
interests and health areas that need of improvement. The largest of which is being

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overweight/obese, because this can lead to many other health problems/diseases. As a nurse in
the community, I can strive to educate and be a resource for the members of the Lakewood
community in all areas of health concerns.

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Reference

Community Health. (2014). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community+health

Dunn, A. M., & Decker, S. D. (1990). Community as client: Appropriate baccalaureate- and
graduate-level preparation. Journal of Community Health Nursing. 7(3). 131-139.

Harkness, G. A., & DeMarco, R. F., (2012) Community and public health nursing: Evidence for
practice. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Healthy People Website (2013). Nutrition and weight status. Retrieved from:
http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=29

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Housing and zoning

Transportation

Race and ethnicity

Multiple types of
housing in this
community, single
and multi family
home, low income
housing, apartments,
and adult foster care.
Most of the housing is
stick built and around
50-60 years old.
There are a few newer
houses around the
lake with
contemporary
architecture.
Everyone has a yard,
a detached or attached
structure to house an
automobile.
Depending on which
side of the railroad
tracks you are on,
there are houses that
are in disrepair.
Many need new
windows, paint,
doors, and a host of

There is no public
transportation
available to the
community. Most
people walk, ride a
bicycle, or drive
around town. There is
a state road that runs
through town and a
major highway about
5 miles north of the
community. Most of
the streets have
sidewalks making it
safe to walk around
town. Most of the
city streets and walks
are in good repair.

The community is
primarily Caucasian
with a small group of
Hispanics and one
Vietnamese family.
The Vietnamese
family owns a
restaurant that
provides Asian food.

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other items.
Open space

Service centers

Religion and politics

There is a large open,

public park in the
middle of town. The
city has been named
tree city USA on
several occasions by
an arbor foundation
for the planting and
care of the trees
within the city limits.
There is a public
beach on the lake that
provides lifeguards
every summer for the
children to play.
Since the community
is primarily a farming
community there is
lots of farm land in
and around the
community.

Within the
community, there are
2 doctors offices, 2
dentists, and a
chiropractic office
that offers massage
therapy. By the
elementary school
there is a daycare
center that offers
before and after
school care. The
elementary school is
located within the city
limits, while the
middle and high
school are outside the
city about a half mile.
The middle and high
school are made up of
4 communities
coming together to
form on school
district. There is a 4
community food
bank and baby pantry
across the road from
the high school. It
serves the
communities that
come together to form
our school district.

There is no dominate
political party within
the community.
Republican and
democratic politics
are welcome.

The town has a

working police, fire,
water/sewage
department.

There is a catholic
church that has mass
on Saturday and
Sunday. the rest of
the churches within
the community are
Methodist, Baptist, or
non-denominational.
They all have services
on Sunday and many
have activities on
Wednesday nights.
One Methodist church
provides respite care
on Tuesday for a few
hours.

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Boundaries

8
Stores and street
people

Health and
morbidity

There are no
street/homeless
people to be seen.
There is the
occasional stray cat or
dog that roams the
street. When out
during the day you
will see people who
work in the shops
going to and from
their buildings,
elderly population out
to get groceries, to the
pharmacy, or bank.
Stay at home moms
out doing the same
things as the elderly
or getting lunch with
other stay at home
moms. After school
lets out, you will find
all ages of children
walking or riding
bikes through town.

There are many

elderly within the
community, that
would lead one to
believe there is
acute/chronic health
issues. The high
school has a
significant problem
with teenage usage of
marijuana, underage
drinking, and
pregnancy.

Commons

Signs of decay

Media

In the morning the

place to meet is the
bakery. This is a
group of elderly and
not so elderly that

Depending on which
side of the railroad
tracks you live will
tell how decayed the
community is. The

Many of the residents

have cable or satellite
TV. Cell phones and
texting are the
primary means of

The east side of our

community is the high
school and food/baby
pantry. To the north
would be the fair
grounds and
manufacturing plant.
The west side has the
community hall and
water tower and to the
south is the
neighborhood on the
south side of the lake.
Our community is
primarily residential
with a significant
amount of farming
and 2 industrial
plants. Even though
the town is called
Lake Odessa, the
community is referred
to as Lakewood.

Obesity is another
significant chronic
issue. There are 2 run
down gyms in town,
but no real good place
to exercise.
The nearest hospitals
are approximately 20
miles away. The
nearest ambulance
service is about 5
miles north of town.
The fire department
has a couple of trained
paramedics on staff.

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have coffee and
donuts to solve the
world's problems.
The public park and
beach is the hang out
for kids of all ages. At
night you will find a
good portion of the
community at
whatever sporting
event happens to be
playing that day.
Church on Sunday is
the last common
meeting place for all
people within the
community. Through
the year there are
various community
organized events like
girls night out, art in
the park, a weeklong
fair, etc.

9
north side has many
more houses that are
in need of
upgrades/repairs then
the south side. All the
homes are older and
many may contain
lead paint or asbestos
based insulation.

communication
among the younger
generation. The
elderly still rely on the
home phone.

There is a daily
newspaper the comes
from a neighboring
city, The Sentinel
Main street has been
Standard and two
newly renovated in
weekly papers, The
the last couple of
Banner and Lakewood
years. Over all there
News. The grocery
are real estate signs on store offers the
both side of the
standard magazines,
tracks. Mixed zoning
Time, People, Sport
is part of main street,
Illustrated, etc.
as there are
apartments over many
of the stores. For the
most part the
community is alive
and trying to grow.