The Community-Based Project Program
This program was started in 1998 by the PA Foundation. The program provides seed money for PAs and PA students launching innovative local community programs to improve health and human conditions. Community-Based grants of up to $2500 are awarded quarterly. Awards are granted for community-based initiatives that focus on service, education, and/or research.
Applications will be considered for projects organized by practicing PAs or PA students in cooperation with faculty sponsors. All applicants must be members of AAPA. Applications from previous grantees are welcome; priority will be given to first-time applicants.
Projects are chosen quarterly. Application deadlines are January 1, May 1 and September 1.
Community Based Projects
2009
New Start - Janice Larson, PA-C - Hershey Pennsylvania
This is a new program for teens and young adults who are transitioning out of a rehabilitation program. Janice has received strong support from probation officers, the local child welfare office, and staff from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Pennsylvania. She has also submitted a letter to President Obama, noting that this new program fits well into his healthcare reform plan! A New Start for You is a holistic integrative health care approach to teens and young adults with alcohol or substance abuse disorders, who often times have a co-occurring mental health diagnosis. The after school program incorporates medical management by staff trained in addiction medicine, psychiatric screening and treatment, therapeutic counseling, individual and group therapy, as well as family and multi-family counseling. In addition to treatment modalities, the holistic approach addresses the mind, body and spirit through exercise, music, art, and cultural activities.
Sun Safety and Literacy - Nicole Wilson, PA Student, UC Davis FNP-PA Program, California
Nicole Wilson is a 2009 Gateways participant. This project combines literacy while promoting healthy living. By promoting literacy, they encourage increased compliance of future patients. By educating about sun protection through self-guided activities, they support healthy living of families within their community. The project site is at Shriners Hospital, which cares for children suffering from burns, cancer or injuries, and the students focused this project on them as they feel it is so important for their families to be aware of skin protection methods. The project includes a book drive and activities to benefit Shriners Hospital and the local community. The students will provide books and other activities that focus on skin care. In addition, this project will promote the profession within its community.
"Taking Control of My Health" - Elizabeth Murray, PA-Student - Emory University PA Program
Elizabeth Murray is a 2009 Gateways participant. This project includes a series of classes for young woman at Wellspring for Girls - an organization to address the recovery needs of girls 12 - 17 who are survivors of the child sex industry of Atlanta. The five-part series includes information on food, exercise, vitamins and trips to a medical clinic. Elizabeth is working with a nutritionist at Emory University to put together her booklets and lesson plans. She also plans to encourage other PA students in her class to continue this project. Upon graduation, Elizabeth plans to remain in the Atlanta area to work and will continue to work with Wellspring for Girls on a volunteer basis.
We Can - United Health Care Clinic, Washington DC
Jessica Wallace, PA-C, is the project organizer. She works with 2 other PA's as well as other health care providers. The WE CAN program is designed to promote healthy diets and eating habits, encourage physical activity and improve parent education pertaining to healthy eating through an age-appropriate, family-based approach. The program will target children ages 5 - 15 and their parents. The children and parents will participate in a four-week-disciplinary program designed to help children stay at a healthy weight. During the four-week period they will participate in activities that increase their level of knowledge and awareness of how food and activity impact their weight and their health. This program was a great success in 2008-2009, as they saw over 200 patients for over 700 visits. They are actively evaluating their program, and see positive changes with regards to health knowledge, health behavior and health outcomes such as weight and BMI. They will continue to evaluate the program, and are creating a comprehensive model WE CAN program to be used in other communities.
Jessica is also the recipient of 2 other global grants from the foundation for work she has done with Doctors for Global Health on a project in Mexico.
Assessing Health Literacy Levels in Family Medicine Clinics - Patti Pagels, PA-C, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the health literacy levels of the patients attending the Parkland and UT Southeastern family medicine clinics in Dallas, Texas and determine its association with health information access, diabetes, internet usage and Socioeconomic status. The overall objectives are to evaluate the health literacy levels of adult patients; determine the association between health information access and health literacy level; determine the association between diagnosis of diabetes and health literacy level; determine the association between internet usage and health literacy level and determine the association between sociodemographic characteristics and health literacy level. They feel that health care providers overesti8mate the health literacy levels of their patients, by assessing them, they feel they can improve the care provided.
Whitman Park Youth PhotoVoice - Sarah Nezworski, PA Student - University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
This project provided an opportunity for the youth of Whitman Park and its surrounding neighborhoods to have a "voice" through artistic expression, critical diaglogue, reflective narration and community exhibit. It combines photography and grassroots social action as a means of community participation, critical consciousness, and identification of relevant issues confronting the Whitman Park neighborhood and its surrounding communities. The youth of Hope Community Outreach summer camp participated in interactive educational sessions focusing on the health of their community. They were provided with cameras and guidelines for use, and composed reflective narratives that told a story about what is depicted in their photos. Ultimately, the photos and accompanying narratives were compiled and presented to policy makers in a local forum and other forms of media with the intent of influencing policy decisions that impact the Whitman Park neighborhood and its surrounding communities.
Linda Verhun & Jay Willamson - PA Students
Linda and Jay were 2008 Gateway Students. These students set up a health pre-screening clinic for patients attending a dental care initiative. It is within a large population of low income adults with unmet health and dental needs.
"Healthy Habits" - Karen Bumann, PA-C - South Dakota
This project is an education and service project coordinated by Karen Bumann to create unique learning opportunities for children in a community day care setting focusing on four main health topics of exercise, healthy eating, oral health, and hygiene. As a practicing PA for 15 years in the small, rural community, she became acutely aware of how the lack of healthy habits established early in life can lead to long-term adverse health consequences and increased health risks. She recognized that young children had limited opportunities for health-related education at an early age and limited participation in activities that could help them establish healthy habits to improve their health status immediately and continue long-term. Karen decided to pursue this project to make a difference in her community by implementing a program that would educate the children on healthy habits.
"Project Move It" - University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
This project is aimed at educating underserved families by combining healthy diet choices with daily physical activity, ultimately resulting in prevention of morbid obesity and diabetes. The project is student-led by 5 PA-students at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. The project began in February when five PA students addressed the students of Franklin Elementary School during their lunch break about eating healthy and the importance of physical activity through songs, chants and games. The target population is of Hispanic ethnicity and many are of low economic status. The goal was to reach approximately 50 families within the community, providing take home information, demonstrations and tastings, as well as small samples of sports equipment.
Project Don't Chew - Ulgen S. Fideli
Ulgen is a PA with the United States Public Health Services. Pre-mastication has been used by mothers and caregivers during the weaning period, from milk to table foods; however unbeknown to a majority of people, this practice carries several health risks, mainly increase risk for childhood caries and possible transmission of viruses such as HIV. Ulgen's project is to collect blenders from companies, make sure they function properly, package them with appropriate pediatric literature, and distribute them to new mothers, going through select clinics in the DC and Maryland area.
2008
"Head's Up" Racial Disparities Reduction Project, Jim Anderson
Head's Up is the project of the AAPA Committee on Diversity funded by the AAPA BOD initially, and was developed in conjunction with the Boston-based Disparities Solutions Center. The project created advertisement-sized posters to be placed inside the Health Sciences Express at the University of Washington. This put the sign in front of approximately 80,000 riders per day. The project was a success, and this grant supported the purchase of bookmarks for the San Antonio conference. The bookmarks were put in every registration bag, and included the PA Foundation logo.
Beeville County Health Fair - San Antonio, Texas
PA Student, Jennifer Emmel at the University of Texas Health Science Center and her classmates, Callie Bowman, Brandie Crabtree, and Melissa Shearer, all of San Antonio, partnered with Exclusive Home Health and Hospice and the Christus Spohn Hospital to host a health fair to educate patients on diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and general health care services for the treatment of these diseases. The students chose Beeville, Texas, and communities within close proximity to Beeville where a majority of the residents are Hispanic and have a mean household income of $28,392. Through the community health fair, the students educated an at-risk population about diabetes, and treatment of the disease, inform participants of local, free or reduced health care screenings, and encourage these patients to participate in ongoing healthy activities.
National Marrow Donor Registry Drive - Phoenix, Arizona
PA student Sean Morgan of Phoenix, Arizona received a grant to partner with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and host a donor registry drive on the campus of Midwestern University on April 5, 2008. Morgan attracted students and residents of the local community to participate in a buccal swab donation for tissue typing and donor registry. Displays on the role of PAs in health care and the community were set up adjacent to the donor registry. The NMDP also brought a blood donation trailer to the campus. Speakers were on hand during the day to provide a series of talks to educate potential donors on the importance of bone marrow donation. Morgan registered 600 potential marrow donors from the school and community. Through the marrow donor drive, Morgan hopes to increase the number of registered donors - particularly those from minority groups with low representation among marrow donors.
EVMS PA Program Children's Health Fair - Norfolk, Virginia
Assistant Professor Daniel Thibodeau of Portsmouth, Virginia worked with the class of 2009 to host a children's health fair in partnership with the Chesterfield Academy, a local elementary school in Norfolk, Virginia on April 5, 2008. The students attracted the attention of the local fire station, the local poison control center, and some local physicians and dentists who will lend their services to the community. Taking a queue from the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) national health literacy program, the students used the health fair to educate children and their parents/guardians about ways to improve health care through health literacy. With a grant from the AAPA, the students read books on eating nutritious foods; what to do when you're sick; how to identify germs; and more. The children received bicycle helmets and learned the importance of wearing them while bike riding. The Norfolk fire department set up a Safe House, a mobile home that educates children and their parents on the use of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in the home. The fire men also performed car seat checks, and with the Norfolk Emergency Medical Services team, talked to the families about emergency medical services.
Self Management in Spanish Speaking Population - Davis, California Diabetes Group Visits
PA student Mercedes Dodge manages the project with the help of Carla Kakutani, M.D., president of the California Academy of Family Physicians. The physician-PA student team teaches Spanish-speaking agricultural workers with type II diabetes how to manage and care for their condition. Dodge and Kakutani conduct diabetes group visits in Spanish to encourage patients to share self-management stories. The physician-PA student team creates an environment where these patients can comfortably share their struggles and triumphs while receiving their clinical expertise. These techniques help the patients manage their diabetes more effectively.
Dedicated to My Maternity (Dedicada a Mi Maternidad) - Pocatello, Idaho
PA student Heather Schaper, in partnership with the Hispanic Health Project, a federal community health center, and the Idaho State University departments of anthropology and physician assistant studies, work to improve the quality of prenatal care for female Mexican immigrants in rural communities through two six-month cycles of community-based classes. During each class, immigrant women are encouraged to learn how to properly care for themselves and their growing babies during their pregnancies. Depression, isolation, and constraints of being in a strange place, far away from the security of their Mexican homeland, often have a negative impact on the health of these women. Irritability, headaches, low spirits, nervousness, and trouble sleeping were all conditions the women described having.
Child Health Day - Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
The project comprises of a one-day health fair at four elementary schools. Celeste Lindhahl, PA-C received a grant last year from the Foundation to hold a Child Health Day at Dickey Elementary School in Pennsylvania when she was a PA student at Lock Haven. The event was a great success. Celeste is now a practicing PA in Kentucky. Her project is to hold a health fair once again at Dickey Elementary School, conducted by the PA students at Lock Haven, and also a similar event at 3 elementary schools in Kentucky. She has a special desire to target child obesity, especially in her new region, and believes that this is the way to start. She also feels that continuing the efforts at Dickey Elementary in Lock Haven would benefit the children. Celeste plans to implement a tracking system on the children who attend over the years and monitor their health and the benefits of this program.
All kids will have the opportunity to rotate around to different stations where they will have the ability to actively participate in health activities that will educate them on personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle. A specific focus will address each school's community, as those in Lock Haven deal with different issues than those children in southeastern Kentucky. The main purpose it to increase children's awareness of their health. Ideally each child who participates will have a better understanding of a healthy lifestyle, and will feel empowered to take an active role in their health.
Sometimes parents do not take an active role in the health of their child, and this program is intended to make sure children have the opportunity to hear about improving their health.
