Anna Mowery, One Tent Health

My name is Anna Mowery, and I am a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences studying public health and pre-med. I have been lucky enough this semester to be able to volunteer with One Tent Health, a student-founded and run nonprofit, and connect it to my Intro to Health Promotion class. One Tent Health provides free HIV and COVID testing to the DC community as well as access to PREP and information about the treatment and prevention of HIV. These services are offered at pop-up tents throughout the city, the location of which changes each weekend. Because One Tent Health is able to move throughout the city, the organization can test in areas in which residents don’t have access to adequate healthcare. At the site, volunteers perform HIV screenings for those who want it and are also able to provide information about HIV, PREP, and safe sex. Other volunteers not performing the screenings are doing community outreach and publicizing the free testing site. At sites in which there is also free COVID testing, volunteers perform intake tasks and then hand off those getting tested to DC nurses who then perform the COVID-19 tests. 

So far, my experience with One Tent Health has been great! I have learned a lot about the DC community and have been able to visit neighborhoods in DC that I would not have otherwise gone to. I have also met a lot of other college students in the DMV through volunteering, which has been nice given that meeting people online this year has been hard. Unfortunately, a lot of my shifts were canceled at the beginning of the semester because of contract issues between the organization and the DC government but that is now resolved, and I look forward to volunteering again! I was also surprised at how much responsibility we were given as students. We were able to get trained and perform blood tests as undergraduate students, which is not the norm. It is great to have this hands-on experience and I have learned a lot.

Through volunteering with One Tent Health, I have seen a lot of the things being taught in my health promotion class being used in a real-world public health setting. In class, we have talked about different behavioral models and theories to help change behavior or adopt a practice and I have seen that being used in the promotional materials publicized by One Tent Health and the other incentives given to help increase the numbers of those getting screened. One of the main goals of One Tent Health is also to provide healthcare to those who may not otherwise have access to these services, in class we have talked about health disparities and through working with One Tent Health I have seen the effects of these health disparities firsthand. 

Overall, I have really enjoyed my experience with One Tent health and the CSLP program!

Janvier Richardson, Safest Drug

My name is Janvier Richardson, and I am a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Public Health. I decided to connect my CSLP credit to one of my favorite courses, Introduction to Health Research. I partnered with Safest Drug, a newly developed, non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent and alleviate drug-induced morbidity and mortality among older Americans aged 55 and up. Safest Drug desires to screen this population to identify health concerns relating to medications targeted towards older adults, with the purpose of reporting these concerns to the FDA so that these medications can be modified for the better. I chose to partner with this organization because my mother suffers from negative side effects stemming from her blood pressure medication and although she complains to her doctors about the negative impact of her medication on her overall health, her concerns have yet to be addressed. Safest Drug is attacking the social issue that is not discussed enough in medicinal settings—that the use of modern medication is to simply prolong the life of older individuals without considering their complete well-being. 

Considering that this organization is fairly new and still in development, they are in the beginning steps of their health research project. My role at Safest Drug is to facilitate access to their target population by reaching out to medical centers that cater to adults 55 years and older (assisted living facilities, retirement communities, local clinics, etc.). I naively expected to have had a more hands-on position. I had assumed that Safest Drug had already began the screening aspect of their research and wanted to be involved in that. However, health research is a long, meticulous process that is compiled of many steps and careful considerations. At times, progress may seem stagnant, but in reality, it is a slow progression as I learned from my conversation with the director of this organization. I have made connections between Safest Drug and research concepts that I have learned while under Professor Hawkins’ tutelage, such as the implementation of rigor and the PICOT framework into research. But a much larger connection that I have made between the two would be the process of developing partnerships with settings that harbor access to ideal populations. I have never realized the extent of dependence that the health research progress has on the development of reliable partnerships. My work with Safest Drug has taught me first-hand what it is like to conduct health research in the real world. 

Annabella Bozo-Cabrera, Bread for the City

My name is Annabella Bozo-Cabrera and my major is Public Health. I also have a minor in Biology and am on a pre-med track. I have been working in-person with the organization Bread for the City, and I am connecting my CSLP credit to my Health Promotion class.

Bread for the City’s mission is, “to help Washington, DC residents living with low income to develop their power to determine the future of their own communities.” They address many socio economic issues, such as poverty and racism, and help underserved communities with things like food, clothing, and medical care.

Personally, I began working at their Covid-19 testing center and have now moved on to also help in their vaccination center, where they are providing about a hundred vaccines every day. I have been mainly checking people in and out of the sites, so while my tasks aren’t as exciting, it’s being in that environment that I have really enjoyed.

I didn’t have many expectations before I began volunteering, but the very few expectations I had were completely exceeded. I have learned so many things from working with Bread for the City, especially about helping underserved communities, which is such a huge factor in my Health Promotion class. It has been so interesting to learn about socioeconomic factors affecting health during class, and then going to volunteer and seeing this first-hand. I have learned many lessons from working in the community through CSLP, and I am really enjoying the work I am doing. 

Luke Lynch, Bethesda Fire Department

My name is Luke Lynch. I am earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Health at American University and I am connecting CSLP with my work as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) at Bethesda Fire Department and with my Health Promotion Class.

The mission of the Bethesda Fire Department is to provide 911 response care for basic and advanced life support for the residents of Bethesda, Maryland. Bethesda Fire Department addresses the healthcare needs of individuals in emergencies. At Bethesda, I am working as an EMT in the ambulance. I provide general patient care with a team of EMTs for individuals who require basic life support and health intervention. I expected that I would be making a difference in the community of Maryland. Due to COVID-19, we are experiencing increasingly strict measures on wearing personal protection equipment such as wearing N-95s when we work to protect the residents we respond to.

I am connecting my volunteer work with understanding the health care needs of the local community, as the issues we are exposed to include heart disease and trouble breathing cases. I have learned the importance of patience and remembering my passion for helping others even during COVID-19. Further, I have learned how communities in different socioeconomic backgrounds face different health issues. For example, communities of low socioeconomic background can have cases of drug abuse, heart disease, and mental health issues. In high socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals still face these same issues; however, mental health issues are increasingly becoming apparent in both communities.

Farshad Bazargani, Mary’s Center

My name is Farshad Bazargani  and I am a senior majoring in public health and pre-med. I started volunteering for Mary’s Center in October and I am currently still volunteering for them. Mary’s Center is a nonprofit organization and a community health center that serves people from different backgrounds, socio-economic status, and ages in the D.C. area. Their mission is to provide health care, education, and social services to all communities to enhance the quality of life of people in the DC area. They also address many social issues such as domestic violence, senior citizens’ rights, maternal and child equitable health access, and more. 

The class I connected my CSLP add-on credit to is called Health Program Planning. This class is an introduction of basic principles of health promotion program development, implementations, and monitoring/evaluation of the program. One of our assignments that helped me learn a lot about planning health programs was making our own health program for a target population of interest based on available evidence from our needs assessment. When I was in the process of doing this project, I learned that health policy plays a huge role in getting a health program running. 

My work in Mary’s Center was in the compliance department, where I helped the chief compliance officer to file the contracts from different vendors that Mary’s Center partnered with. Compliance is the conformance or adherence to a set of guidelines, rules, laws and regulations that puts emphasis on “doing the right thing.” Healthcare compliance is the process of following rules, regulations, and laws that relate to healthcare practices. However, most healthcare compliance issues relate to patient safety, the privacy of patient information, and billing practices. Marcy’s Center as an organization has to comply with the Stark Law, Anti-kickback statute, HIPAA, and the False Claims Act. As I mentioned, without health policy the actual health program will not be able to function. My role in the compliance department helps me better understand the relationship between health policy and how it supports the mission of a health program. Before starting my work at the compliance department, I took short online courses about code of conduct, ethical conduct, and HIPAA. These courses helped me learn more about data confidentiality and general professionalism in a healthcare environment. 

My expectations from my CSLP experience were to learn something new relating to public health / medicine and gain some hands-on experience. I definitely learned a lot from this experience, but due to COVID I was unable to have a hands-on experience. Overall, I’m happy that I joined the CSLP community. 🙂

Eprata Mitiku, Iona Senior Services

This past February I began volunteering at Iona Senior Services with the hopes of connecting my experience with the concepts I learned in my Health Psychology course. Iona has a profound history and mission of supporting elderly citizens as they navigate the difficulties and possibilities associated with aging. Although Iona began in 1975 at Tenleytown, the organization currently operates in multiple locations throughout Northwest D.C. with an unwavering commitment to inform, support and deliver community-centered resources as a means of assisting elderly to live their best life. My class centers on health promotion from a physical, psychological and socioeconomic standpoint, where the impact of these factors on health are assessed individually and collectively. I’ve learned so far that health behaviors and outcomes, negative or positive, are products of interactions between several environmental and individual factors. I noticed that the health practices at Iona’s Wellness Center aligned more with the social and psychological factors discussed in my course. While many of the organization’s elderly members suffer from cognitive disorders impairing their memory and analytical skills, the Wellness Center took direct initiative by providing its participants with the necessary and appropriate tools to stimulate and enhance their reasoning and problem-solving skills. This practice exemplifies the concept of health promotion characterized by ameliorating one’s standard of living and prolonging livelihood through a reduction or inhibition of impaired health effects, as discussed in my course.     

My service thus far has introduced me to Iona members of various racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. I learned from my interactions with the organization’s participants that the dominance and subordination of my identities are multifaceted and discrete. As an African-American woman, I found myself explaining my racial and ethnic identities most during my service at Iona. I normally do not take offense to these experiences because I believe most inquiries of this nature originate out of sincere curiosity. The affects of my salient identities felt palpable when I was the minority in any given setting. The role of my indistinct identities, however, cannot be undermined. I realized from my experience at Iona that my dominant identities are the ones I rarely notice due to my standard environments. The privilege of being a young college student was unapparent in my daily life as I navigated the challenges and perks of college life co-existing with those in similar circumstances. When I entered a new environment outside of my educational setting, I learned that my respective surroundings can conceal and reveal the power and influence of my identities. I made meaning of my frequent interactions with elderly participants by sharing my unique story while working to find commonality in our brief discussions about family, school and interests. 

I become most cognizant of my identities when I am among the few to represent a specific set of characteristics. My classroom and service site experiences required me to activate different mindsets when engaging with others in order to be mindful and sensitive to my surroundings. Although my racial and ethnic background normally dominates my spaces of learning and service, I realized that explaining my salient identities can be rewarding at times of profound conversation originating from genuine curiosity. I believe extending my learning environment to spaces outside of AU encouraged me to rethink my understanding of privilege and power to consider imperceptible characteristics collectively shaping individuals’ identities with a subtle yet significant impact on how people interact with the world. 

Katherine Marx, Advocates for Youth

I am currently working with the International Youth Leadership Council at Advocates for Youth. I’ve been working on topics in global sexual and reproductive health and rights, so it made perfect sense to connect my CSLP to my Global Health class. A good portion of my work at Advocates for Youth involves the decolonization of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and I have been able to learn a lot about decolonization of health in my class. This is the first time I have ever learned about decolonization in a classroom setting, and it’s exciting to tie that knowledge back to my work. I have also learned a lot about international health and aid agencies, which has made my work at Advocates for Youth more informed as well. This experience and this class have really tied together perfectly.

One thing I have learned to be aware of in my service is my identity and how it impacts my work. My identity is a combination of dominant and subordinate traits. I am a straight white woman. My straightness and my whiteness are dominant, they are seen as the norm for humanity, while my femaleness is subordinate, and is historically excluded. It is important that I recognize the privilege my sexuality and race give me, especially as I work in international health. There are communities affected by the issues I work on that have been harmed by people like me. It is important that I work alongside these communities and let them lead, as opposed to me leading them and telling them what is right for their community. I can use my privilege to help them as they see necessary, but I am not using it to dominate them or lead over them. In order to “make meaning” out of this experience and learn from it, I have to be actively aware of my identities and how they may lead me to interact with other people and groups, even though it is unintentional. This awareness has made me more thoughtful and a better leader, because now I have more experience in learning to step back. This lesson has translated to my work in other spaces. It has given me better guidance as to when to speak up and when to let others speak in the classroom, in my clubs, and at my internship. I might occupy more space than others in some instances, so I am aware that I may need to lessen my presence in those situations. However, there are also instances where I occupy less space than others, in which I may need to speak out more than I normally do. 

Overall, my CSLP experience has taught me a lot. I am thankful for having had this experience in my undergraduate career and I know it will make me a better person as I continue my studies and once I enter the workforce. 

Erin LeBeau, So Others Might Eat

I am connecting my service at So Others Might Eat’s Isaiah House day program to my Health Communication class this semester. Honestly, I initially wanted to connect the service to one of my psychology courses because the volunteering position was focused mainly on group therapy. After more consideration and some technical difficulties, it turned out that the best option would be to work it in with Health Communication.  

The participants at Isaiah House are all low income or homeless individuals with histories of substance abuse and mental illness. The organization offers meals, showers, laundry services, resources, and mental health providers to the participants for no charge. The mission of the day program is to help support the homeless population of D.C. connect with the proper resources to put them on the best path for their future. Most of the people that work at the center are social workers and have practiced interpersonal communication for years. These individuals show expertise in their health communication skills, which is very helpful for me coming into the space not knowing all that much.  

In my class, we learned about motivational interviewing and patient provider communication. The tips that we talked about in class are applicable every day at Isaiah House when I am communicating with the participants. As an intern, I am allowed to have one on one check ins with some of the participants if they are going through something and just need someone to talk to. One of the participants, Carry, especially likes to come to me with his feelings for the day and I just listen to what he has to say. We learned in class that during motivational interviewing, it is the most effective if you use active listening and do not judge or offer unsolicited advice. When Carry wants to discuss his past with drugs and his current mental illness diagnosis, even though I have not been through this specific experience, I still am able to be a good listener and show sympathy. This skill can also be applied to the group therapy that we conduct on the day that I come in during the week. Instead of talking to someone one on one about their struggles, the therapist and I work together to listen and validate the experiences that the participants are going through in terms of their mental health. 

The dominant and subordinate roles at Isaiah House are very clear. At the very baseline, many of the social workers and staff are white and many of the participants are Black. Additionally, there are clear socioeconomic differences between us, as I am a well-off student attending a private university and many of the participants never earned a college degree. Society had already decided this population was subordinate and inferior. They feel the repercussions of this fact every day, and frankly, that is why they are in the situation they are in.  

My identity as a white woman carries a lot of weight wherever I go. I am able to have certain privileges that not all of my peers necessarily have. Inherently the administration tends to favor white students over other races here on campus, therefore I can do anything without facing discrimination. This role does carry over into my work at Isaiah House because I come from the dominant middle-class white population, and most of the participants have been in the subordinate group their whole life. This is tricky to navigate because saying the wrong thing as someone in charge can carry a lot of consequences and can bring out biases.  

However, I know that I have worked hard to be in the dominant role at work while utilizing sympathy towards the participants. I have never experienced homelessness, but I can sympathize with the struggles that they may feel on a regular basis.  

Michael Abate, Kaiser Permanente

I remember the first time that participating in CSLP sparked my interest. A young lady came into my class, Public Health Challenges in Film, and discussed what CSLP exactly was and what it entailed. At the end of the presentation, she handed out information to anyone that expressed interest. At the time, I had been offered a job from the Grassroots Campaign in collaboration with Doctors without Borders. I was pondering as to whether I should accept the job since it required long hours throughout the day. However, I was thoroughly convinced that CSLP was worthwhile as soon as I heard about it. I initially had several options in mind to volunteer.

I reached out to Kaiser Permanente because it is an establishment that is widely considered to be a leader in the health care field. Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to “provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.” I am a junior undergraduate student majoring in Public Health and the class that I was taking in connection to the program was a Public Health course as well, so seemed like a match made in heaven. Although I was thrilled to be volunteering, I did not have any particular expectations coming in.  My overall experience volunteering at Kaiser Permanente was phenomenal. Volunteering gave me a great sense of satisfaction, especially when I realized that my assistance had brightened up the patients’ day. What I found quite remarkable was the amount of people that would talk to me and open up their lives to me, especially while knowing that I was simply a volunteer.

Volunteering also presented me with common challenges that healthcare professionals face on a daily basis. The ability to think critically is essential especially while facing tense situations. I learned firsthand how mean certain patients can be. There were quite a few patients that gave me, the volunteer, an attitude. Health professionals told me and assured that was in fact normal occurrence that is bound to happen several times within a given day. Volunteering provided me the safe space to remain humble, keep composure, know my role and do my absolute best possible job to provide a quality health experience for all patients. I gathered key concepts that I learned from my Public Health course and applied it in real-life. It is absolutely critical for anyone involved in health to demonstrate empathy. From that lens, I became more aware that patients may lash out, out of spite especially if they are having difficulties coping with a particular diagnosis or illness. I attained an invaluable perspective of how things are run within healthcare. I also gained a great deal of exposure quite in the early in the game, according to literally everyone working at Kaiser. Healthcare professionals became acclaimed with my presence and a result initiated the engagement of dialogue concerning professional and personal endeavors. I plan to continue volunteering on a less frequent basis. I would highly recommend students to participate in CSLP.

Guadalupe Mabry, VA Medical Center

My name is Guadalupe Mabry. I am a pre-med public health major and this semester I was able to participate in the Community Service Learning Program (CSLP) at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. I was placed in the research department in the chemical signaling lab in conjunction with my Introduction to Health Research Class

In the lab, I was able to be a part of research efforts through hands on efforts such as analysis and collaboration with scientists as well as through administrative tasks that allowed me to see the work that goes into every portion of research.

My time at the VA Medical Center gave me the opportunity to be a part of research in every single step of the way! I was able to apply concepts I was learning in my Health Research Class to an actual laboratory with everything from grants to ethics being applicable every time I stepped into the lab. The calcium signaling lab is extremely active, working on upwards of 5 different projects at a time in varying stages so there is never a dull moment. Because my background in not in chemistry, although I have taken some classes, I had a lot of on the job training. Being put into an active research environment has been an amazing experience!

Although I was stationed in the research department, I got the opportunity to explore around the Medical Center campus. The VA has been known for its set of issues regarding the speed of care provided to veterans and that sentiment was echoed by all the people I got to know on my walks around the campus. I remember on one of my first days, I was sitting in the lobby and a Vietnam vet nudged me and said to me “There is never a dull day or empty lobby at the VA. Not in my lifetime and I doubt in yours”. As a future physician, this really stuck with me.

Our nation’s veterans account for 11% of the adult homeless population and are disproportionality people of color. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is committed to caring for veterans and their families, but it has historically fallen short. In my experiences at the VA Medical Center, I got the opportunity to speak to folks actively attempting to better the system and care given to veterans as well as veteran themselves! The issues that veterans face are not well discussed or documented outside of organizations like the VA and my time serving at this organization has opened my eyes to the real impact research, community based interventions, and systematic evaluation have.

The one thing that truly inspired me during my service learning would be the diversity of the medical and health care providers at the Center. On my first day, I was overwhelmed upon walking in and seeing the vast number of doctors and nurses who were people of color. With the widely acknowledged gap in health outcomes for people of color, specifically Black folks, studies have shown the need for health care providers that look like patients in order for there to be increased trust and better adherence to medical advice. The future of medicine depends on increase cultural competence and understanding of the barriers of health that patients face. Seeing health care professionals as well as researchers in the lab who looked like me has reinvigorated my desire to pursue a career in medicine and research because if they can do it, I know I can too.