Windshield Assessment

Boundaries .7 The boundaries for this neighborhood are mainly physical with commercial streets; the main roads being New Hampshire avenue, the 495 beltway, and route 29. It is known as the Hillandale and white oak neighborhood. The prominent apartment complexes in this community are “the chateau apartments,” “the Avery Apartments,” and “the White Oak Apartments. The economic boundaries of this community are distinct with the back roads consisting of higher income independent housing while the frontline buildings happen to be low-middle income apartment complexes and town houses. Housing and Zoning 1 The age of the housing ranges from the 1990s to the 1980s. The buildings are evenly spread throughout the small communities. Most of the housings are apartment complexes or townhouses with a few roadside independent housing. These houses are multifamily dwellings, mostly with brick and wood exteriors, the traditional housing style. The lawns and surroundings are well groomed without any disrepair. They have roadside parking in front of the apartments, and they seem to be very crammed in one specific apartment complex (Avery apartments). There seem to be vacant apartments as evidenced by the “now leasing” board displayed, but there aren’t any houses on sale. There aren’t any open drainage ditches or gutters. There are appropriate streetlights and sidewalks for safety. Open Spaces .5 There is a lot of public open space in the community in the form of little parks for the community children to play on slides, there are benches scattered in the communities for perhaps people to sit outside in good weather while the kids play. The complete neighborhood is lighted. The open spaces seem to be well maintained without any trash or abandoned items lying around and the lawns well mowed. There is a lot of greenery between apartments, behind and in front of the housing/apartments. Commons There is a Hillandale community park that comprises of basketball courts, Soccer, Football, Baseball field, and Tennis Courts. It is well populated by a lot of families that seem to have brought their little ones (elementary and middle school kids) to practice. There were a handful of high school and college age folks playing basketball and tennis and jogging in the ground. There is a white oak community recreational center, which offers cooking, fitness, dance, and arts classes and other services. Apart from these two main community commons, there are little parks within the apartment neighborhoods. These many small parks comprise of slides/swings, benches, and trash bins. People seem to be using it very much to relax in the evenings while their children play and have ice cream from the ice cream van that makes rounds in the neighborhood afternoons-late evenings.

Transportation .5 People seem to get in and out of the neighborhood in cars and walking. The streets are very conductive to good transportation with the formal public busses (metro and ride on) facility at the entrance of each community. The streets are in good condition allowing the kids to ride bikes and skates, promoting community life. The frequency of the public transportation seems to be every 15 minutes because when one bus leaves within a few the other one comes. They have a variety of busses (routes) not limiting them to one or two. The beltway in their neighborhood seems to serve as an advantage for them to go to their work places. And the main road being the New Hampshire avenue which leads to the Hallandale and white oak shopping center seems to serve them as easy access to get groceries and immediate household needs. There are speed limit signs and speed zones posted appropriately. Social Service centers .4 There is a hospital just roughly 10-15 minutes away from the neighborhood depending on where in this neighbor you are situated. There is a chiropractor and dental office just 5 minutes away from the neighborhood and 15 minutes away either side are two medical center with physician offices, alternative medical centers, and primary care doctors. There is a Hallandale community center and white oak library within the vicinity. There is a fire department close to the neighborhood, a huge self storage place and a non-profit CHI center which serves adults providing residential services, community support, vocational training and many more services. There is postal service available just 5 minutes away from the neighborhood alongside the instilled PO box’s within the neighborhood. Stores .5 There are many stores around providing about everything possibly needed. There is a afresh produce farmers market right within the community which the residents seem to use a lot. There is a shopping center within walk-able distance with the CVS pharmacy, Safeway, banks, Radio shack, Postal services, Thrift store, dominos, dollar store, restaurants, Starbucks, Bank, cell phone store, saloon, etc. Residents seem to use the ride on busses to go there or even walk there or use their cars. A little farther away is another big shopping center which they seem to go in cars or the busses, there is a big sears shopping center along with the sears auto center, saloons, restaurants, pharmacies, giant, banks, etc. Needed resources are readily available. There are some ethnic stores as well. There are bars too but no signs that advertise tobacco or alcohol. Street people and animals 1 There were no animals seen on the streets. There were some homeless people on the streets near the shopping area with signs in their hands trying to collect money from people and cars at the red lights. In the communities there are residential people in normal casual clothing walking, women with children, children playing in the play grounds and getting off the school buses and walking home. There are middle-aged women carrying some groceries from the farmers market to their houses. The environment over all is relaxing and that of a daily active neighborhood. There are a few police cars spread out across the neighborhood, they seem to be doing as cop’s they usually do, in terms of checking for the safety of the neighborhood. Condition of the area 1 The area is well kept with no trash laying around or abandoned cars. There are huge trash bins at the end of each block with even a recycle bins. There are community leasing maintenance people mowing the grass and there are plenty of ‘use me trash cans’ every sitting and park areas. Race and ethnicity .3 Majority of the population in this neighborhood seem to be Hispanics and a subdivision of Asians and African Americans. There are Hispanic restaurants, saloons owned by those of Asian decent, Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, and Chinese take-outs. Over all, the neighborhood encompasses a diverse population with no indication of division or racial conflicts. All seem to be comfortable and in unison. Religion .3 There are numerous churches in the neighborhood of different denominations such as Adventist, Lutheran, Baptist, Iglesia, Presbyterian, and gospel church. A little further away there is also a Vietnamese church, a Jewish community, Muslim mosque, and Hindu temple. Overall there is diversity in the religious places around this neighborhood, majority of it being Christian places of worship. Health and Indicators 1 Everyone here seems to be middle aged and younger. There are no signs of mental illness or tobacco abuse. There are no signs of obesity or any visibly evident of health problems. There is a hospital in the neighborhood, and there is the Hallandale clinic within the 15-minute radar. There is also a 24/7 CVS pharmacy within walk-able distance. Politics .17 There are absolutely no posters of any community meetings or any political dealings. No signs of political affiliation or activity were noted in the community [White Oak & Hillandale community] Media .2 There were several outdoor satellite dishes in the community indicating television use. There were some newspapers outside some independent homes indicating that they perhaps read newspapers and stay updated. Many are seen with their smart phones either texting or watching something in common areas, therefore showing evidence of cellphones being a source of possible media. Business and Industry .5 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one of the main government research facility located near this neighborhood. There are small shopping center franchises around that have “now hiring” signs for some around. There is a real estate realtors center business building around. There are many gas stations spread across the neighborhood, many gas stations around. There are dental clinics, small nursery schools and Montessori schools. There is also a fire station voluntary center and plenty of clothing and grocery stores and one Coco-Cola factory. The climate of the neighborhood is unaffected.

------------------------------------------------- NURSING CARE PLAN 5

Nursing Diagnosis: Individuals at risk for injury related to crammed parking spaces as evidenced by less space to open the car door safely

Outcome Goal: Restriping of the parking lot to incorporate safety of the residence.

Implementation: I, the student nurse, spoke to the Avery Apartments administration about this problem advocating on behalf of that community, addressing the fact that this can cause a lot of damage (scratches) to the cars, injure individuals trying to get into the car while the car beside is pulling out or parking in, cause accidents due to lack of space and cramming leading to blocked vision in the side mirrors and windows, and cause of injury to the kids playing around the area between cars and so on.

Rationale: Advocating on behalf of the community is very effective because it gives them the picture that an outsider, person passing by, has noticed this, which could mean it is a big issue that needs to be addressed for them to look welcoming to new people seeking for residency as well as showing to their residence that they care. Giving them reasons as to why they should do it serves to be very effective because now they have reasons to change it and not be ignorant about the issue. Going to the administration is the right thing to do because they have the authority to make such changes if need be.

Evaluation: This action served to be effective and rightly done because they appreciated the concern brought to their attention and have disclosed that many residents have been complaining about it but they haven’t taken an action in an attempt to accommodate the vehicles as the space they have isn’t enough for all those apartment building residents. But since the safety issue is addressed and now that they do see that safety must be prioritized, that are going to consider restriping the parking lots and maybe assign reserved spots for each house is what they said – it is in planning.