INSIDE  Student  Spotlight  pages  2-­‐3  Faculty  Spotlight  page  4  Community  Partner  Corner  page  5  UMed  Survey  Outcomes  page  6    

Fall      2011  

The  annual  UMed  Bus  Tour  took  place  on  August  20,  2011.  This  year’s  theme  was  “Health  Profiles  of  Chicago  Communities”.  Doctors  Arthur  and  Claire  Kohrman  provided  knowledgeable  narration  as  students  toured  multiple  city  neighborhoods  and  partner  sites.      The  tour  travelled  through  UIC/Little  Italy,  East  Garfield  Park,  West  Town,  Humboldt  Park,  Ukrainian  Village,  through  the  loop  and  along  scenic  Lake  Shore  Drive,  then  toured  Pilsen,  Little  Village,  the  Union  Stockyards,  Bronzeville  and  finally  North  Lawndale.  Participants  were  struck  by  the  rich  history  and  diverse  cultural  and  socioeconomic  factors  that  influence  these  Chicago  neighborhoods.      Some  of  the  tour  highlights  were  stops  at  UMed  community  partner  sites.  Students  were  able  to  learn  about  the  “Healthy  Beat”  program  at  Deborah’s  Place  that  M3s  Meena  Chelvakumar  and  Brian  Bamberger  created  in  conjunction  with  homeless  women  in  the  East  Garfield  Park  community.  Students  also  heard  from  CommunityHealth  partner,  Rebecca  Calendo,  about  how  students  are  developing  a  “train  the  trainer”  curriculum  for  the  diverse  population  served  by  this  free  clinic.  The  tour  then  made  its  way  to  Humboldt  Park,  where  Jaime  Delgado  of  the  Diabetes  Empowerment  Center  (DEC)  spoke  to  students  about  fitness  and  nutrition  classes  that  address  the  high  risk  of  Diabetes  in  this  largely  Puerto  Rican  community.  While  at  DEC,  students  also  heard  from  Juan  Calderone  about  HIV  prevention  and  treatment  initiatives  at  VIDA-­‐SIDA.  Students  were  then  able  to  sample  some  delicious  Mexican  fare,  a  Chicago  specialty,  at  Tecalitlan  restaurant.      After  lunch,  the  tour  headed  to  Little  Village  to  get  an  explanation  of  how  the  coal  fired  plant  is  affecting  health  outcomes  from  LVEJO  member  Michael  Pitula.  The  tour  then  continued  to  North  Lawndale  where  students  were  able  to  tour  the  Lawndale  Christian  Health  Center  and  hear  from  Dr.  Kara  Greeley  about  health  center  initiatives.  M3  Carmen  Cancino  met  up  at  LCHC  to  discuss  the  “Young  Doctors”  program,  her  longitudinal  community  rotation  with  fellow  M3,  Anne  Jennings.      Students  really  enjoyed  the  bus  tour  and  the  opportunity  to  learn  more  about  Chicago  and  UMed’s  incredible  community  partners.  The  tour  illustrated  the  importance  of    “preparing  physician-­‐leaders  to  serve  urban  underserved  communities".    

UMed class of 2015, program staff, and Drs. Art and Claire Kohrman

UMed  Bus  Tour:  health  profiles  of  Chicago  communities  

       2011-­‐2012  UMed  Community  Partners:    Westside  Health  Authority    Diabetes  Empowerment  Center    VIDA/SIDA    Community  Health    Erie  Family  Health  Clinic    UIC  Prep    Lawndale  Community  Church    Mujeres  Latinas  en  Accion    Deborah’s  Place          

Learning  through  Community  Interaction  By:  Adrienne  Baksh  –  M1    I’ve  always  been  involved  in  community  service  projects-­‐  even  as  far  back  as  elementary  school-­‐  so  it  was  only  natural  for  me  to  include  the  underserved  into  my  medical  training.  I  was  delighted  to  discover  that  UIC  offered  the  Urban  Medicine  curriculum;  it  seemed  like  the  perfect  opportunity  to  apply  acquired  skills  to  serving  my  community  and  become  reacquainted  with  the  people  of  Chicago.  I  am  already  learning  about  so  many  things-­‐  outside  of  biomedical  textbooks  and  even  health  insurance  -­‐  that  create  barriers  for  patients  obtaining  good  health.    Inspiration  comes  from  everywhere.    During  my  first  hospital  visit  last  week,  I  met  

a  65-­‐year  old  woman  with  health  insurance  who  had  multiple  hospitalizations  through  the  ER  because  she  can  never  get  a  timely  appointment.    Just  the  other  day,  I  had  a  conversation  with  a  Brighton  Park  resident  who  explained  to  me  his  perspectives  on  Mexican/Mexican-­‐American  health.    He  told  me  that  many  Latinos  wait  until  the  last  minute  to  get  health  services,  and  some  don’t  go  to  see  a  doctor  for  fearing  discovery  of  their  citizenship  status.    I  explained  doctor-­‐patient  confidentiality  to  him  and  talked  about  the  Mexican  diet.    In  those  5  minutes,  I  gained  a  lot  of  insight  that  wasn’t  in  my  textbooks,  but  in  a  chance  meeting.    That’s  why  I  love  being  here  in  Chicago-­‐  there’s  inspiration  and  information  everywhere!  

UMed  Provides  Skills  to  Forge  Strong  Community  Partnerships  By:  Darcy  Benedict  -­‐  M2    For  me,  I  see  UMed  as  providing  a  laboratory  in  which  to  develop  the  skills  needed  to  forge  strong  community  partnerships  and  launch  real  life  healthcare  interventions.  Working  directly  with  underserved  populations  will  continue  to  inform  my  perspectives  on  the  most  relevant  healthcare  issues  within  these  communities,  allowing  me  to  provide  more  patient-­‐centered  care  and  be  a  better  advocate  for  health  equity.  In  my  vision,  medicine  is  a  humanitarian  pursuit  within  a  broader  social  context;  through  UMed,  I  intend  to  unite  dedicated  medical  practice  with  community  outreach,  research  and  advocacy  to  serve  the  needs  of  diverse  patients  and  the  broader  community  in  the  best  traditions  of  the  medical  profession.    

“In  my  vision,  medicine  is  a  humanitarian  pursuit  within  a  broader  social  context.”  

“I  am  already  learning  about  so  many  things  –  outside  of  biomedical  textbooks  and  even  health  insurance-­‐  that  create  barriers  for  patients  obtaining  good  health.”  

Ending  the  Cycle  of  Domestic  Abuse  By:  Yury  Parra  –  M3    My  longitudinal  Community  Rotation  involves  training  hair  stylists  to  recognize  signs  of  domestic  violence  in  their  clients  and  refer  them  to  the  resources  offered  by  Mujeres  Latinas  en  Accion.  The  training  happens  during  an  hour  and  a  half  seminar  that  is  offered  in  Spanish  since  the  target  population  is  Pilsen.      I  became  interested  in  doing  something  about  domestic  violence  after  meeting  some  domestic  violence  survivors  and  learning  about  the  barriers  they  have  to  overcome  in  order  to  seek  help.    

UMed  and  this  project  have  strongly  influenced  me.  They  have  reassured  me  that  I  want  to  be  an  advocate  for  my  patients  and,  and  that  I  want  to  continue  to  play  an  active  role  in  addressing  social  issues  that  affect  health.    

A  Passion  for  Social  Justice  and  Working  with  the  Underserved  By:  Jeremy  Howe  –  M4      I  feel  that  one  of  the  greatest  benefits  of  being  in  the  Urban  Medicine  program  is  being  connected  to  like-­‐minded  individuals  in  my  medical  school  class  who  share  my  passion  for  social  justice  and  working  with  underserved  populations.  I  also  feel  thankful  for  the  seminar  series  which  UMed  provided  during  my  first  2  years  of  medical  school,  a  time  when  many  individual  who  have  a  passion  for  community  medicine  feel  a  strong  

disconnect  between  the  education  they  are  receiving  and  the  career  goals  to  which  they  aspire.    

“[We]  train  hair  stylists  to  recognize  signs  of  domestic  violence  in  their  clients.”    

“One  of  the  greatest  benefits  of  being  in  the  UMed  program  is  being  connected  to  like-­‐minded  individuals.”  

Meet  UMed  Faculty  Member  William  C.  Kling      Bill  Kling  is  an  attorney  and  public  policy  expert  with  over  20  years  experience  in  the  public  and  non-­‐profit  sectors.  He  currently  has  an  appointment  with  the  UIC  School  of  Public  Health,  Health  Policy  and  Administration  division,  where  he  teaches  policy  and  leadership  courses.  Mr.  Kling  also  serves  as  a  senior  research  scientist  for  UIC,  University  of  Illinois  Extension,  and  the  University  of  Illinois  at  Urbana-­‐Champaign  Office  of  Sustainability.  He  received  his  BA  degree  in  economics  from  the  University  of  Colorado  and  his  JD  degree  from  the  Illinois  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT)-­‐Chicago  Kent  College  of  Law  with  a  Certificate  in  Environmental  and  Energy  Law  and  Policy.  

Throughout  his  career,  Mr.  Kling  has  provided  advice  and  counsel  to  educational  institutions,  local  governments  and  non-­‐profit  organizations.  For  the  past  several  years,  Mr.  Kling  

has  been  engaged  in  public  policy  work  in  the  areas  of  childhood  obesity  prevention,  food  systems,  community  preparedness  and  youth  workforce  development,  including  work  on  the  2007  Farm  Bill.  His  action-­‐oriented  public  policy  work  has  been  funded  by  the  W.K.  Kellogg  Foundation,  the  Robert  Woods  Johnson  Foundation,  the  Otho  S.A.  Sprague  Memorial  Institute,  and  the  Northeast  Midwest  Institute,  among  others.  He  has  provided  policy  consultancy  to  the  Consortium  to  Lower  Obesity  in  Chicago  Children,  Illinois  ResourceNet,  the  Institute  for  Community  Resource  Development,  and  the  Southern  Sustainable  Agriculture  Working  Group.  

Mr.  Kling  is  active  in  many  professional  development  and  community  activities.  He  speaks  and  writes  regularly  on  a  variety  of  topics.  Mr.  Kling  has  been  an  adjunct  professor  of  law  at  IIT-­‐Chicago  Kent  College  of  Law  for  over  10  years,  teaching  a  course  he  developed  entitled  “Legislative  Advocacy.”  He  presently  serves  on  The  Central  States  SER  Board  of  Directors,  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  Council  on  Economic  Education  (ICEE),  The  Advisory  Board  for  the  Southern  Sustainable  Agriculture  Working  Group,  and  on  the  boards  of  the  Sports  is  Education  Foundation  and  the  Illinois  Interagency  Nutrition  Council  (INC).  He  was  one  of  five  attorneys  serving  as  counsel  to  Governor  George  Ryan’s  Commission  to  Rewrite  the  Illinois  School  Code.  He  was  also  on  Governor  Rod  Blagojevich’s  Education  Transition  Team  and  chaired  the  Youth  Violence  Subcommittee.  As  a  parent,  he  has  also  chaired  his  local  Parent  Teachers  Association’s  legislative  committees  for  

several  years.   Bill  Kling  leads  a  UMed  M2  seminar  about  health  policy  

This  year  UMed  hosted  its  first  ever  community  partner  fair.  This  was  an  event  that  brought  together  students  and  community  organizations  in  an  effort  to  foster  sustainable  community  partnerships  and  health  initiatives.  The  event  included  9  community  partners  that  serve  a  variety  of  diverse  communities  and  causes.  Organizations  included  Little  Village  Environmental  Justice  Organization,  

Erie  Family  Health  Center,  Diabetes  Empowerment  Center,  VIDA  SIDA,  Deborah’s  Place,  Westside  Health  Authority,  Lawndale  Community  Church,  Angela  Odoms-­‐Young’s  nutrition  initiatives  and  CommunityHealth.  Students  were  able  to  hear  about  mission,  vision  and  goals  from  representatives  of  each  of  community  organizations/initiatives.  After  hearing  from  all  of  the  partners,  students  were  able  to  prioritize  which  organizations  they  wanted  to  establish  longitudinal  community  rotations  with.  Over  the  next  3  years  students  will  either  establish  public  health  based  projects  or  build  on  existing  ones  in  partnership  with  many  of  the  organizations  listed  above  and  with  their  fellow  UMed  classmates.  At  the  end  of  4  years  UMed  projects  will  culminate  with  a  grant  proposal,  a  white  paper  or  a  research  proposal  based  on  the  work  students  do  with  these  organizations.  The  hope  is  that  students  will  be  able  to  gain  valuable  community  health  skills  while  also  providing  beneficial  support  to  these  community  organizations/initiatives.    

Community  Partner  Corner  

UMed  Community  Partner  Fair  

Diabetes  Empowerment  Center  representative  Jaime  Delgado  discusses  community  initiatives  with  M1s  Laura  Johnson  (left)  and  Shintau  Lin  (right)  

UMed  Community  Advisory  Board  

This  fall  a  new  UMed  initiative,  development  of  a  community  advisory  board,  was  launched.  UMed  believes  that  the  expertise  and  advice  offered  by  community  organizations,  leaders  and  experienced  academic  professionals  will  contribute  to  new  vision  and  creativity  for  UMed  programming.  Representatives  from  Westside  Health  Authority,  Diabetes  Empowerment  Center  and  Deborah’s  Place  attended  the  inaugural  meeting.  Individual  members  included  Cody  McSellers-­‐McCray,  Jaime  Delgado  and  Antoinette  Price.  Even  though  this  was  the  first  UMed  advisory  meeting,  members  offered  insightful  feedback  and  powerful  suggestions  for  program  improvement.  Members  proposed  it  would  be  helpful  to  share  resources  with  one  another.  In  order  to  do  so  a  shared  space  was  created  online.  UMed  hopes  to  expand  on  this  initiative  moving  forward.  The  next  community  advisory  board  meeting  is  scheduled  for  February  and  plans  to  include  more  members  in  addition  to  the  three  initial  participants.     Antoinette  Price   Jaime  Delgado   Cody  McSellers-­‐McCray  

 

(1)  Very  important  40%  (2)  Important  32%  (3)  Neutral  17%  (4)  Not  important  6%  (5)  Not  at  all  important  5%  

This  fall  UMed  distributed  its  first  online  survey  to  all  Urban  Medicine  students  in  order  to  gauge  what  they  were  looking  for  in  the  UIC  College  of  Medicine  as  well  as  the  UMed  program,  and  how  influential  UMed  was  when  considering  where  to  attend  medical  school.  With  a  response  rate  of  66%  (63  students),  72%  of  students  mentioned  that  UMed  was  a  very  important  (40%)  or  important  (32%)  factor  in  their  consideration  to  attend  UIC  College  of  Medicine.  93%  of  students  that  identified  programs  similar  to  UMed,  classified  UMed  as  their  first  choice  program.    Students  mentioned  that  the  topics  of  health  disparities  and  inequities,  provider  cultural  competency,  health  policy  and  administration,  and  community  engagement  were  of  critical  importance  to  address  in  the  medical  school  curriculum.    

Using  Data  to  Assess  Student  Motivations  

Importance  of  UMed  for  enrollment  in  UIC  COM  

Response  Legend  

Urban  Medicine  Program    College  of  Medicine    University  of  Illinois  150  College  of  Medicine  West  1853  W.  Polk  Street  Chicago,  IL  60612    Phone    312-­‐996-­‐6920    Fax  312-­‐996-­‐9922    Email    UMed@uic.edu  

Program  Staff  Director:    Dr.  Jorge  Girotti  jorgeg@uic.edu    Assistant  Director:  Dr.  Joanna  Michel  Jmiche3@uic.edu  

“Educating  physician  leaders  to  serve  urban  communities”  

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