SIERRA VISTA — Cochise College students needed a place to complete part of their final year of the nursing program. Echoing Hope Ranch welcomed them.
Students who successfully complete their nursing degree are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, also known as the NCLEX-RN. But first, second-year students must finish a year-long rigorous schedule that rotates them through hands-on clinical units in med-surg, advanced med-surg, surgical rotation, critical care and mental health, culminating in preceptorship: a one-on-one intensive with a registered nurse.
Cochise College nursing student Stephanie Williams, right, and Jesus, an Echoing Hope Ranch resident, remove seeds from spaghetti squash earlier this semester. (Photo by Linda Vincent)
Linda Vincent, a full-time instructor at Cochise since 2010, teaches and coordinates the mental health sessions each year. When the Southeastern Arizona Psychiatric Health Facility in Benson closed at the end of last spring, she had to find a new place for her students to complete that rotation.
That’s where Echoing Hope Ranch came in.
Echoing Hope opened its doors in Hereford last January as a place for teens and adults with autism “to be productive in a peaceful, supportive environment,” according to its website. The ranch offers residential services as well as a day program.
“We started this because there’s such a lack of programs, really across the nation, but specifically in Cochise County, there aren’t many services at all for people with autism,” said Marla Guerrero, Executive Director of Echoing Hope. “Most of our board of directors have either children or grandchildren with autism. Our goal is to create a program that we can serve people with autism as they age with a program that’s allowing them to grow and discover and become even more complex people than when they were in school.”
During their mental health rotation, which lasts three weeks, Cochise students must also attend group organization meetings within the community, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the Wellness Connection, in addition to working with Echoing Hope for one eight-hour session.
Cochise College nursing student Rachel Rodriguez, left, chats with Rachel at Echoing Hope Ranch. (Photo by Linda Vincent)
“This way, they have something in their mental toolkit, to be able to say to a future client or patient, ‘I know how to get you the help you need,'” Vincent said. “These organizations have been incredibly receptive to having our nursing students. These people have found ways of coping with issues in their lives and can offer a phenomenal perspective for the students to be able to take away for their future work.”
Stephanie Williams, 28, was one of the first Cochise nursing students to work with Echoing Hope residents. She said she was anxious at first, since her personal experiences with mental health were limited prior to her visit, but she left with a new perspective. During her day at the ranch, she sat with residents and removed seeds from spaghetti squash, painted clay sculptures and worked on creating picture cards to be used with daily schedules.
“It’s very different than when we go to the hospital and things are very structured,” Williams said. “The atmosphere at the ranch is very relaxed and you just follow the lead of the residents. But there is that push to have them step outside the box and try new things.”
Williams said when she entered the nursing program, she had her sights set on working in oncology, but after experiencing other aspects of the medical field, she said she wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up looking into pursuing a career in mental health.
“Now, I don’t feel like an expert, but I know how to recognize autism and I now know that I can give a future patient some information that might help to better care for them,” she said. “We study the book, and we need to know the black and white of it so we can pass our tests, but to put a face to what we’re learning and put someone’s life and real-time experience to what we’re reading in the book, our learning comes full circle, everything connects.”
Guerrero said the ranch’s primary mission is looking for every available opportunity for residents to experience growth, which means the community is an essential and integral part in achieving that goal. Other student organizations are itching to get involved, too; later this month, Cochise College Student Government of Sierra Vista is planning a day trip to the ranch to paint fences.
“Students bring an incredible energy, positive attitude and willingness to try anything,” Guerrero said. “The freshness they bring is so delightful, and they usually come up with great results.”