A nursing school in downtown Atlanta has created a win-win situation for the Atlanta community: Nursing students get practical experience and the residents of a local homeless shelter get medical care.

The partnership between Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Gateway Center in downtown Atlanta provides nursing students with opportunities for service learning and, for more experienced students, hands-on experiences, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Faculty members from Emory have set up a resource center for Gateway clients to receive eye care, dental work, HIV tests, and gynecological exams, which nursing students can observe.

The nursing students have an opportunity to teach health workshops to Gateway clients on the recovery floor. The topics, chosen in part by the clients themselves, include education on HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C, and substance addictions.

The students also hold health fairs and screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases.

What are the benefits of a program like this? What might be some drawbacks?