NINE ECU MEDICAL STUDENTS
CHOSEN FOR N.C. SCHWEITZER FELLOWSHIP
Nine students of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University have been chosen as North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows for 2005-06. In total, 22 North Carolina students in schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry and public health were selected to implement their 16 proposals to improve the health of North Carolinians.
The N.C. Schweitzer Fellows Program is entering its 12th year. Each fellow works with a local community agency to carry out a project that contributes at least 200 hours of direct service. The fellows also plan symposia highlighting health issues of concern to communities.
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship continues the legacy of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who is viewed as one of the great humanitarians of the 20th century. The fellowship was founded in 1940 to support the work of Schweitzer in Lambaréné, Gabon, during World War II. Since that time, the fellowship has continued to support the hospital there as well as other programs and began sponsoring local programs to address unmet health care and social needs in the United States.
Schweitzer fellows are chosen on a competitive basis from student applicants in a variety of health-related fields, including medicine, nursing, public health, social work, and law, and they continue their conventional professional training while participating in the entry year of the Schweitzer Fellows Program.
This year's fellows are from the Brody School of Medicine second-year class and are as follows with a description of their community service projects: --Yvonne Ator, a native of Greensboro, will implement an HIV/AIDS Prevention through Awareness, Counseling and Testing program. The campaign will strive to raise awareness of the HIV epidemic in Pitt County, to provide counseling and to implement the new HIV rapid testing procedure.
"I'm excited about my project because we will be taking the tests to the people and giving results the same day in an attempt to stop HIV in its tracks via reducing risky behaviors and empowering people to live healthy lives and take advantage of community resources," Ator said. "My project will focus on populations that are falling through the cracks in the fight against AIDS, the so-called 'disenfranchised' of our society. My population will include the community shelters, soup kitchens, rehab center and domestic violence shelters."
She has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ator has a deep interest in rural health and international health issues and plans to become a pediatrician after medical school.
--A native of Plymouth, Jacob Cuellar will lead "Hearts N' Parks: Salud para su Corazon," a cardiovascular disease prevention initiative for 80 to 100 Hispanic children 6 to 12 years old enrolled in Pitt County schools.
"'Salud para su Corazon' is a fun, enriching summer youth program that is aimed at increasing the awareness of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, such as being overweight or physically inactive, by demonstrating ways to adopt healthy lifestyle changes to Hispanic children," he said. "This program will immerse many Hispanic children in an environment that supports and encourages a healthy lifestyle and increased physical activity in order to prevent cardiovascular disease."
Cuellar formed a planning committee for his project, including the Pitt County Health Department, the Local Physical Activity and Nutrition group, Nutrition Partners and Health Promotion of Greenville. He will use the CATCH Kids Club material, which is a culturally appropriate modification of the curriculum from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health from the University of Texas.
Cuellar has an undergraduate degree from Duke University. He is also an active member of the N.C. Society of Hispanic Professionals and involved in the group's "Stay in School" campaign targeted at Hispanic students and their parents.
--Jessica Flynn will educate senior adults about new Medicare Part-D prescription benefit and how it will specifically affect them.
"The target audience is anyone on Medicare," she said. "I hope to reach them through the ECU Geriatrics Center, church groups and the Council on Aging."
She added: "The Medicare Modernization Act drug package officially begins in January 2006, but its effects and benefits will last for years to come. If seniors understand the implications of the law from the beginning, they will be better equipped for future enrollment periods and also in a better position to understand future updates of the MMA."
A native of Burnsville, Flynn has an undergraduate degree from Mars Hill College. While at ECU, she has volunteered at the Greenville Community Shelter Clinic and Habitat for Humanity.
--Michael Gwaltney and Joel Chisholm will implement a stroke education program called Stroke Smart that will focus on minority groups in Eastern North Carolina. The program will intervene through local churches and the HealthAssist medical clinics.
"The goal of the Stroke Smart program is to educate the public about reducing stroke risk and early recognition of stroke signs and symptoms," Gwaltney said. "Our audience will consist mainly of the underserved minority population of eastern North Carolina. We will specifically target the African-American and Latino populations of eastern North Carolina. Data has shown that not only do the citizens of eastern North Carolina face a greater risk of stroke when compared to the nation as a whole, but the risk is greater here than in any other area of the state."
A native of Weaverville, Gwaltney earned his undergraduate degree from Mars Hills College. And in addition to his medical degree, he is also pursuing a master of public health degree at ECU.
Chisholm, a native of Asheville, also earned his undergraduate degree from Mars Hills College. He is the president of the Brody School of Medicine chapter of the Association of Native American Medical Students.
--Steven Manning and Cindy Johns will lead the "Obediah Project," which stands for obesity, diabetes and Hobgood.
"We will be providing diabetes and obesity education to the resident of Hobgood at the Thomas Shields Community Center," Manning said. "We will give weekly presentations on proper nutrition, physical activity and other issues related to diabetes and obesity."
They also plan to provide weekly home visits to interested people for more specific education and information on diabetes and obesity and to hold monthly clinics at the Shields Community Center. Along with having a physician available at the clinic, they will also have undergraduate students of the North Carolina Student Rural Health Coalition involved.
"This project actually started with our involvement in the NCSRHC when we were undergraduate students at ECU," Manning said. "In June 1999, I had the opportunity to help start this clinic in Hobgood. At each clinic, we provide a general screening that includes height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, vision acuity and blood glucose levels.
"For years, we have worked to get a physician involved with the clinic in order to provide comprehensive medical care. Finally, with the aid of this project, we will be able to accomplish some of the many goals we set years ago," he said.
The Hobgood Health Clinic is held the first Saturday of every month at the Thomas Shields Community Center.
A native of Williamston, Manning earned his undergraduate degree from ECU. Johns, originally of Waycross, Ga., also earned her undergraduate degree from ECU.
--Virginia Stewart will implement a bilingual health education program for Latinos and screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer and diabetes in Pitt County.
Stewart's project, "LUPAS: Luchando por la Salud" (Striving for Health), will use existing community resources to improve discrepancies in health care within the Hispanic community through three main goals: education, enrollment in health insurance programs, and direct medical care and disease screenings.
The education component consists of a series of interactive lectures designed and delivered by Stewart in Spanish to target Latinos living in Pitt Country. Lectures, pamphlets and didactic materials will cover a variety of health topics including breast cancer, motor vehicle safety, diabetes awareness, dental hygiene, maternal health and pre-natal care, disaster preparedness and first aid, she said.
At certain lectures, free health screenings will be offered. Latinos lacking health insurance who are in need of medical care or more advanced disease screenings will be referred to Pitt County Health Department or Pitt County Care, a free clinic for uninsured individuals and families. Those eligible will be enrolled in health insurance programs. Pitt County Care is staffed on a voluntary basis by local physicians and students from the Brody School of Medicine and ECU School of Nursing, Stewart said.
Videotapes of LUPAS lectures will be made for the purpose of educating patients at Pitt County Care Clinic.
"In addition to the health topics covered by my program, the manual will include Medical Spanish vocabulary, basic grammar rules, common phrases and mistakes to avoid so a health educator who is not a native speaker can build their Spanish skills," said Stewart, who is also fluent in Spanish. She served as a health extensionist volunteer in the Peace Corps in Honduras from 2001 to 2003.
A native of Bahama, Stewart earned her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves as a volunteer Spanish translator for the Pitt County Care clinic and as a fencing coach for the ECU Club Fencing team and Greenville Parks and Recreation youth program.
--A native of Pembroke, Shelly Strickland will conduct a four-week summer day camp for Native American elementary school students in Robeson County. The project, "Improving our Future by Moving Through our Past," will promote healthy eating habits and physical activity.
"The program will work to restore pride in the students' ancestry and teach them a healthier way of living," Strickland said. "The parents will be involved as well by being made aware of the importance of leading by example in terms of eating habits and physical activity."
The camp participants will be involved in nutritional studies, educational sessions about diseases associated with obesity and discussions about Native American culture and history.
"To promote self-esteem while teaching the importance of healthy eating habits and physical activity, I plan to educate the youth about the lifestyles our ancestors led and to show them that by using the teachings of our elders as our foundation, we, too, are able to achieve the same type of healthy, well-balanced lifestyles," she said.
Strickland has an undergraduate degree from the North Carolina State University. She has served as an ambassador for the Lumbee tribe and the seven other American Indian tribes of North Carolina for eight years. In this role, she speaks to groups about Indian culture, especially the Lumbee tribe.
Media Contact: Jeannine Manning Hutson
(252) 744-2481, hutsonj@mail.ecu.edu
