HC
Uploaded byHyunouk Hong DO, MPH, CMQ
386 views

REACH Press Packet

This document summarizes the work of two UMDNJ medical students, Farhad Modarai and Hyun Ouk Hong, who created Project REACH to provide health education and community projects for middle school students in Camden, NJ. Project REACH received a national grant and works with the Camden school district. It uses problem-based learning activities where students role-play as doctors to learn about health issues affecting their community like smoking, diabetes and hypertension. The goal is to educate the youth while empowering them to address local health problems.

Embed presentation

Download to read offline
A MAGAZINE FOR THE UMDNJ COMMUNITY On Tour at Stratford School of Osteopathic Medicine — Tops in Geriatric Medicine School of Osteopathic Medicine — Tops in Geriatric Medicine STUDENTS AND THE POWEROF COMMUNITY LOOKING TO SOUTH JERSEY’S FUTURE Camden COUNTS Camden COUNTS FALL/WINTER 2009.10 On Tour at Stratford THE UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY UMDNJMAGAZINE
f a l l / w i n t e r 2 0 0 9 . 1 0 3 iddle school is prime time in Camden,” notes Farhad Modarai (left), one of the SOM students who have gathered to talk informally about their vision for Camden’s future and the part they hope to play in shaping it. “Prime time to become runners for the drug deal- ers,” he adds. His classmate Hyun Ouk Hong shares another disturbing statistic: 10- to 12-year-olds in Camden can look ahead to a threefold increase in juvenile arrests by the time they turn 13. So the two decided that something needed to be done, and that they would do it. Their target would be the youth of Camden. Modarai knows Camden; he did his undergraduate work at Rutgers-Camden with a major in urban studies and biology and he was a mentor at a Camden school. Hong was president of the student council at Stevens Institute and has a long-standing interest in community outreach. They put their heads — and their passions — together, and Project REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden’s Health) was created. With a little research, the duo discovered that while community service was technically a requirement for Camden middle school students, the schools were often at a loss as to how to go about it. They designed Project REACH to fill this gap. “We will go to the students and say, ‘you take control,’” Modarai explains. They plan to have the Camden students become project leaders and the UMDNJ students the “team members.” The goal is to “create grass roots leaders,” Hong says, “to teach them how to organize their own projects.” Both are firm believers in “the power of community.” Both young men have a highly developed social con- sciousness. Modarai attends city hall meetings to be sure that the city “treats the locals fairly” amid the rush to build luxury townhouses. The two recall a visit to a Camden farmers’ market to do blood pressure screening only to find a greater need to treat the infected arms of IV drug users. Their enthusiasm has built a REACH club, now with 55 members, open to all UMDNJ students in South Jersey. The first REACH projects will be built around four areas: hypertension, teen pregnancy and HIV awareness, smoking and alcohol, and nutrition. The student group works under the guidance of SOM’s Department of Family Medicine. The department chair, Carman Ciervo, DO, will serve as the project’s administrative officer and medical reviewer for the learning modules. Modarai and Hong are modest — yet proud — about their own role in this ambitious undertaking. Both received Albert Schweitzer Fellowships, a program that supports emerging professionals in translating their idealism into action. The project also earned a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges. They laughingly recount how they put together a budget itemizing everything from paperclips to post-it notes. They’re sure that it was obvious the grant applications were student-initiated and this turned out to be their strength. “I waited two years before I started med- ical school,” Modarai says. “But I came because I believe that physicians have powerful voices that should be raised to combat social injustice and advocate for the under- served.” He hopes to increase the volume. . M The powerof community “ W O R D S B Y B A R B A R A H U R L E Y / P H O T O G R A P H B Y J O H N E M E R S O N S P O T L I G H T O N S O U T H J E R S E Y
A monthly update from Thomas A. Cavalieri, DO, FACOI, FACP, AGSF, Dean December 2009 Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, This newsletter generally highlights our School’s academic and clinical accomplishments; however, as the year draws to a close, we like to take note of the many ways in which we serve our communities, as well as some of the ways in which the UMDNJ-SOM family celebrates this special time of year. The holiday season is a time to pause and reflect upon the past year, and, as I do, my overwhelming feeling is the pride I take in knowing that UMDNJ-SOM students, faculty and staff have made such a difference for so many. UMDNJ-SOM STUDENTS AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS SERVE THE COMMUNITY Project H.O.P.E., Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of Camden's homeless, and assist men and women in their transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. The Bergen Lanning Health Center provides health care, social services and mental health counseling to vulnerable adults that do not have other health care options. This past summer, Jennifer Mojica ‘12, worked at Bergen Lanning Health Center, where she was involved in multiple projects such as performing community outreach, creating educational literature and brochures, writing requests for donations, providing transportation to the local food pantry and beautifying the clinic grounds. Her main project in the health center was to create a patient orientation handbook, which presently serves as a guide for new Project H.O.P.E. patients on their first visit to the clinic. In the community, her main role was to perform outreach to raise awareness of Project H.O.P.E., Inc. and to actively seek out individuals who may need health care services or shelter. This was accomplished through use of the mobile health van, organizing and participating in community functions, and identifying those in need on the streets of Camden. Project REACH, established by Farhad Modarai ‘12 and Hyun Ouk Hong ‘12, is an integrated, multi-disciplinary initiative for Camden youth that focuses on health education and community activism. In October 2009, the REACH project officially started, in conjunction with East Camden Middle School (ECMS). The first learning session included 12 ECMS students, led by six UMDNJ-SOM medical students. The primary objectives are to facilitate interactive problem-based learning (PBL) modules to teach preventive health to the middle school students. With unique Project Management workshops designed at an age- appropriate level, REACH not only educates the students regarding health issues, but also trains them to initiate, organize, troubleshoot and execute projects as well. Most importantly, the modules empower students to take control of their personal health, as well as the health of the community. Project REACH was one of only seven programs nationally that was honored with a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Farhad and Hyun also both received Albert Schweitzer Fellowships in recognition of their endeavors. Project Revitalizing Education & Advancing Camden’s Health (Project REACH) Project H.O.P.E., Bergen Lanning Health Center (l-r) Komal Ahuja ‘13, William Lubinsky ‘13, Jason Kahn ‘13, Natalie Hyppolite ‘13, Luigi Cendana ‘13, Johnathon LaBaron ‘13, Malasa Jois ‘13, Farhad Modarai ‘12 and Hyun Hong ‘12. (l-r) Christian Spencer (UMDNJ student - physician assistant program), Vona Johnson (Project H.O.P.E. outreach worker), and Jennifer Mojica ‘12 marketing the services of Project H.O.P.E. at a local farmers’ market in Camden.
SEPTEMBER 2009! A L B E R T S C H W E I T Z E R F E L L O W S H I P! GREATER PHILADELPHIA Camden AHEC Farmer’s Market largely caters to underserved populations. In addition to checking blood pressures and blood glucose levels, the Schweitzer Fellows led the following prevention workshops for over 100 Camden residents: Usha Kumar and Alex Potashinsky provided one-on-one counseling on various aspects of prevention pertaining to wound care. These involved discussions on limiting drug use, developing better hygiene (along with dispersing basic hygiene supplies such as soap and nail clippers), and discussing methods for exercising within the participants’ means. Hyun Ouk Hong led a Fall Prevention Table for the elderly. Hong stated that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls were the leading cause of injury death among older adults. He distributed educational pamphlets provided by the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging and held workshops for participants on tips to prevent falls. Farhad Modarai stated that one major problem in Camden was access to healthy foods. Therefore, he set up a table with educational materials on nutrition and distributed fruits and vegetables. More importantly, Modarai held workshops for residents on how they can eat healthy foods on a workable budget. Valencia Barnes and UMDNJ dentists provided on site oral health/cancer screenings for area residents. They screened children for oral hygiene, tooth irregularities, and other pediatric related dental issues. Adults were also screened for oral cancers, oral hygiene, and tooth decay. Fellows serve Camden Residents at the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Farmer’s Market HYUN OUK HONG UMDNJ FARHAD MODARAI UMDNJ VALENCIA BARNES UMDNJ SERVICE DAY Pictured Above (Left to right): Usha Kumar, Farhad Modarai, Dr. Shawn Kelly, Sirin Ocharoen, Hyun Ouk Hong,Valencia Barnes,Alex Potashinsky USHA KUMAR DREXEL ALEX POTASHINSKY DREXEL
email this print this Share this: digg this! del.icio.us facebook newsvine Press Release Date: 06-05-09 Name: Jerry Carey Phone: 856-566-6171 Email: careyge@umdnj.edu UMDNJ Student Group Receives National Award to Help Camden Teens Stay Healthy STRATFORD - A student group at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine, under the guidance of the school's Department of Family Medicine, has been named one of just seven recipients of a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The grant will support the REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden’s Health) project that will implement youth-initiated community health service projects in Camden and will use a problem-based learning approach to teach preventative health to select groups of Camden middle school students. The grant provides $11,800 for the first year of the project with the potential to receive an additional $17,000 over the next three years. “REACH is an innovative approach to combat the complex, chronic health problems facing Camden residents,” said Dr. Carman Ciervo, chair of the Department of Family Medicine. “In Camden, one in four children is born to a teenage parent and one in four students fails to graduate high school. REACH volunteers from UMDNJ will help Camden middle school students to identify health issues in their own community and to create service projects to address those problems. REACH volunteers will also work to recruit minority students into the health professions.” The UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine is the only osteopathic medical school selected to receive a Caring for Community grant this year. Project REACH will collaborate with a number of other institutions, including the Camden Board of Education, Rutgers University and the Camden Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Second year medical students Hyun Ouk Hong and Farhad Modarai created the REACH program and serve as the administrators for the project’s first year. They will be joined by five other UMDNJ- School of Osteopathic Medicine students on the REACH executive board and more than a dozen other medical school students who will volunteer as mentors for students from the Camden middle school. Dr. Ciervo will serve as the project’s administrative officer and medical reviewer for the problem based learning modules. The UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine is dedicated to providing excellence in medical education, research and health care for New Jersey and the nation. An emphasis on primary health care and community health services reflects the school’s osteopathic philosophy, with centers of excellence that demonstrate its commitment to developing clinically skillful, compassionate and Printer-Friendly Page http://www.umdnj.edu/about/news_events/releases/print.html 1 of 2 6/9/10 3:35 PM
culturally competent physicians from diverse backgrounds, who are prepared to become leaders in their communities. UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/ Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network. Printer-Friendly Page http://www.umdnj.edu/about/news_events/releases/print.html 2 of 2 6/9/10 3:35 PM
Students see doctor's view of health Monday, February 15, 2010 By Carly Romalino cromalino@sjnewsco.com Camden middle school students have been playing doctor. Part of Project REACH, a youth-initiated community health service project, East Camden Middle School students get an up-close look at health problems in their communities and have the chance to enact change. Project REACH was founded by University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medical School students Farhad Modarai and Hyun Ouk Hong during their first year of medical school. "We play doctor from day one in medical school and work through a patient case. We were really excited about this new type of learning because we were never exposed to it before," said Modarai, of Gloucester Township. "It's great to expose kids to this type of learning." Modarai brought the program into Camden City Public Schools in September, and recruited some 20 students to participate in the after-school project. He, and other medical school student volunteers, worked with the students in small groups to create a complete medical history work up for standardized patients he brought to the school. "They get to play doctor, they get to ask questions, and they must understand what the patient is presenting," he said. "We base it on what an actual physician would ask a patient." Then the medical student volunteers act as facilitators to spark conversation to understand the patient's symptoms and the cause for the health problem. "We dive into the topic of smoking, and how it is bad for your health, and we test the students' knowledge area," he said. "Whatever the students don't know, we would come up with learning objectives Ð how the lungs work, and what can go wrong." Modarai said he designed the cases to coincide with the Camden Public School's science class curriculum, so the topics Project REACH covers will help the students with class material. According to Modarai, Camden scored poorly in math and science testing on the annual New Jersey Report Card. "A lot of times the kids say teachers give up on them," he said. "If the teachers aren't enthusiastic about the material, it's hard for the kids to get enthusiastic. But we get excited about it, so it helps." In addition to reinforcing what the students learned during science and health classes, Modarai said one of the objectives is to get the middle-schoolers in touch with common health problems that face their community. Project REACH teaches the students about diabetes, hypertension, and other issues that their family members might have to tackle. "They'll say, ÔOh yeah, my mom has diabetes,' or ÔMy dad has hypertension,' or ÔYeah, my uncle smokes NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-14/12662511... 1 of 2 2/16/10 2:07 PM
in the house.' And then they know how it affects his health and their health," he said. "We wanted to not only do health education, but they thought it would be great if the kids could take their education and put it into power." The spring semester students have a chance to work on service projects that raise awareness of topics ranging from breast cancer and diabetes to sexual and domestic violence, he said. The students are split up into teams and given a project budget of $400 per group that is furnished by several grants the Project REACH founders applied for and received. "One group wanted to focus on abuse, and sexual and domestic violence. They want to set up a club at their school where they can have kids come like a support network for the kids," he said. "We are teaching them a lot of things about money management and project management." Other groups are working on clothing drives, health fairs, community cleanup projects, and even multimedia presentations that will be recorded and posted on YouTube.com. Currently, the 20 students are working to complete their projects, and in the process, they are recruiting more of their friends to join the program and help. Modarai said it's tough balancing his second year of medical school and running Project REACH, but working with the kids is "definitely a great break." "It's a relaxing point in my week," he said. "It kind of reinforces why you went into the profession in the first place." For more information about Project REACH visit www.reach.umdnj.com. ©2010 Gloucester County Times © 2010 NJ.com All Rights Reserved. NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-14/12662511... 2 of 2 2/16/10 2:07 PM
SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Posted on Sun, Apr. 4, 2010 Small steps to improve East Camden By Mike Newall Inquirer Staff Writer Tristan Gant likes bugs. Beetles. Spiders. Butterflies. Anything he can find in the small dirt lot behind the Rite Aid next to where he lives in East Camden. He collects them in Tupperware and sets them on his grandmother's table near the window. There, he examines them with his magnifying glass, takes notes, and compares them with photos from his bug books. Sometimes, he takes his own pictures before letting them go in the lot. "I want to be an animal scientist," he said. Lately, when combing through the lot, Tristan has found it hard to find anything but cockroaches and flies among all the trash, needles, and purple plastic baggies left behind by drug users. Sometimes, he turns over a rock or digs into the ground and finds baggies still filled with drugs. "They bury them and come back in a few hours and dig them back up," he said. When this happens, Tristan watches from behind a piece of wood that separates his yard from the lot and waits till the drug users and "hobos," as he calls them, leave. Then he goes back to looking for bugs. "There used to be more good bugs," he said. "Now there are less better ones and more pests." Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 1 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
The world opens up This fall, Tristan, 12, was walking down a hallway at East Camden Middle School, where he is in the seventh grade, when he saw some friends sitting in Miss Sabb's science classroom. "Come in," a friend told him. It was one of the first meetings of an after-school program run by students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Farhad Modarai, 25, a second-year med student from Gloucester Township, invited Tristan to introduce himself. "I like bugs," Tristan said to the other kids' laughter. Modarai asked Tristan what scared him most about Camden. "The drugs," he said. During a series of sessions throughout the school year, the med students taught the students about drug abuse and smoking, teen pregnancy and STDs, obesity and asthma. They took the students to a 76ers game. It was Tristan's first time. "The Sixers got 106," Tristan said. "The other team got 94." As part of the program, Modarai and his classmate Hyun Hong, 26, asked the students to develop neighborhood health-related projects. One student is designing a cancer-awareness Web site for kids. Others are organizing diabetes screenings. Tristan had his own idea. "He came in here and said he wanted to paint the wall and clean the lot," said Rob Blair, who manages the Rite Aid that Tristan plays behind. Blair thought it was a good idea. "We have a maintenance crew that comes out twice a month, and they have to use blowers to blow away all the drug baggies," he said. "It's a shame." The neighborhood Tristan is short for his age and shy, has pointy bangs, and fidgets with his glasses. "I've been collecting bugs since I was 2," he said. He lives in an apartment above an empty storefront church on Federal Street with his little brother, mother, father, and grandmother. A big oak in Tristan's backyard, sprouting leaves Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 2 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
now, has an old wooden birdhouse and tire swing. Tristan likes playing in his yard with his cocker spaniels, Gizmo and Cosmo, and his guinea pigs, Kirby and Kerry Ann, but the lot behind the Rite Aid used to have grass and small plants that were great for finding bugs. Once, he found a jumping spider. It had long legs and scary eyes. He took it inside. "It was female," he said. "The big white ones are female. The small black ones are male." He put some grass and leaves and lettuce in with the spider, but it wouldn't eat, so he put a bumble bee in, too. "I wanted to see what would happen," he said. "The spider got all still and then jumped on the bee and killed it with its poison. It was scary." The lot behind the Rite Aid is about 60 feet wide. There is a wall and some concrete where Tristan and his brother, Jordan, and his friends Christopher and Jamal play the ball game "suicide." They throw a rubber ball against the wall, and when someone drops it they have to run for the wall for safety. In recent years, the bigger kids have spray-painted the wall with gang graffiti, Tristan said. "Sometimes when you lean against it, the paint gets on your shirt," he said. "The ball gets sticky, too, and there's all this negative stuff and curse words." One time Tristan was catching fireflies when a man dragged a mattress onto the lot and went to sleep. Many of the streets around 27th and Federal are relatively clean and safe, said Dave Garrison a member of District Council Collaborative Board 3, which covers East Camden. But a new drug sect has been gaining ground in the neighborhood, he said. "They are expanding their territory," he said. Tristan measures the growth of the drug gang by the amount of trampled grass and garbage in the lot where he once found so many good bugs. He knows that baby beetles live in the small corner of the lot not littered in trash, and that baby maggots live under the rocks near where the drug baggies cover the ground like confetti. "Gross," he said, kicking at the baggies. Making things better Thursday was the final day before spring break, and Tristan was excited. At dismissal, he and a dozen classmates gathered in Miss Sabb's classroom with the UMDNJ students and Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 3 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
painting supplies. By the time the group made it to the lot, a dozen more neighborhoods kids had joined. Modarai, taking away an afternoon away from his study sessions for the medical boards, handed out paintbrushes, rollers, and gloves, and the kids began to splash yellow paint over the graffiti. "We wanted to teach the kids," he said. "But we also wanted to empower them." Older students, such as eighth grader Nigeria Crump, 13, painted the high portions of the wall, while Tristan and his two young cousins, Sean, 9, and David, 5, stood on their toes. "Get some on the wall, too," Tristan told paint-covered David. Tristan's mom, Shushana, brought out glasses of fruit punch. Modarai rolled a big magnet over the lot (in case of any needles), and the kids raked away the trash. Wearing a fruit-punch mustache and paint-speckled glass, Tristan stood on a big rock. He looked happy. Then his mom called him inside to clean off some of the paint before he came back outside to search for bugs. More Information To learn more about the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Project REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden's Health) and other community health projects for children visit http://reach.umdnj.edu/ Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 856-779-3237 or mnewall@phillynews.com. Find this article at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100404_Small_steps_to_improve_East_Camden.html?viewAll=y&c=y SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 4 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
© Copyright | Philly Online, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Philly Online, LLC is expressly prohibited. Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 5 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT: Patrice Taddonio Communications Specialist The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship 617-667-5628 ptaddoni@bidmc.harvard.edu Two Schweitzer Fellows REACH for a Healthier Camden—And Get Results New Health Intervention Program, “Project REACH,” Empowers Camden’s At-Risk Middle Schoolers Nearly half of Camden, New Jersey’s population lives below the poverty line. In 2006, one out of four children in Camden City was born to a teenager. One in four Camden City high school students does not graduate. But Schweitzer Fellows Hyun Ouk Hong and Farhad Modarai are doing something about it. Galvanized by the social disparities right in their own backyard, these two medical students have launched Project REACH (Revitalizing Education & Advancing Camden's Health). Taking an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach, REACH is a unique health education intervention program aimed at equipping at-risk Camden middle school students with the skills to take control of their own health—and empower their communities to do the same. “Camden middle schoolers’ test scores were below standards, their role models were local gang members, and their overall outlook on their own health was alarming,” says Hong, a medical student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). “We knew we had to provide creative tools to teach the students preventive health education, provide positive mentorship, and ultimately empower them to be leaders for their community.” And that’s exactly what Hong and Modarai have done. With the support of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, a national nonprofit organization that works to address health disparities by developing “leaders in service,” the duo collaborated with Camden community members and launched Project REACH—crafting an interactive problem- based learning (PBL) curriculum on preventive health, complete with unique workshops that support youth- initiated community health service projects, and delivering that curriculum each week to students at East Camden Middle School (ECMS). 1
2 That approach is already paying off. "Project REACH has made me believe I can do things I could not before,” says 12-year old East Camden Middle School student Eduardo Lazo. “My favorite session was when I learned about cancers that can be prevented. After the REACH smoking module, I went home and told my uncle about the dangers of smoking. I scared him and he said he will quit smoking now for his daughter." Having completed the educational component of REACH, Lazo and his peers are now learning project management and brainstorming ideas for service projects. So far, their ideas tackle erasing graffiti, stopping bullying in school, stopping gang violence, helping the homeless, teaching healthy eating, stopping smoking, and cleaning the environment. Hong and Modarai have garnered extraordinary support for Project REACH from the UMDNJ community— several medical students and faculty members sit on the organization’s board, and are committed to sustaining and expanding the program to other Camden middle schools once the duo’s Schweitzer Fellowship year is over. "It is most exciting to see that Farhad Modarai and Hyun Hong have taken such a proactive approach to improve the health of the youth in Camden,” says Dr. Carman A. Ciervo, D.O., FACOFP, Chairman of Family Medicine at UMDNJ School of Medicine (SOM). “UMDNJ-SOM is deeply committed to expand the work of these two student doctors to other efforts that are focused on preventative medicine. This project empowers youth to REACH." “Project REACH is carefully designed to not become a “one-and-done” kind of program,” Hong says, noting that underserved Camden residents have expressed frustrations with research-based projects where an emphasis is placed on gathering data instead of serving the community. “Sustainability has been a critical component throughout the development phase of Project REACH. We hope to continue to establish collaborations, with the hopes of strengthening this community for years down the road.” Indeed, in addition to the support of the Schweitzer Fellowship and UMDNJ, Hong and Modarai earned a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges to support the continued growth and success of Project REACH (http://reach.umdnj.edu/). About The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) Hong and Modarai are two of the nearly 250 graduate students each year who are selected as Schweitzer Fellows. Over the course of a year, on top of their regular medical, nursing, or other health professional school responsibilities, each Schweitzer Fellow must develop and implement a service project of at least 200 hours with a direct and lasting impact on the health of underserved communities.
3 By completing their Schweitzer service project during such a demanding time, Fellows emerge with a blueprint for making service to those in need an enduring part of their “regular life.” Upon completion of their initial year, they join an international alumni network of over 2,000 Schweitzer Fellows for Life—individuals committed to working with the underserved throughout their careers as professionals. “My experience as a Fellow has been priceless,” says Modarai.” Having a support network of passionate students and working professionals that believe in your work is extremely motivating and inspiring. I feel like The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is on the forefront of health care professional education because of its hands-on and interdisciplinary approach.” The Greater Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellows Program, one of eleven U.S. Schweitzer sites, was established in 2006. Under the leadership of Dean David B. Nash, MD, MBA and colleagues at Jefferson School of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, the Greater Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellows Program serves populations in Delaware, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Southern New Jersey. For more information on ASF and its Greater Philadelphia Program, visit www.schweitzerfellowship.org and http://schweitzerfellowship.wordpress.com. To schedule an interview with Hyun Ouk Hong or Farhad Modarai about Project REACH, please contact Patrice Taddonio at 617.667.5628 or ptaddoni@bidmc.harvard.edu.

More Related Content

PDF
Ampul Spring 2016 Final
byHayley Stratton
 
PDF
MPHAnnualReport2013
byRoopsi N
 
DOCX
Lindy Quick PSY400-81 Final Paper
byLindy Quick
 
PDF
Lifestyle and oral health
byAlexander Decker
 
PDF
Final Plans Book Submission
byChristopher Heimrich
 
DOC
Brian_sResume1
byBrian James
 
PPT
2016 Mazda CX-3 SUV Nashville
byNelsonMazda
 
PDF
TeachLulu_FullPackage
byCarley Muller
 
Ampul Spring 2016 Final
byHayley Stratton
 
MPHAnnualReport2013
byRoopsi N
 
Lindy Quick PSY400-81 Final Paper
byLindy Quick
 
Lifestyle and oral health
byAlexander Decker
 
Final Plans Book Submission
byChristopher Heimrich
 
Brian_sResume1
byBrian James
 
2016 Mazda CX-3 SUV Nashville
byNelsonMazda
 
TeachLulu_FullPackage
byCarley Muller
 

Viewers also liked

PDF
GreenDrivingsmall
bySteven Glaser
 
PDF
gazettenet_HMBnetwork
byPatrick Hoff
 
PPT
Subir un archivo
byceliyoxer
 
DOCX
Países miembros de la ONU-Ficha estructural
byRodrigo Cano Aguirre
 
PDF
Behind the Bikeshed | Event Space | Shoreditch | London
byVikki van Someren
 
PPTX
Answering question 1
byChristopher Lynch
 
PDF
Dialogo 2015 proceedings 1
byantoniu-cătălin păştin
 
PDF
ElectusCyberBrochure2016
byAndres Meneses
 
PDF
MANUAL PARCHES CAPTURAS
byMatias Arroyo Gigante
 
PPTX
Lathmar holi
bySareez
 
PPTX
Authenticity of ahadith
byMaheenRaza88
 
PPTX
Tecnalia - 2015/12/11 Feria Bizhirik Erakusketa
byBizhirik
 
PPTX
LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN
byAngelLunaAguilar
 
PPTX
CAREER OPTION after B.Sc.Ag by suresh kumar panda
bysuresh kumar panda
 
PPTX
Wedding Looks for Women
bySareez
 
RTF
2015 sandys resume
bysandy dewitt
 
PDF
Stinkskabe - din sikkerhed i laboratoriet
byJytte Lippert
 
DOCX
Proyecto colaborativo
byyolandagilmarco84
 
PPT
BRANCH BANKING
byNoor ul basar khan
 
GreenDrivingsmall
bySteven Glaser
 
gazettenet_HMBnetwork
byPatrick Hoff
 
Subir un archivo
byceliyoxer
 
Países miembros de la ONU-Ficha estructural
byRodrigo Cano Aguirre
 
Behind the Bikeshed | Event Space | Shoreditch | London
byVikki van Someren
 
Answering question 1
byChristopher Lynch
 
Dialogo 2015 proceedings 1
byantoniu-cătălin păştin
 
ElectusCyberBrochure2016
byAndres Meneses
 
MANUAL PARCHES CAPTURAS
byMatias Arroyo Gigante
 
Lathmar holi
bySareez
 
Authenticity of ahadith
byMaheenRaza88
 
Tecnalia - 2015/12/11 Feria Bizhirik Erakusketa
byBizhirik
 
LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN
byAngelLunaAguilar
 
CAREER OPTION after B.Sc.Ag by suresh kumar panda
bysuresh kumar panda
 
Wedding Looks for Women
bySareez
 
2015 sandys resume
bysandy dewitt
 
Stinkskabe - din sikkerhed i laboratoriet
byJytte Lippert
 
Proyecto colaborativo
byyolandagilmarco84
 
BRANCH BANKING
byNoor ul basar khan
 

Similar to REACH Press Packet

PDF
Résumé Nicholas Kim
byNicholas Kim
 
DOCX
McKenna Resume (1) (1)
byFelicia McKenna
 
PDF
Abbrev CV
byPatti O'Brien-Richardson, PhD, MS. Ed.
 
PDF
F16AbstractBook
byYuqi Zhang
 
PDF
F16BlousteinAbstractBook
byRenee Sheriff
 
PDF
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Fall 2016 Abstract Book
byYuxiao Fu
 
PDF
F16AbstractBook
byXiaotian Zhou
 
PDF
F16AbstractBook
byTan Yingsheng
 
PDF
F16AbstractBook
byJerry Park
 
PDF
F16AbstractBook
byManqi Yang
 
PDF
Stephanie Frimpong Resume 2
byStephanie Frimpong
 
DOCX
JNIResume2016
byJulie Ingoglia
 
DOCX
Resume - Lauren Lugossy
byLauren Lugossy
 
DOCX
resume update
byLouis Cappelli
 
PPTX
Elo powerpoint 1
bytvanoss
 
PDF
2013 Annual VNAHG_
byJesse Dean
 
PDF
Potomac Health Foundation 2017 Orientation Event
byKukua Osei-Gyamfi
 
PPT
Public Libraries Participating in Community Health
byMargot G. Malachowski, MLS
 
DOCX
Resume Kaazim Hasan
byKaazim Hasan
 
PDF
2014 Annual Report
byJason Wurtz
 
Résumé Nicholas Kim
byNicholas Kim
 
McKenna Resume (1) (1)
byFelicia McKenna
 
Abbrev CV
byPatti O'Brien-Richardson, PhD, MS. Ed.
 
F16AbstractBook
byYuqi Zhang
 
F16BlousteinAbstractBook
byRenee Sheriff
 
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Fall 2016 Abstract Book
byYuxiao Fu
 
F16AbstractBook
byXiaotian Zhou
 
F16AbstractBook
byTan Yingsheng
 
F16AbstractBook
byJerry Park
 
F16AbstractBook
byManqi Yang
 
Stephanie Frimpong Resume 2
byStephanie Frimpong
 
JNIResume2016
byJulie Ingoglia
 
Resume - Lauren Lugossy
byLauren Lugossy
 
resume update
byLouis Cappelli
 
Elo powerpoint 1
bytvanoss
 
2013 Annual VNAHG_
byJesse Dean
 
Potomac Health Foundation 2017 Orientation Event
byKukua Osei-Gyamfi
 
Public Libraries Participating in Community Health
byMargot G. Malachowski, MLS
 
Resume Kaazim Hasan
byKaazim Hasan
 
2014 Annual Report
byJason Wurtz
 

REACH Press Packet

  • 1.
    A MAGAZINE FORTHE UMDNJ COMMUNITY On Tour at Stratford School of Osteopathic Medicine — Tops in Geriatric Medicine School of Osteopathic Medicine — Tops in Geriatric Medicine STUDENTS AND THE POWEROF COMMUNITY LOOKING TO SOUTH JERSEY’S FUTURE Camden COUNTS Camden COUNTS FALL/WINTER 2009.10 On Tour at Stratford THE UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY UMDNJMAGAZINE
  • 2.
    f a ll / w i n t e r 2 0 0 9 . 1 0 3 iddle school is prime time in Camden,” notes Farhad Modarai (left), one of the SOM students who have gathered to talk informally about their vision for Camden’s future and the part they hope to play in shaping it. “Prime time to become runners for the drug deal- ers,” he adds. His classmate Hyun Ouk Hong shares another disturbing statistic: 10- to 12-year-olds in Camden can look ahead to a threefold increase in juvenile arrests by the time they turn 13. So the two decided that something needed to be done, and that they would do it. Their target would be the youth of Camden. Modarai knows Camden; he did his undergraduate work at Rutgers-Camden with a major in urban studies and biology and he was a mentor at a Camden school. Hong was president of the student council at Stevens Institute and has a long-standing interest in community outreach. They put their heads — and their passions — together, and Project REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden’s Health) was created. With a little research, the duo discovered that while community service was technically a requirement for Camden middle school students, the schools were often at a loss as to how to go about it. They designed Project REACH to fill this gap. “We will go to the students and say, ‘you take control,’” Modarai explains. They plan to have the Camden students become project leaders and the UMDNJ students the “team members.” The goal is to “create grass roots leaders,” Hong says, “to teach them how to organize their own projects.” Both are firm believers in “the power of community.” Both young men have a highly developed social con- sciousness. Modarai attends city hall meetings to be sure that the city “treats the locals fairly” amid the rush to build luxury townhouses. The two recall a visit to a Camden farmers’ market to do blood pressure screening only to find a greater need to treat the infected arms of IV drug users. Their enthusiasm has built a REACH club, now with 55 members, open to all UMDNJ students in South Jersey. The first REACH projects will be built around four areas: hypertension, teen pregnancy and HIV awareness, smoking and alcohol, and nutrition. The student group works under the guidance of SOM’s Department of Family Medicine. The department chair, Carman Ciervo, DO, will serve as the project’s administrative officer and medical reviewer for the learning modules. Modarai and Hong are modest — yet proud — about their own role in this ambitious undertaking. Both received Albert Schweitzer Fellowships, a program that supports emerging professionals in translating their idealism into action. The project also earned a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges. They laughingly recount how they put together a budget itemizing everything from paperclips to post-it notes. They’re sure that it was obvious the grant applications were student-initiated and this turned out to be their strength. “I waited two years before I started med- ical school,” Modarai says. “But I came because I believe that physicians have powerful voices that should be raised to combat social injustice and advocate for the under- served.” He hopes to increase the volume. . M The powerof community “ W O R D S B Y B A R B A R A H U R L E Y / P H O T O G R A P H B Y J O H N E M E R S O N S P O T L I G H T O N S O U T H J E R S E Y
  • 3.
    A monthly updatefrom Thomas A. Cavalieri, DO, FACOI, FACP, AGSF, Dean December 2009 Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, This newsletter generally highlights our School’s academic and clinical accomplishments; however, as the year draws to a close, we like to take note of the many ways in which we serve our communities, as well as some of the ways in which the UMDNJ-SOM family celebrates this special time of year. The holiday season is a time to pause and reflect upon the past year, and, as I do, my overwhelming feeling is the pride I take in knowing that UMDNJ-SOM students, faculty and staff have made such a difference for so many. UMDNJ-SOM STUDENTS AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS SERVE THE COMMUNITY Project H.O.P.E., Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of Camden's homeless, and assist men and women in their transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. The Bergen Lanning Health Center provides health care, social services and mental health counseling to vulnerable adults that do not have other health care options. This past summer, Jennifer Mojica ‘12, worked at Bergen Lanning Health Center, where she was involved in multiple projects such as performing community outreach, creating educational literature and brochures, writing requests for donations, providing transportation to the local food pantry and beautifying the clinic grounds. Her main project in the health center was to create a patient orientation handbook, which presently serves as a guide for new Project H.O.P.E. patients on their first visit to the clinic. In the community, her main role was to perform outreach to raise awareness of Project H.O.P.E., Inc. and to actively seek out individuals who may need health care services or shelter. This was accomplished through use of the mobile health van, organizing and participating in community functions, and identifying those in need on the streets of Camden. Project REACH, established by Farhad Modarai ‘12 and Hyun Ouk Hong ‘12, is an integrated, multi-disciplinary initiative for Camden youth that focuses on health education and community activism. In October 2009, the REACH project officially started, in conjunction with East Camden Middle School (ECMS). The first learning session included 12 ECMS students, led by six UMDNJ-SOM medical students. The primary objectives are to facilitate interactive problem-based learning (PBL) modules to teach preventive health to the middle school students. With unique Project Management workshops designed at an age- appropriate level, REACH not only educates the students regarding health issues, but also trains them to initiate, organize, troubleshoot and execute projects as well. Most importantly, the modules empower students to take control of their personal health, as well as the health of the community. Project REACH was one of only seven programs nationally that was honored with a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Farhad and Hyun also both received Albert Schweitzer Fellowships in recognition of their endeavors. Project Revitalizing Education & Advancing Camden’s Health (Project REACH) Project H.O.P.E., Bergen Lanning Health Center (l-r) Komal Ahuja ‘13, William Lubinsky ‘13, Jason Kahn ‘13, Natalie Hyppolite ‘13, Luigi Cendana ‘13, Johnathon LaBaron ‘13, Malasa Jois ‘13, Farhad Modarai ‘12 and Hyun Hong ‘12. (l-r) Christian Spencer (UMDNJ student - physician assistant program), Vona Johnson (Project H.O.P.E. outreach worker), and Jennifer Mojica ‘12 marketing the services of Project H.O.P.E. at a local farmers’ market in Camden.
  • 4.
    SEPTEMBER 2009! AL B E R T S C H W E I T Z E R F E L L O W S H I P! GREATER PHILADELPHIA Camden AHEC Farmer’s Market largely caters to underserved populations. In addition to checking blood pressures and blood glucose levels, the Schweitzer Fellows led the following prevention workshops for over 100 Camden residents: Usha Kumar and Alex Potashinsky provided one-on-one counseling on various aspects of prevention pertaining to wound care. These involved discussions on limiting drug use, developing better hygiene (along with dispersing basic hygiene supplies such as soap and nail clippers), and discussing methods for exercising within the participants’ means. Hyun Ouk Hong led a Fall Prevention Table for the elderly. Hong stated that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls were the leading cause of injury death among older adults. He distributed educational pamphlets provided by the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging and held workshops for participants on tips to prevent falls. Farhad Modarai stated that one major problem in Camden was access to healthy foods. Therefore, he set up a table with educational materials on nutrition and distributed fruits and vegetables. More importantly, Modarai held workshops for residents on how they can eat healthy foods on a workable budget. Valencia Barnes and UMDNJ dentists provided on site oral health/cancer screenings for area residents. They screened children for oral hygiene, tooth irregularities, and other pediatric related dental issues. Adults were also screened for oral cancers, oral hygiene, and tooth decay. Fellows serve Camden Residents at the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Farmer’s Market HYUN OUK HONG UMDNJ FARHAD MODARAI UMDNJ VALENCIA BARNES UMDNJ SERVICE DAY Pictured Above (Left to right): Usha Kumar, Farhad Modarai, Dr. Shawn Kelly, Sirin Ocharoen, Hyun Ouk Hong,Valencia Barnes,Alex Potashinsky USHA KUMAR DREXEL ALEX POTASHINSKY DREXEL
  • 5.
    email this print this Sharethis: digg this! del.icio.us facebook newsvine Press Release Date: 06-05-09 Name: Jerry Carey Phone: 856-566-6171 Email: careyge@umdnj.edu UMDNJ Student Group Receives National Award to Help Camden Teens Stay Healthy STRATFORD - A student group at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine, under the guidance of the school's Department of Family Medicine, has been named one of just seven recipients of a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The grant will support the REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden’s Health) project that will implement youth-initiated community health service projects in Camden and will use a problem-based learning approach to teach preventative health to select groups of Camden middle school students. The grant provides $11,800 for the first year of the project with the potential to receive an additional $17,000 over the next three years. “REACH is an innovative approach to combat the complex, chronic health problems facing Camden residents,” said Dr. Carman Ciervo, chair of the Department of Family Medicine. “In Camden, one in four children is born to a teenage parent and one in four students fails to graduate high school. REACH volunteers from UMDNJ will help Camden middle school students to identify health issues in their own community and to create service projects to address those problems. REACH volunteers will also work to recruit minority students into the health professions.” The UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine is the only osteopathic medical school selected to receive a Caring for Community grant this year. Project REACH will collaborate with a number of other institutions, including the Camden Board of Education, Rutgers University and the Camden Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Second year medical students Hyun Ouk Hong and Farhad Modarai created the REACH program and serve as the administrators for the project’s first year. They will be joined by five other UMDNJ- School of Osteopathic Medicine students on the REACH executive board and more than a dozen other medical school students who will volunteer as mentors for students from the Camden middle school. Dr. Ciervo will serve as the project’s administrative officer and medical reviewer for the problem based learning modules. The UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine is dedicated to providing excellence in medical education, research and health care for New Jersey and the nation. An emphasis on primary health care and community health services reflects the school’s osteopathic philosophy, with centers of excellence that demonstrate its commitment to developing clinically skillful, compassionate and Printer-Friendly Page http://www.umdnj.edu/about/news_events/releases/print.html 1 of 2 6/9/10 3:35 PM
  • 6.
    culturally competent physiciansfrom diverse backgrounds, who are prepared to become leaders in their communities. UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/ Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network. Printer-Friendly Page http://www.umdnj.edu/about/news_events/releases/print.html 2 of 2 6/9/10 3:35 PM
  • 7.
    Students see doctor'sview of health Monday, February 15, 2010 By Carly Romalino cromalino@sjnewsco.com Camden middle school students have been playing doctor. Part of Project REACH, a youth-initiated community health service project, East Camden Middle School students get an up-close look at health problems in their communities and have the chance to enact change. Project REACH was founded by University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medical School students Farhad Modarai and Hyun Ouk Hong during their first year of medical school. "We play doctor from day one in medical school and work through a patient case. We were really excited about this new type of learning because we were never exposed to it before," said Modarai, of Gloucester Township. "It's great to expose kids to this type of learning." Modarai brought the program into Camden City Public Schools in September, and recruited some 20 students to participate in the after-school project. He, and other medical school student volunteers, worked with the students in small groups to create a complete medical history work up for standardized patients he brought to the school. "They get to play doctor, they get to ask questions, and they must understand what the patient is presenting," he said. "We base it on what an actual physician would ask a patient." Then the medical student volunteers act as facilitators to spark conversation to understand the patient's symptoms and the cause for the health problem. "We dive into the topic of smoking, and how it is bad for your health, and we test the students' knowledge area," he said. "Whatever the students don't know, we would come up with learning objectives Ð how the lungs work, and what can go wrong." Modarai said he designed the cases to coincide with the Camden Public School's science class curriculum, so the topics Project REACH covers will help the students with class material. According to Modarai, Camden scored poorly in math and science testing on the annual New Jersey Report Card. "A lot of times the kids say teachers give up on them," he said. "If the teachers aren't enthusiastic about the material, it's hard for the kids to get enthusiastic. But we get excited about it, so it helps." In addition to reinforcing what the students learned during science and health classes, Modarai said one of the objectives is to get the middle-schoolers in touch with common health problems that face their community. Project REACH teaches the students about diabetes, hypertension, and other issues that their family members might have to tackle. "They'll say, ÔOh yeah, my mom has diabetes,' or ÔMy dad has hypertension,' or ÔYeah, my uncle smokes NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-14/12662511... 1 of 2 2/16/10 2:07 PM
  • 8.
    in the house.'And then they know how it affects his health and their health," he said. "We wanted to not only do health education, but they thought it would be great if the kids could take their education and put it into power." The spring semester students have a chance to work on service projects that raise awareness of topics ranging from breast cancer and diabetes to sexual and domestic violence, he said. The students are split up into teams and given a project budget of $400 per group that is furnished by several grants the Project REACH founders applied for and received. "One group wanted to focus on abuse, and sexual and domestic violence. They want to set up a club at their school where they can have kids come like a support network for the kids," he said. "We are teaching them a lot of things about money management and project management." Other groups are working on clothing drives, health fairs, community cleanup projects, and even multimedia presentations that will be recorded and posted on YouTube.com. Currently, the 20 students are working to complete their projects, and in the process, they are recruiting more of their friends to join the program and help. Modarai said it's tough balancing his second year of medical school and running Project REACH, but working with the kids is "definitely a great break." "It's a relaxing point in my week," he said. "It kind of reinforces why you went into the profession in the first place." For more information about Project REACH visit www.reach.umdnj.com. ©2010 Gloucester County Times © 2010 NJ.com All Rights Reserved. NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-14/12662511... 2 of 2 2/16/10 2:07 PM
  • 9.
    SAVE THIS |EMAIL THIS | Close Posted on Sun, Apr. 4, 2010 Small steps to improve East Camden By Mike Newall Inquirer Staff Writer Tristan Gant likes bugs. Beetles. Spiders. Butterflies. Anything he can find in the small dirt lot behind the Rite Aid next to where he lives in East Camden. He collects them in Tupperware and sets them on his grandmother's table near the window. There, he examines them with his magnifying glass, takes notes, and compares them with photos from his bug books. Sometimes, he takes his own pictures before letting them go in the lot. "I want to be an animal scientist," he said. Lately, when combing through the lot, Tristan has found it hard to find anything but cockroaches and flies among all the trash, needles, and purple plastic baggies left behind by drug users. Sometimes, he turns over a rock or digs into the ground and finds baggies still filled with drugs. "They bury them and come back in a few hours and dig them back up," he said. When this happens, Tristan watches from behind a piece of wood that separates his yard from the lot and waits till the drug users and "hobos," as he calls them, leave. Then he goes back to looking for bugs. "There used to be more good bugs," he said. "Now there are less better ones and more pests." Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 1 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
  • 10.
    The world opensup This fall, Tristan, 12, was walking down a hallway at East Camden Middle School, where he is in the seventh grade, when he saw some friends sitting in Miss Sabb's science classroom. "Come in," a friend told him. It was one of the first meetings of an after-school program run by students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Farhad Modarai, 25, a second-year med student from Gloucester Township, invited Tristan to introduce himself. "I like bugs," Tristan said to the other kids' laughter. Modarai asked Tristan what scared him most about Camden. "The drugs," he said. During a series of sessions throughout the school year, the med students taught the students about drug abuse and smoking, teen pregnancy and STDs, obesity and asthma. They took the students to a 76ers game. It was Tristan's first time. "The Sixers got 106," Tristan said. "The other team got 94." As part of the program, Modarai and his classmate Hyun Hong, 26, asked the students to develop neighborhood health-related projects. One student is designing a cancer-awareness Web site for kids. Others are organizing diabetes screenings. Tristan had his own idea. "He came in here and said he wanted to paint the wall and clean the lot," said Rob Blair, who manages the Rite Aid that Tristan plays behind. Blair thought it was a good idea. "We have a maintenance crew that comes out twice a month, and they have to use blowers to blow away all the drug baggies," he said. "It's a shame." The neighborhood Tristan is short for his age and shy, has pointy bangs, and fidgets with his glasses. "I've been collecting bugs since I was 2," he said. He lives in an apartment above an empty storefront church on Federal Street with his little brother, mother, father, and grandmother. A big oak in Tristan's backyard, sprouting leaves Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 2 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
  • 11.
    now, has anold wooden birdhouse and tire swing. Tristan likes playing in his yard with his cocker spaniels, Gizmo and Cosmo, and his guinea pigs, Kirby and Kerry Ann, but the lot behind the Rite Aid used to have grass and small plants that were great for finding bugs. Once, he found a jumping spider. It had long legs and scary eyes. He took it inside. "It was female," he said. "The big white ones are female. The small black ones are male." He put some grass and leaves and lettuce in with the spider, but it wouldn't eat, so he put a bumble bee in, too. "I wanted to see what would happen," he said. "The spider got all still and then jumped on the bee and killed it with its poison. It was scary." The lot behind the Rite Aid is about 60 feet wide. There is a wall and some concrete where Tristan and his brother, Jordan, and his friends Christopher and Jamal play the ball game "suicide." They throw a rubber ball against the wall, and when someone drops it they have to run for the wall for safety. In recent years, the bigger kids have spray-painted the wall with gang graffiti, Tristan said. "Sometimes when you lean against it, the paint gets on your shirt," he said. "The ball gets sticky, too, and there's all this negative stuff and curse words." One time Tristan was catching fireflies when a man dragged a mattress onto the lot and went to sleep. Many of the streets around 27th and Federal are relatively clean and safe, said Dave Garrison a member of District Council Collaborative Board 3, which covers East Camden. But a new drug sect has been gaining ground in the neighborhood, he said. "They are expanding their territory," he said. Tristan measures the growth of the drug gang by the amount of trampled grass and garbage in the lot where he once found so many good bugs. He knows that baby beetles live in the small corner of the lot not littered in trash, and that baby maggots live under the rocks near where the drug baggies cover the ground like confetti. "Gross," he said, kicking at the baggies. Making things better Thursday was the final day before spring break, and Tristan was excited. At dismissal, he and a dozen classmates gathered in Miss Sabb's classroom with the UMDNJ students and Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 3 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
  • 12.
    painting supplies. By thetime the group made it to the lot, a dozen more neighborhoods kids had joined. Modarai, taking away an afternoon away from his study sessions for the medical boards, handed out paintbrushes, rollers, and gloves, and the kids began to splash yellow paint over the graffiti. "We wanted to teach the kids," he said. "But we also wanted to empower them." Older students, such as eighth grader Nigeria Crump, 13, painted the high portions of the wall, while Tristan and his two young cousins, Sean, 9, and David, 5, stood on their toes. "Get some on the wall, too," Tristan told paint-covered David. Tristan's mom, Shushana, brought out glasses of fruit punch. Modarai rolled a big magnet over the lot (in case of any needles), and the kids raked away the trash. Wearing a fruit-punch mustache and paint-speckled glass, Tristan stood on a big rock. He looked happy. Then his mom called him inside to clean off some of the paint before he came back outside to search for bugs. More Information To learn more about the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Project REACH (Revitalizing Education and Advancing Camden's Health) and other community health projects for children visit http://reach.umdnj.edu/ Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 856-779-3237 or mnewall@phillynews.com. Find this article at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100404_Small_steps_to_improve_East_Camden.html?viewAll=y&c=y SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 4 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
  • 13.
    © Copyright |Philly Online, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Philly Online, LLC is expressly prohibited. Small steps to improve East Camden http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=S... 5 of 5 6/11/10 11:41 PM
  • 14.
    MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT: Patrice Taddonio CommunicationsSpecialist The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship 617-667-5628 ptaddoni@bidmc.harvard.edu Two Schweitzer Fellows REACH for a Healthier Camden—And Get Results New Health Intervention Program, “Project REACH,” Empowers Camden’s At-Risk Middle Schoolers Nearly half of Camden, New Jersey’s population lives below the poverty line. In 2006, one out of four children in Camden City was born to a teenager. One in four Camden City high school students does not graduate. But Schweitzer Fellows Hyun Ouk Hong and Farhad Modarai are doing something about it. Galvanized by the social disparities right in their own backyard, these two medical students have launched Project REACH (Revitalizing Education & Advancing Camden's Health). Taking an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach, REACH is a unique health education intervention program aimed at equipping at-risk Camden middle school students with the skills to take control of their own health—and empower their communities to do the same. “Camden middle schoolers’ test scores were below standards, their role models were local gang members, and their overall outlook on their own health was alarming,” says Hong, a medical student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). “We knew we had to provide creative tools to teach the students preventive health education, provide positive mentorship, and ultimately empower them to be leaders for their community.” And that’s exactly what Hong and Modarai have done. With the support of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, a national nonprofit organization that works to address health disparities by developing “leaders in service,” the duo collaborated with Camden community members and launched Project REACH—crafting an interactive problem- based learning (PBL) curriculum on preventive health, complete with unique workshops that support youth- initiated community health service projects, and delivering that curriculum each week to students at East Camden Middle School (ECMS). 1
  • 15.
    2 That approach isalready paying off. "Project REACH has made me believe I can do things I could not before,” says 12-year old East Camden Middle School student Eduardo Lazo. “My favorite session was when I learned about cancers that can be prevented. After the REACH smoking module, I went home and told my uncle about the dangers of smoking. I scared him and he said he will quit smoking now for his daughter." Having completed the educational component of REACH, Lazo and his peers are now learning project management and brainstorming ideas for service projects. So far, their ideas tackle erasing graffiti, stopping bullying in school, stopping gang violence, helping the homeless, teaching healthy eating, stopping smoking, and cleaning the environment. Hong and Modarai have garnered extraordinary support for Project REACH from the UMDNJ community— several medical students and faculty members sit on the organization’s board, and are committed to sustaining and expanding the program to other Camden middle schools once the duo’s Schweitzer Fellowship year is over. "It is most exciting to see that Farhad Modarai and Hyun Hong have taken such a proactive approach to improve the health of the youth in Camden,” says Dr. Carman A. Ciervo, D.O., FACOFP, Chairman of Family Medicine at UMDNJ School of Medicine (SOM). “UMDNJ-SOM is deeply committed to expand the work of these two student doctors to other efforts that are focused on preventative medicine. This project empowers youth to REACH." “Project REACH is carefully designed to not become a “one-and-done” kind of program,” Hong says, noting that underserved Camden residents have expressed frustrations with research-based projects where an emphasis is placed on gathering data instead of serving the community. “Sustainability has been a critical component throughout the development phase of Project REACH. We hope to continue to establish collaborations, with the hopes of strengthening this community for years down the road.” Indeed, in addition to the support of the Schweitzer Fellowship and UMDNJ, Hong and Modarai earned a 2009 Caring for Community grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges to support the continued growth and success of Project REACH (http://reach.umdnj.edu/). About The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) Hong and Modarai are two of the nearly 250 graduate students each year who are selected as Schweitzer Fellows. Over the course of a year, on top of their regular medical, nursing, or other health professional school responsibilities, each Schweitzer Fellow must develop and implement a service project of at least 200 hours with a direct and lasting impact on the health of underserved communities.
  • 16.
    3 By completing theirSchweitzer service project during such a demanding time, Fellows emerge with a blueprint for making service to those in need an enduring part of their “regular life.” Upon completion of their initial year, they join an international alumni network of over 2,000 Schweitzer Fellows for Life—individuals committed to working with the underserved throughout their careers as professionals. “My experience as a Fellow has been priceless,” says Modarai.” Having a support network of passionate students and working professionals that believe in your work is extremely motivating and inspiring. I feel like The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is on the forefront of health care professional education because of its hands-on and interdisciplinary approach.” The Greater Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellows Program, one of eleven U.S. Schweitzer sites, was established in 2006. Under the leadership of Dean David B. Nash, MD, MBA and colleagues at Jefferson School of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, the Greater Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellows Program serves populations in Delaware, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Southern New Jersey. For more information on ASF and its Greater Philadelphia Program, visit www.schweitzerfellowship.org and http://schweitzerfellowship.wordpress.com. To schedule an interview with Hyun Ouk Hong or Farhad Modarai about Project REACH, please contact Patrice Taddonio at 617.667.5628 or ptaddoni@bidmc.harvard.edu.