The Gregg/Klice Community Center in Kansas City was buzzing on a recent Saturday afternoon with a DJ, free food, 气球动物和弹跳屋, thanks to 社区计划 我们健康的杰克逊县. A在家庭欢乐中, residents also received cancer screenings, vaccinations and a variety of other free health services.
Jannette berkeley - patton, M.A., Ph.D., UMKC健康公平研究所所长, the 社区计划 is dedicated to promoting equity and access to vaccinations and other health and community services. 以前是我们的健康堪萨斯城东区, the program has expanded its services and community footprint to all of 杰克逊县, 一定程度上要感谢杰克逊县, 哪个项目为下一阶段提供了500万美元的资金.
伯克利-巴顿说, 这是UMKC之间合作的一个很好的例子, 杰克逊县, 社区领导和商界.
“首先也是最重要的, it speaks to County Executive Frank White and the rest of the 杰克逊县 Legislature recognizing that there are significant health disparities in 杰克逊县 that need to be addressed,伯克利-巴顿说. “We have underserved populations that have told us how valuable these services are to them.”
White attended the event Saturday and noted 这个倡议 has become a valuable resource for the community.
“Dr. Berkley-Patton and the groups she works with have done a great job getting people to come out and take ownership of their health,” he said. “这对我们所有人来说都是一份值得骄傲的遗产. 当你看到今天来了这么多人的时候, 它告诉你有多少人无法获得医疗保健.”
The kickoff event for the expanded initiative offered a variety of free health services, 包括COVID-19, flu and HPV vaccinations; blood pressure and blood sugar checks; mental health, STI, cancer and dental screenings; and smoking cessation resources. Those taking advantage of these services received cash incentives for participating.
One community member who showed up for his COVID-19 and flu shots Saturday was Kansas City 公民领袖和前City 委员会成员, 阿尔文·布鲁克斯.
“我已经91岁了，我想保持健康，”布鲁克斯说. “上帝待我很好, 这是我想对自己好一点. I’m glad to see so many people from the African American community here. 我认识很多这样的人. 这当然是成功的. 门外排着长队.”
的确，第一阶段的成功是显而易见的. 我们的健康堪萨斯城东区提供了12人,接种疫苗942次，交付4次,2021年和2022年提供152个保健服务. 在最近的“健康杰克逊县”活动中， nearly 170 社区成员出席 141 接受疫苗. But the proof of success also has been evident in the feedback Berkley-Patton received directly from community members.
“I remember talking to one woman who was a new grandmother,伯克利-巴顿说. “She was so excited to get her COVID-19 vaccination because she knew that not only was she protecting herself, 同时也在保护她渴望见到的孙子.”
Kansas City home health-care worker Latonya Drew echoed that sentiment Saturday as she received her vaccine. She 有她的客户"健康和幸福" 在她打针的时候. She said she appreciated 这个倡议 被带到 the 社区 人们住在哪里.
“这对没有交通工具的人来说是件好事 来到这里，”德鲁说. “来到这里，你会得到很多信息, 你会了解你的社区.”
UMKC health sciences students and faculty play an integral role keeping these essential services free for 杰克逊县 residents. 牙科学院的学生和教师, Medicine, Nursing and Health Studies and Pharmacy were on hand providing screenings, 接种疫苗和回答健康问题.
“How often can you just walk up to a doctor and ask a question, no waiting for an appointment?伯克利-巴顿问道. “It can make a world of difference having this level of access to health-care providers in a setting that folks frequent and trust.”
伯克利-巴顿说, 这段经历对密苏里大学堪萨斯分校健康科学专业的学生来说至关重要, 让他们更好地理解 the 预防性保健的重要性. 通过提供筛查和保健教育, students see how a small intervention in someone’s life can have lasting effects for overall health. The event also provides students an opportunity to work in the community, where they hear first-hand the effects of social determinants of health, 比如运输问题, 粮食不安全或缺乏保险.
学生Micah Anderson(药学.D. 她第一次接触这个项目是在当地的杂货店里. She was shopping and happened across one the organization’s original events. 她一生都住在杰克逊县, and seeing people from UMKC giving back to her community was transformative.
“这真的很有影响力，”安德森说. “Seeing my classmates and faculty at UMKC helping the people I see at the grocery store and the pharmacy.”
一有机会去组织做志愿者, 安德森欣然接受了这个帮助社区的机会.
“These are the people who have motivated me, encouraged me in my pursuit of pharmacy,” Anderson said. “这个机会对我来说真的很重要, using the skills and clinical knowledge that I’ve developed at UMKC to give back to the people that have poured so much into me.”
On Saturday, Anderson conducted blood sugar and blood pressure screenings for three straight hours.
“我们一直很忙，”她说. “我们并没有一直停下来.”
Third-year p和谐学院的学生杰西卡·托马斯在活动中接种疫苗.
“It makes me feel like pharmacists really have a role in our community,” Thomas said. “We are having an impact on the health of the community, and I love that.”
The health-care providers involved with 我们健康的杰克逊县 are also helping to address the rising rates of diabetes in Kansas City as well as the area’s high infant mortality rates, 密苏里州政府的一个问题. 迈克·帕森已经在全州范围内确认. Berkley-Patton is excited to launch the organization’s new maternal health program, which supports women of reproductive age with family planning counseling and an immediate appointment with an OB/GYN in the University Health Women’s Care Clinics.
The organization uses a unique approach in building the structure of 我们健康的杰克逊县, pairing community stakeholders with UMKC experts who are established in these communities.
“我一直在做社区活动-engaged research at UMKC now for almost two decades,伯克利-巴顿说. “我在堪萨斯城出生并长大, 所以能在自家后院做这件事让我起鸡皮疙瘩. Seeing thousands of people get the COVID-19 vaccination and much-needed health screenings, 看到数百名志愿者聚集在一起, that’s the stuff that gets me excited and increases my passion for the work we are all doing.”