Be Healthy Wyoming started as a service learning project for a nurse in training, Ashleigh. The assignment was to focus on a specific nation-wide health goal from the Healthy People 2030 health objectives and find a way to make it a little bit better. If you’re curious… her exact goal was “Increase the proportion of adolescents to get help transitioning to adult healthcare.” It’s a mouthful, to be sure.
Ashleigh picked this goal because she had her own rocky transition from being a teenager living at home to suddenly independently managing a complex health situation that would end up being a life-long condition. She received a diagnosis at 17, was “cured!” at 18, left for college a few months later… then experienced the same condition plus a bunch of complications all while on the opposite side of the country. It wasn’t an easy road and there are still bumps along the way, even after completing a formal nursing education. It’s because of this experience that Ashleigh felt a connection to this goal and hoped to make the transition even a little bit easier for others.