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NEPA AHEC News
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Keynote Speaker Asserts at Annual Meeting:
Increased Health Care Access 'An Absolute Right'
NEPA AHEC held its third annual meeting at Keystone College in July, with Lisa Davis, Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, as the keynote speaker. "It's not a privilege, it's an absolute right," said Davis, when she spoke of increasing access to health services, insurance, education, employment and transportation. She also focused on the complexities of the health care industry, which was complete with a rather humorous and complex formula. She concluded by urging all members of the health community to push for more government spending within the field of health care, and to "continue local development of local solutions to address local issues for the future."
NEPA AHEC Relocates on Keystone Campus
The NEPA AHEC has relocated its office on the campus of Keystone College from the Gardner Annex Building to the Seamans' Farmhouse. Directions to the Farmhouse are as follows: entering into the main entrance of Keystone College, take a left and travel approximately 0.5 mile to the Christy Mathewson baseball field, and you will come to a bridge with a sign reading, "Authorized Vehicles Only;" go straight across the bridge and up the hill; you will see a white house on the left. There you. will find the new home of NEPA AHEC.
Summer Interns Aid Education Programs
Throughout the summer of 2002, NEPA AHEC was aided in educating NEPA's area children. Robert Cooney, Sarah Jayne and Allison Stone created and facilitated programs, such as "Hear Your Heart" and "Water, Water, Everywhere" for children ages K - 6.
Robert Cooney, from Athens, is a medical student, Jefferson Medical College, where he is majoring in medicine. This is his first year as an intern with NEPA AHEC and he says that "as a future physician, teaching people to take care of their health early on is a benefit to everyone."
Allison Stone is also majoring in a health profession. She is from Springville, and she is currently attending College Misericordia, with a major in nursing. She has been with NEPA AHEC as an intern for two years and thinks of this as a great learning experience.
Sarah Jayne, an elementary education major from Kutztown University, also sees this as a great learning experience; she is from Clarks Summit and has been with NEPA AHEC for two years. "We enjoy going to different places and working with different kids everyday; we really enjoy the variety in our work," says Jayne. As interns, Rob, Sarah and Allison worked with children's camps teaching science and health and the water cycle. They also assisted with the "Exploring Careers in Health" summer camp.
Through their individual and collective efforts, they have helped contribute to one of AHEC's goals: creating a healthier community. through education.
Shown above are student interns who created and facilitated summer programs for over 1000 children this year. From left: Allison Stone, Robert Cooney and Sarah Jayne.
Sushma Barakoti, a graduate student in the Marywood University School of Social Work, recently completed a summer internship with NEPA AHEC. Mentored by Marywood faculty and AHEC board member Geri Dawson, Mb, MSW, and AHEC Program Coordinator Vera Walline, Sushma studied the Healthy Northeast Access Program's core providers to assess opportunities for social work students to obtain solid community experience. Thanks to the cooperation of HNAP and their providers, which form the primary care safety net in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, Sushma was able to produce an extensive report detailing many interesting and creative possibilities for students to assist in the effort to increase access to care.
Sushma Brarokoti, who completed her summer internship at NEPA AHEC, is shown with Vera Walline(NEPA AHEC Program Coordinator) and Geri Dawson, a member of Marywood University's faculty and a NEPA AHEC board member.
This July, we held our third annual meeting. The turnout was impressive. Our speaker was excellent. Many of us made new friends and reacquainted ourselves with our long-time friends. We distributed our very first published annual report. The document reminded me of just how much has been accomplished in our brief history. We've accomplished a great deal by working hard and smart. We have developed partnerships with organizations that have made us far more effective than we could have been on our own. As I pointed out at July's meeting, we are only as effective as the quality and number of our partnerships.
If we consider the relationships with our partners as the measure of our success, we are indeed successful. Our partnerships with educational organizations, preceptors, community-based health partnerships, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, our Health Science Institutions, local health professionals and many, many more have taken us farther, more quickly that we could have achieved on our own. The staff has done a superb job in developing and nurturing these many partnerships. They are well respected in the region and have built a solid reputation as professionals doing very important work -insuring access to health care. The board also plays a key role as a "matchmaker" for some of these partnerships. So we are all partners developing partnerships.
We are unique in that way. Our niche is to do what needs to be done in our region to insure that there is an adequate supply of health care professionals for the long run. It is a major challenge and we are building a strong foundation for a strong future. As a friend of NEPA AHEC please keep us informed of potential partners, you never know where they'll turn up. It's to our advantage to involve as many as we can.
Please accept our wishes for a happy and healthy Holiday season!
Michael Stershic
Board Chairman
On the Move...
NEPA AHEC Board Chair Michael Stershic has been appointed Vice President Philanthropic Services for the Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation, Williamsport, PA.
Clinical Coordinator William Dewar, M.D., has been named President of the Medical Staff, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale, PA.
Franklyn Dornfest, M.D., has joined the NEPA AHEC board. He is Chairman and Professor, Department of Family Practice, and Director of Guthrie/Robert Packer Hospital Family Practice Residency Program, Sayre, PA.
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The NEPA AHEC's sponsoring medical school is Thomas Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. |
ACCESS - School Age Programs
Students Explore Health Careers
"Exploring Careers in Health" summer camp was held July 15 - 19, on the campus of Keystone College. Thirty-eight high school students from eight of the nine NEPA AHEC counties were chosen to participate.
The students experienced over 35 careers during the course of the camp and participated in a wide range of activities from suturing chicken breasts, to using the latest lab technology at Guthrie Health Systems in Sayre, PA. The focus of the camp is to allow students who have an interest in health careers to experience and explore the numerous opportunities within the field of health care.
Much of the camp's success comes from the enthusiasm of the all-volunteer faculty from area colleges, universities, and health systems. The students who attended completed an application process. The combination of passionate health professionals and interested students made the camp an extraordinary experience for all who participated. Photographs and curriculum from "Exploring Careers in HeaIth 2002 " can be found at: www.nepaahec.org/healthcareers/campphotos/default.html.
Applications for 2003 "Exploring Careers in Health" will be available in January.
One of the health career camp participants takes her turn looking through the microscope as Part of a medical technology activity.
'Water, Water Everywhere' & 'Hear Your Heart'
Reach over 1000 Elementary Students
During the summer NEPA AHEC interns Sarah Jayne, Allison Stone and Robert Cooney created and facilitated two very successful programs for elementary-age children: "Hear Your Heart" and "Water, Water Everywhere." They presented these hour-long programs to camps, libraries, and day care centers throughout northeast Pennsylvania.
"Hear Your Heart" is a program designed to teach children in grades K-6 anatomy and health careers. Students learned about the different ways to maintain a healthy heart, located and listened to their hearts, and constructed health professional puppets.
"Water, Water Everywhere" is a program designed to express the importance of water, explain the water cycle, and use mathematics in experiments. The program allowed the children to construct bracelets representing the water cycle and also to create water wheels.
The interns help over 1100 area children learn about science, math, and health.
Darlene Chaykosky, a senior at Lakeland High School attended "Exploring Careers in Health 2001." This past summer Darlene, with the help of the NEPA AHEC and Wilkes University "shadowed" three pharmacists. Following is an excerpt of her experience.
"Well, I had my shadowing experiences yesterday. The least I can say was that it was extremely successful. First I met Dr. Mary Campomizzi at Wilkes-Barre General. She was very talkative and open to answering my questions. We met with her student, Peter, and Dr. Harvey Jacobs to discuss the patients we would be visiting. Then we went on rounds.
She showed me the medicine flow sheets and what everything meant. She explained medical terms, what the doctor was doing, and what the medicines were for. Peter was also very helpful in explaining what he does as a student. Dr. Jacobs was extremely open to me shadowing and even offered some advice on pursuing a career in health care. After rounds, Dr. C. showed me their pharmacy.
Next I met with Dr. Eric Wright at the VA Medical Center. He had two students, Kevin and Jim. He explained what he does and how it differs from a hospital setting. They consult more on a one-on-one basis with patients about their medications and how to take them. They also deal with practicing good nutrition and exercise. I was able to watch Dr. Wright and his students interact with the patients.
I was utterly impressed by the people I met. They went completely above and beyond what I expected. I thought I would just sit and watch what they did, but they had me participate like a real student. To say the least, I learned a lot about medicine. The students, Peter, Kevin, and Jim, were great. They treated me like a peer and offered some really good information on other jobs and classes during college. Ultimately, they expressed the same grace and professionalism as their teachers. Everyone I met welcomed me with a warm handshake and a pleasant greeting. Each person was eager to share his or her job with me. Even the patients I met all wished me luck with my future studies. Everyone in the hospital was extremely nice and helpful. They also told me what pharmacy colleges look for on applications. Both doctors told me to contact them anytime with questions or if I wanted to come back. Both doctors were consistent on their evaluation of pharmacy as a career. They said it was a career with flexible hours, job stability, job availability, and room for advancement."
AHEC Staffer Vera Walline in Year-long Public Health, Healthy Community Effort
Last July, Vera Walline, Program Coordinator for NEPA AHEC, began a year-long experience with the Northeast Public Health Leadership Institute (NEPHLI). Encouraged to apply by Executive Director Pat Lawless, NEPHLI Class of 1 999, Vera's experience began with an intensive week-long retreat at the Rensselaerville Institute, NY, during which she joined a diverse group from eight northeastern states in a process designed to strengthen public health leadership skills and promote healthy communities. Topics covered included general issues of the place of public health in modern society, individual issues of personality and leadership styles, and factual presentations on bioterrorism, incident command system, and handling media interviews, Following further retreats in October and April, the process will culminate in the presentation of reports of the scholars' projects in July 2003. NEPA AHEC's Clinical Coordinator, Dr. William Dewar, and Pat Lawless are joining in Vera's project, "Northeast Pennsylvania Physician Education Survey," which will be featured in a coming newsletter.
'Reaching Out, Changing lives'
In the spring of 2002, community partners in the public health field and concerned black citizens met in response to the recognized need for an organized, culturally sensitive effort to address the glaring health disparities in the local black community. The result was the creation of the Lehigh Valley Black Women's Health Committee.
On October 26, 2002 the Committee held a Symposium on Black Women's Health entitled, "Reaching Out, Changing Lives," that focused on health issues impacting black women. The hope is that the information shared will help women to better understand their current physical condition, become more engaged in leading healthier lifestyles and most importantly, empower them to become more aggressive in maintaining a healthy mind, body and soul.
Eastcentral PA AHEC and North East AHEC were two sponsors of the event, which was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem. The Symposium began with "Music for the Soul" by Harpist Grace Spruiell. Sara Lomax-Reese, Editor/Publisher of HealthQuest, gave the opening address. The keynote speaker was award-winning journalist Bev Smith, who discussed her struggle with Graves disease and surviving. She gave a truly motivational talk on "Tools for the 21st Century Black Woman." Following lunch the group of about 70 participants broke off into workshops on breast cancer awareness and detection; early detection, treatment, and prevention of HIV-' Aids; understanding depression and its impact on one's emotional and physical well-being; understanding cultural-spiritual beliefs towards health; and tools for maintaining health.
The Symposium concluded with Ordained AME Elder, psychotherapist and author Michelle DeLeaver Balamani, who gave an inspirational closing plenary entitled "My Mind, My Body and My Soul: I'm in Control ... Ain't No Stoppin' Me Now!"
Committee members accept a quilt made by ECPA AHEC Executive Director, Shelba Sceffner in the top photo; Sare Lomax-Reese is shown at right giving the opening address; and harpist Grace Spruciell is in center photo.
NEPA & ECPA AHEC's Join Forces to Sponsor Emergency Medical Tactical Training
The Eastcentral PA AHEC and the North East PA AHEC joined together to sponsor an intensive, hands-on three-day training for 35 physicians, EMS, and paramedics. Held at Lehighton High School, Carbon County, the program was accredited by the Eastern PA EMS Council. The course taught equipment selection, assessment in a tactical environment, advanced airway techniques, medical care under fire and basic team movements and tactics. Participants from both AHEC regions found the course timely and practical with knowledgeable and skilled trainers.
Health care professionals who participated in the tactical training course are shown practicing giving aid to a victim during a real life situation.
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Did You Know??? In 1999, there were 1,146 dentists in rural Pennsylvania, or one dentist for every 2,200 residents. In urban areas, there were 7,171 dentists, or one dentist for every 1,300 residents. Four Pennsylvania counties have fewer than five dentists each. (Cameron, Forest, Fulton and Sullivan) |
