The Precious Prints Project, an initiative of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Student Nurses Association, has welcomed its first academic partner. Following months of planning, Union University Hendersonville nursing students will implement the project in the Nashville area through collaboration with nursing students from UT’s College of Nursing.
Precious Prints, which offers free fingerprint charms to families who have lost a child, launched at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in January 2012. The charms are now available at all major hospitals in Knox County.
To date, more than 950 Knoxville-area families have received a sterling silver charm bearing the fingerprint of their child, made by Knoxville-based company Precious Metal Prints. The charms provide a lasting memory for parents. Fundraising and project management are handled by UT’s Student Nurses Association. The students collect donations through events like the Sprint for the Prints 5K, which had more than 300 participants in its seventh annual race in September.
This development comes after College of Nursing Dean Victoria Niederhauser and Lynne Miller, clinical instructor and director of the Precious Prints Project, created a plan to expand the project to nursing schools and health care facilities across the nation.
Nursing faculty and student representatives from Union University recently visited UT to learn implementation strategies, best practices, and how to conduct staff education and training. They also visited one of UT’s partnering hospitals to learn about the process firsthand.
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CONTACT:
Karen Dunlap (865-975-8674, kdunlap6@utk.edu)
Emily Kissel (865-974-2755, ekissel@utk.edu)