The Peru Gazette

Nurse-led effort beautifies stretch of Idaho Avenue, removes potential safety hazards 

PLATTSBURGH, NY (10/12/2023) – Employees at The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) are volunteering their time to clean up a 1.4-mile stretch of Idaho Avenue beginning at 10 a.m. this Sunday, October 15.

The effort is part of a sponsorship of the Town of Plattsburgh’s Adopt-a-Highway program. This past May, the group held its first cleanup, picking up enough garbage to fill up several large bags that the town then disposed of. In addition to beautification, the team can help keep the area safe by removing potential safety hazards like plastic bags that can clog drains and cause chemicals to seep into water supplies with highway storm run-off. Trash can catch fire or block a motorist’s view if caught in the wind. And discarded containers may become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread harmful diseases if they are not picked up.

The cleanups, which will continue over the next two years, are spearheaded by nurses on the Progressive Care team at CVPH.

“We come to work every day to provide the care our patients need, and that care extends into the community,” CVPH Progressive Care Assistant Nurse Manager Katie Morrow, BS, RN-BC, PCCN, CMSRN offers. “We’re all proud of where we live and work and want to do what we can to make this place we call home even better.”

Participants will wear the required safety gear and use trash-collecting materials the town provides. Safety information will also be provided to everyone taking part in the cleanup. The Town of Plattsburgh’s Highway Department will pick up the collected garbage.

The CVPH Progressive Care team’s Adopt-a-Highway agreement is one of more than 2,400 in place across New York State, covering approximately 5,000 miles.