University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student Yasmeen LaTore is leading the ʻImi Ola Piha Homeless Triage Center as program manager, helping Oʻahu homeless patients to ‘seek one’s fullest life’ while completing her doctor of nursing practice (DNP) at the Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing (NAWSON). Focal to her capstone DNP project is developing a training program module for onboarding new health services staff at The Institute for Human Services (IHS).
Daily Nurse is proud to honor LaTore, for her work enhancing healthcare for homeless patients, our Nurse of the Week.
Since 2018, LaTore’s caring nature has prompted her to integrate her nursing education into various roles at IHS, supporting patients to manage their mental illness and substance abuse, providing COVID-19 care, and serving as community liaison nursing for recently housed individuals.
As the lead for the new triage center, the first of its kind in the state, LaTore will manage community-based medication-assisted detox for substance withdrawal. In addition, she will help initiate psychiatric treatment that is considered best practice with unsheltered, chronically homeless when their situational circumstances are considered.
LaTore started at NAWSON as a student in the Graduate Entry Nursing Program (GEPN).
“IHS truly has a heart for these incredibly vulnerable persons, and we’ve put careful consideration into building a team of professionals to provide quality medical and behavioral health care to help these patients begin their journey of healing,” says LaTore. “I feel so fortunate to be a part of this wonderful team and to help these patients ‘seek one’s fullest life’—ʻImi Ola Piha.”
LaTore Develops Training Standard for Building Cultural Sensitivity
In developing her training module, LaTore worked closely with fellow NAWSON alumnae, IHS Executive Director Connie Mitchell (BSN, MSN), a 2016 UH Mānoa Nursing Hall of Fame honoree, and IHS Chief Administrative Officer Leina Ijacic (BSN).
“Yasmeen’s training module has become a standard for enhancing cultural sensitivity when working with people experiencing homelessness,” says Mitchell. “We are so much more effective at engaging people in managing their health when we are attuned to their feelings and priorities while living unsheltered or experiencing housing instability.”
LaTore agrees that individuals experiencing homelessness have unique challenges accessing and implementing treatment.
“As a new nurse providing care for this vulnerable population, I realized that healthcare staff often don’t learn about or make adaptations to practice that can improve the outcomes of care afforded to homeless patients. My DNP project aims to fill that gap in knowledge and provide additional training to providers. Bias, judgment, and discrimination are commonly cited reasons for homeless persons neglecting care,” she says.
In addition to new staff, including nurses, physicians, counselors, and case managers, the training will also be used for students who come to IHS for their internship experiences.
LaTore is hopeful through this new training standard that, homeless patients will feel seen and cared for and that providers will make modifications to account for the practical challenges due to the experience of homelessness.
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