“HISPANIC HONORS SCHOLARS”

Hispanic Health Initiative News

MUSC College of Nursing Volume 2, Issue 2, Spring 2007

On January 12, faculty and students from the Hispanic Health Initiative Honors Pro-gram welcomed the second cohort of accelerated baccalau-reate students to the group.

The new Honors Scholars are Kimberly Chavis, Katie Barry, Lauren Johnson, Katherine Chike-Harris, L a u r e n Y o u n g , R u t h Kennedy, Erin Brister, and Grace Stearns. Throughout the upcoming months, the students will be mentored by faculty and students to promote engagement within the Hispanic community.

In an effort to acquaint the students with the community, they will participate in local health fairs. Additionally, students will complete a clini-cal experience at the Mom’s Morning Out program in North Charleston. In prepara-tion for their immersion into the Hispanic community, the students will participate in the following seminars:

∗ “Community Voices”

∗ Assessment of Depression in Primary Care practice

∗ Immigration Law and the Health Care Provider

∗ Comfort Measures for the Childbearing Family

At the end of their rotation in the program, students are asked to write about their experiences.

Scholar Lynn DiVecchio recalled: “I first met the mother-to-be in centering pregnancy class at the Florence Crittenton Programs in September 2006. Since our initial meeting we have become very close. I met her boyfriend and family and we’ve all been through an amazing experience. This new mother is someone I plan to keep in touch with even after I’m finished with this semester. I highly recommend working with the Florence Crittenton Programs to those seeking future nursing experiences. I see a huge need for these girls to have someone in their corner during pregnancy and at the hospital for delivery.

There is such a need that I hope there is a way to include the house as a possible addition to the Women’s Health clinical rota-tion for future CON students”.

99 Jonathan Lucas St. P.O. Box 250160 Charleston, SC 29425

Ph: (843) 792-2215 E-mail slan@musc.edu Fax (843) 792-2104

Above, Erin Miller, Katie Benefield, Heather Cheek, Sara Cavazos, Dr. Smith, Lynn DiVecchio. Below: First group of scholars celebrate completion of Women’s Health Clinical rotation.

Advisory Board Members

Lisa Belton Eileen Chepenik

Vanessa Diaz, M.D. Latasha High

Rev. Mercedes Julian Diane Kennedy

Alberto Montero, M.D. Nilsy Rapalo

Ronald Ravenell Carlos Salinas, D.M.D.

Thursday-April 26th, 9:00 am College of Nursing Historical Library

April 27-28th-Beaufort , SC

Beaufort Memorial Hospital

June 8-9th-Charleston, SC MUSC

Advisory Board Meeting

AHEC “Fundamentals of Medical Interpreting” course

Hispanic Health Initiative News

On February 3rd, Hispanic Scholars participated in MUSC’s student-sponsored MLK Not a Day Off but a Day On Health Fair held at Our Lady of Mercy Outreach Center on John’s Island. Hispanic Health Initiative scholars provided information on cancer prevention, breast health, and breast self-examination. Countdown to Kindergarten, a Pre-Kindergarten Celebration, was held February 24th at North Charleston Elementary School. The event was for all tri-county children entering kindergarten in 2007. Countdown to Kindergarten is a partnership of Trident United Way, Berkeley/Charleston/Dorchester County First Steps, Berkeley/Charleston/Dorchester Head Start/Early Head Start, Berkeley/Charleston/Dorchester County School Districts, Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry and The City of Charleston Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families. Children received a backpack, T-shirt and other goodies. Pediatric Nurse Practitioner students and HHI scholars participated in vision, hearing, height, weight, and BMI screenings. Dental screening was also provided. Handouts on school readiness were distributed and 54 children were screened. Students and families enjoyed the interaction and information.

The Mother’s Morning Out Program is in full swing and College of nursing students are working hard on their clinical experience with the program. Pediatric Nurse Practitioner students taught Health Promotion topics related to safety, oral health, nutrition, sleep issues, and speech and language development. The children’s development was assessed using the Brigance Development Screen, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and Expressive Vocabulary Test.

Second year medical student and Presidential Scholar, Christina Hoffman conducted a focus group with the Latina women of the Mother’s Morning Out” program in January. The group consisted of 5 immigrant Latina women all of Mexican nationality, between the ages of 21 to 30. Their time spent living in the U.S. ranged from 4 months to 9 years. Their education level ranged from elementary to high school. Below is a sample question asked during the session, and responses: What are the barriers you see in accessing healthcare?

∗ Communication – the only solution they have found is to go to clinics with Spanish speaking providers or to hire an interpreter.

∗ Empathy from healthcare providers – providers are not receptive to patients, become frustrated, and do not try to understand the patient’s situation

∗ Transportation – if the family does not have a car, or access to a car, they call a taxi to take them to their appointment

∗ Insurance – children are covered by Medicaid, but the adults have to pay everything out of pocket before receiving service. They often do not seek care until it is absolutely necessary because they cannot afford appointments

∗ Scheduling appointments – although they can communicate in clinics with Spanish-speaking providers, they have difficulty scheduling appointments over the phone.

Dianna Inman, Principal investigator for the “Mother’s Morning Out” program, received grant funding from two local organizations. In December 2006, the Women Making a Difference Foundation and the Bakker Family Fund awarded $3,000 to the Mother’s Morning Out program. The funds will be used to purchase educational supplies, curriculum, and furniture. The giving did not stop there. The Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation made a generous donation to our program as well. Program Assistant, Melanie Slan submitted an application to Toys For Tots requesting educational toys and manipulatives for the toddlers. The Marine Corps responded in grand style by delivering a truck load of bicycles, toy furniture, balls, games, dolls, stuffed animals, bilingual electronic games, puzzles, and various other items.

“MOTHER’S MORNING OUT”UPDATE

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HEALTH FAIRS

Left: PNP students and HHI Schol-ars volunteer at Countdown to Kindergarten

Right: Bonnie Matthews and HHI scholars at MLK Health Fair

Left to right: Delia Negron, Midland Park Elementary interpreter, Gunnery Sergeant Michael Kirby, USMC, Melanie Slan and Master Sergeant Stephen Slan, USMC

Hispanic Health Initiative News

In partnership with Communities in Schools, The Hispanic Health Initiative is developing a group for Hispanic teen mothers on John’s Island designed to offer support and education to new adolescent mothers. Blair Tiller, CNM at Sea Island Medical Center, will facilitate the weekly meetings which will focus on parenting issues, child development, preventing repeat pregnancies, navigating the health care system, and issues specific to teenage parents. The program will begin May 2007. In an effort to serve more women on the Sea Islands, The Best Chance Network has partnered with Hollings Cancer Center, The Hispanic Health Initiative and Sea Island Medical Center. Women meeting the criteria for Best Chance services (which include an annual Pap smear and mammogram screenings) who do not have a primary care provider, will be referred to Blair Tiller, CNM at Sea Island Medical Center for their Best Chance exams. The providers at Sea Island Medical Center will be available to these women for Best Chance services as well as any primary care needs they may have throughout the year.

The Hispanic Health Initiative hosted a roundtable discussion titled: “Exploring Solutions for Health Disparities with Mekbib Gemeda, Director, Office of Diversity Affairs at New York University School of Medicine on November 21, 2006 at the College of nursing. Dr. Charlene Pope and Jason Roberson presented “ The Comparison of Prenatal Advice in Monolingual and Bilingual Health Encounters” at the MUSC Center for Health Disparities, December 14, 2006. Dr. Charlene Pope and Dianna Inman were notified that they will receive the Palmetto Gold Award for Nursing Excellence by the South Carolina Nurses Foundation. A formal ceremony will be held in April. Dr. Pope also had 2 grants reviewed and scored favorably for revision and resubmission: For the Ralph H. Johnson VA, Charleston, Targeted Research Enhancement Program (TREP), a Merit Proposal for the grant entitled “Racial Variations in Communication, Decision Making, and Diabetes Outcomes.” Drs. Leonard Egede, Co-PI, and Boyd Davis , Co-I. For the national Library of Medicine (NLM) in response to the G08 call for Informatics and Library data resources development, a grant entitled “Carolinas Conversations: A multiethnic digital corpus of speech for older persons.” Dr. Boyd Davis, Co-PI (MUSC adjunct faculty and senior faculty at UNC-Charlotte). Melanie Slan attended “Promoting Diversity in Health Care: Partnerships for Success, sponsored by SC AHEC, February 27, 2007 in Columbia, SC. Melanie and Lori Robinson attended the SC Hispanic Affairs Summit, sponsored by the SC Hispanic Leadership Council, March 2, 2007 in Columbia, SC. Vanessa Diaz, MD presented ”Health Issues Surrounding Latinos and Teen Pregnancy” at the workshop Working with Special Populations, sponsored by My Sister’s house, Inc. on March 23, 2007.

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Jason Roberson, Spanish Language Specialist, was selected to join the Membership Committee of the National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare. Jason submitted an abstract which was accepted for presentation at the 2006 Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association Conference: “Hispanics in the New South: Challenges for Medical Interpretation and Cultural Effectiveness Training in South Carolina”, Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association 10th Annual National Conference on Medical Interpreting, Cambridge, MA, November 10-12, 2006. Dr. Sheila Smith, Co-investigator on the Hispanic Health Initiative grant, is also co-investigator on a research grant funded by the South Carolina March of Dimes. The grant is titled: Centering Pregnancy for Prematurity Prevention.” The project will test the efficacy of the Centering Pregnancy model versus standard care for prenatal care in the African-American Community. Dr. Tara Hulsey, Associate Dean for Academics, College of Nursing, is principal investigator. Maria Toler, Program Administrator for the Hispanic Health Initiative, attended “Understanding the Hispanic Market: Business Opportunity or Matter of Survival”?, November 14, 2006, in North Charleston. Dr. Deborah Williamson, Associate Dean for Faculty Practice at MUSC’s College of Nursing and principal investigator for the Hispanic Health Initiative grant, was recently recognized as a Health Care Hero. She was recognized for “taking nursing beyond the walls of the hospital” and was instrumental in sustaining the Enterprise Center’s clinical operations. The Enterprise Center operates a clinic in associa-tion with Franklin C. Fetter Community Health System and serves low-income and underserved residents in the neck area of the Charleston peninsula. Dr. Williamson also presented ”Health Issues in the Lowcountry”, MUSC Nursing Grand Rounds, November 27, 2006.

FACULTY AND STAFF ACTIVITIES

WHAT’S NEW?

Hispanic Health Initiative News

Just Ask, is a new Teen Health Line jointly sponsored by The Hispanic Health Initiative and Communities in Schools. The purpose of the teen line is to provide a resource for teens seeking medical advice or treatment and to provide them access to someone with a medical background who can help determine if they need to make an appointment to see the doctor, or to advise them on what steps to take. Calls come to a cell phone number dedicated to this purpose and is answered by Lori Robinson, Certified Medical Assistant at Sea Island Medical Center.

This is not a crisis line; if an emergency call comes through, the proper authorities are notified. Beginning in January, business cards were distributed to teens at Youth Build and St. John’s High School. Lori Robinson has had the opportunity to introduce herself to some of the teen girls and has also sat in on group discussions. Students were reassured that their calls are kept confidential and that they can call with any problem or questions. Lori says: “I will do my best to answer their questions or tell them where they need to go. If necessary, I will also try to get them in to see a provider as soon as possible. I would like to get the word out and hopefully reach the Hispanic teens in the area as well. We hope this project will take off and give us the opportunity to educate teens and hopefully decrease the teen pregnancy rate and prevent the spread of STDs.”

Lori Robinson

Seven undergraduate College of Nursing students in the Professional Issues NURSU 385 course along with The Hispanic Health Initiative’s Deborah Williamson, Blair Tiller and Lori Robinson , worked with Communities in Schools on “Prom Prep Saturday”. This event was held for Junior and Senior girls attending St. John’s High School. The program included: booths with giveaways related to teen health, an opportunity to experience the “drunken” goggles (a device which simulates impairment after excessive alcohol use), and a luncheon. Luncheon speakers included advisory board member Latasha High of the Charleston Center, who encouraged the girls to have plans for their future and to make safe choices to ensure that they have a successful future. Lottie McClorin, Manager, from the South Carolina Emergency Contraception Initiative spoke about emergency contraception; what it is and what it is not. The highlight of the afternoon was the opportunity each girl had to select a free prom dress from over 50 beautiful dresses. Participating nursing students were: Jennifer Brown, Jane Dobbins, Liz Lucey Boyle, Kyle O’Bryan, Kristie Quarles, Nicole Staubes and Tracy Woodward.

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Latasha High speaks to the group

Liz Lucey Boyle and Nicole Staubes

Two happy, satisfied customers

Decisions, decisions…

Lisa Belton handing out raffle tickets

WHAT’S NEW?