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, April 1, July 1, and October 1.

 

Community Based Projects

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 2008 – Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

On January 25, 2008, the dream of "Child Health Day" became a reality for the children in Kindergarten through Grade 5 at Dickey Elementary School in Lock Haven, PA.  The grant money was used to purchase supplies for the health stations and supply contents of each child's "fit kit."     To summarize, children rotated among 13 stations that included: four health screening stations (1-Height, weight, blood pressure, skin and extremities exam, 2-Hear, ears, eyes, nose, throat, 3-Heart, lungs and abdomen, and 4-cognitive/language and motor development screening), dental health, healthy eating, exercise, healthcare basics, general hygiene, substance abuse, recognizing emergency health situations and health literacy.  Stations were run by the first year PA students from Lock Haven University.  226 children registered, only 20 children short of the entire school!  This program was run for the entire school day and allowed two grades at once to rotate through the 13 stations. Children were divided into groups of 6 to rotate around to each station. 

2007

Reach Out & Read, Iowa
During every well-child check-up between the ages of six months and five years, the provider gives the child a brand new, free, age and culturally appropriate book to take home, along with advice for parents on how to read to their child and the importance of doing so.  The goal for this project is to promote a love of books and reading in young children.

2006

Breast Cancer Awareness for Muslim Women, Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York
A PA designed and developed this program to educate local Muslim women about prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

Art for the Soul, Texas
Four PA students worked with local artists and gallery owners to host an art auction to purchase art supplies for the Children’s Shelter art therapy program.

Health Fair for the Physically Challenged, Georgia
This project was an initiative of the South University PA Program and local health care providers to expand access to care to physically-challenged patients and to raise the awareness of medical professionals to preventive care and treatment for this population. The fair included flu shots, influenza education, blood pressure checks, blood sugar checks, and foot checks. There was also a wheelchair cleaning station.

2005

Preventing Abuse and Violence through Education (PAVE), Texas
A group of PA students trained at-risk youth in San Antonio on different forms of domestic violence and steps they can take within their community to spread awareness of domestic violence.

Wisconsin Academy of PA’s President’s Project 2006: Smoking Cessation, Wisconsin
The first annual President’s Project, this program trained Wisconsin Academy of PAs members in smoking cessation counseling.

Health Clinic at Christ Church, Georgia
Medical College of Georgia PA students established this free clinic that provides physical exams, health screenings, health education, and community resource information.

Vitamin D Screening and Treatment at Gennessee County Free Medical Clinic, Michigan
This clinic was set up in 1991 to serve the needs of the employed uninsured in Flint, Michigan, who do not quality for health insurance or government programs. The project focuses on early screening, treatment, and health education for female patients at risk for vitamin D deficiency.

Go out for a Run, (GO FAR), North Carolina
This program, started by a PA who is the director of student health at High Point University in North Carolina, teaches elementary school children the benefits of exercise, good nutrition, and the importance of having good character. The 10-week program includes teaching physical activity and healthy eating habits and raising the awareness of obesity.

Metabolic Syndrome Program, Nebraska
A PA administered this three-tiered disease prevention and risk-reduction approach to addressing lifestyle characteristics that contribute to metabolic syndrome.

Buddy Support to Increase Physical Activity in African-American Women, Ohio
A PA recruited African-American women from a Midwest Ohio community to test the use of social support to increase physical activity. The women received nutritional education, weight loss information, and advice on how to increase physical activity. The PA Foundation grant was used to purchase pedometers.

2004

The Diabetes Prevention Project, Texas
This project provided monthly educational diabetes prevention lectures held at local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics, along with a follow-up newsletter for ten months.

Champaign County Health Screening Initiative, Illinois
This initiative screened for hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia in minority populations within Champaign County, Illinois -- a county which has higher prostate cancer, heart disease, and infant mortality rates than the national average, and the poverty rate is 16 percent higher than the national average.

SCORES, Portland, Oregon
Sideline Concussion Occurance, Risk, and Evaluation Study (SCORES) was a one-year pilot study in Portland, Oregon, to determine the incidence magnitude and cognitive deficit attributed to mild head injury among high school football players.

Attaining Wellness through Education and Exercise, South Carolina
This project integrated weekly exercise with educational topics like diabetes, obesity, smoking cessation, and mental well-being.

Grace Community Health care Project, Texas
The Grace Community Health Care Project is an independent, faith-based, non-for-profit organization established to assist medically underserved residents of rural east Texas region. The project operates medical, eye, and dental clinics to serve the uninsured working poor, using a small sliding scale fee.

San Joaquin Student Society Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Project, California
This project developed and implemented three community-oriented health promotion and disease prevention projects. The three projects focused on three major health concerns: childhood obesity, diabetes, and cervical cancer.

2003

Reclaim Your Name Identity Restoration Project, Texas
This project was an identity restoration effort which targeted the homeless population of San Antonio, Texas. PA students assisted individuals without identification, who are seeking medical care and employment, in completing the process to access a birth certificate, Texas Drivers License or identification card, and/or a Social Security card.

Norman County Community Health Fair, Minnesota
This project was created to increase public awareness of preventable health disorders such as osteoporosis, COPD, asthma, and cancer screenings. Various health care providers provided prostate screening, blood pressure checks, and herb and over the counter medication counseling, smoking cessation education, vision and hearing screening, and education on immunizations.  

Neighborhood-based Clinic Intervention through Early/Family Literacy, Virginia
Through this project, books were given to mothers at every well baby/child visit beginning at six months. Mothers were encouraged to read to their children. By the end of the first year, 500 low-income children and 300 mothers had participated in the program.

The Effects of Early Patient Education on Immunization Rates of Infants in Galveston County, Texas
PA students were assigned to provide patient education to parents prior to discharge from the newborn nursery. The education included the recommended schedule of vaccines, the necessity of completing the vaccination series, and the availability of community resources to help ensure that all children can be vaccinated.

 Youth Obesity Task Force, North Carolina
This pilot program was designed to fight obesity in children age 10 to 18. Participating PAs and other health care providers identified obese children and at-risk children during routine office visits. Once identified, the children and their families were invited to participate in an individualized 12-week program integrating nutrition, behavioral, and fitness counseling. The program also planned additional follow-up and maintenance programs for participants.

Implementing Dental Screening Exams & Fluoride Varnishes, Washington
This project provided oral health screening to low-income children from infancy up to age 19 as well as application of fluoride varnished three times per year.

Diabetes Collaborative Group, Washington
The project developed patient education materials to assist in counseling patients in controlling their diabetes.

Heart-Safe Neighborhood/Community Alert Response Team (CART) Project, New York
The CART project was created to establish the development of “Heart-Safe” neighborhoods and to strengthen the “chain of survival” in sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) situations (early 911 access, early CPR, early defibrillation, and early advanced care). This project trained residents in specific geographic locations in the skills of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator use.

Diabetes Education, Washington
This project was designed to help low-income urban patients without health insurance better control their diabetes through self-monitoring of blood glucose.

Florida Citrus Sports Foundation, Florida
The foundation sponsors an annual summer camp open to economically disadvantaged children in the Central Florida area. Prior to being accepted into the camp, each child must undergo a complete physical exam. Numerous PA volunteers are involved in this project.

Literacy Enhancement for a Detroit Public School, Michigan
Students from the Wayne State University Department of PA Studies partnered with a Detroit public elementary school in an after-school tutoring program for disadvantaged children.

Students in the Community Student-run Clinic,Washington
This student-initiated public service project focused on developing and maintaining a free clinic to medically underserved communities in Seattle.

The Medical Evaluation of the Rural Volunteer Fireman, Iowa
This project sought to identify health issues that might place firemen at risk and to educate these volunteer firemen in terms of prevention.