3/22/2019 0 Comments Day 8: Anchoring our learningToday was the final day of our Breakout Trip. Thus, our morning started with a thorough cleaning of the CASA retreat house, our host site, with everyone pitching in, making it a much more enjoyable experience. After ensuring that the house was just as we had found it, we all packed our bags and loaded up the cars so that we could travel to our final community partner, Ben Thornton from Anchor House.
Meeting Ben was an amazing experience. He was an incredibly nice man who talked to us about the mission of Anchor House and the services they provided. He told us about his own experiences and the progression of Anchor House. He also ran us through a few scenarios, telling us how he certain situations would be handled by the organization. In addition, Ben explained the concept of homelessness as a public health issue. Altogether, it was a very informative session and a perfect way to end our trip. -Hifsa
0 Comments
3/21/2019 0 Comments Day 7: Clinics and CircusToday was one part community outreach and one part pure fun. This morning we met with the staff of the Medina Community Clinic. This clinic is more than its physical location of two offices leased from another nonprofit clinic and another administrative office. It works to bridge the gap between primary care physician visits and follow-ups with specialists where so many uninsured or underinsured patients fall through the cracks. Arshe was the first person we met. As the Executive Director of Medina, she has been wearing, as she put it “50 different hats” since the Clinic was founded in 2014. However, as the clinic has expanded and gained repute other people have joined the Medina team. Judith was the first staff member we met. She is a retired social worker who has been working with Medina for four years. When Medina receives a referral from a primary care physician for an uninsured patient to see a specialist, it is Judith who gets in contact with the patient and helps them understand the next steps they need to take to acquire the necessary documentation, labs, and other clinical tests the specialist will need. She also follows up with the patients to make sure they get their medication and are following any dietary or lifestyle changes that may accompany the doctor’s visit. Helping her with this task is Caesar, who joined the Medina team two months ago and acts as the group’s liaison to the Spanish speaking community, helping patients who are not fluent in English and are sometimes undocumented understand the steps necessary in obtaining proper medical care. Ashe then introduced us to the history of the clinic and the story of its founding. She explained the importance of Sameen’s work to the clinic. While Judith is involved in the day-to-day primary functions of the clinic, Sameen works with community outreach, expanding the network of partners the clinic communicates with and working to organize individual events, such as free flu shots throughout the fall months. Both the outreach, and day-to-day organization are critical for the Medina Community Clinic to expand and maintain its reputation as a positive force in Mercer County. Hopefully they will soon be able to expand throughout all of New Jersey. Students or other individuals interested in volunteering at the Medina Clinic can find links to the organization here: http://medinahealthcare.org Twitter- @Medina_Clinic (Shoutout to Ashe’s daughter Radia because she is the cutest child ever) -Mary Although the Trenton Circus Squad was not a part of the mobile medicine aspect of our breakout trip, we felt that seeing this aspect of the community was crucial to helping us understand Trenton. Formed through volunteers teaching local members circus skills, such as juggling, Ariel’s, tumbling, etc, this circus squad allows for children from the local community to be involved with the arts while providing them with a safe and educational place to spend their time. We watched their radiant and entertaining performance and the bright smiles on the performers’ faces were priceless. -Edwina We began the morning by meeting Dave at a coffee shop in the city. He hopped in the car and directed us to a war memorial. We stopped and listed as he described what the memorial was. Across the street was the Henry J. Austin free clinic. We learned about some of the issues facing the clinic: its understaffed to the point that doctors are in charge of volunteer coordination as well as treatment. Dave discussed real estate in Trenton, especially how his own home was evaluated to be $8,000 (a significant loss) even after years of care. We continued on and learned about Trenton’s attempts to beautify the city. They attempted to build a tunnel, but due to construction and engineering issues, ended up with a superfluous above-ground structure. We passed a lot of incredible sights in addition to run-down areas in the city. Trenton has a rich history and a lot of culture. We met with a former Princetonian and current Trenton-based architect that renovated an old Roebling factory. We learned about the steel wire industry in Trenton and learned that Slinkys were actually first manufactured in Trenton.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |