Month: July 2017

HIV Prevention Volunteering – Summer 2017

One volunteering position I was involved with during this summer was on the HIV Prevention Team for Care Alliance Health Center, a nonprofit federally qualified health center in Cleveland, Ohio. Care Alliance strives to provide high-quality comprehensive medical and dental care as well as patient advocacy services to people regardless of ability to pay. They have four different clinics around the city. The target population is those experiencing homelessness and those living in/around public housing. Everyone is welcome at Care Alliance, and no one is turned away from care. (I volunteered with them previously in January!)

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The Central neighborhood clinic for Care Alliance opened in 2015. In Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, 73% of families live in poverty. The infant mortality rate and the type II diabetes rate are both double the city’s average. Therefore, it is pertinent to increase health access in this area.

The HIV Prevention Team 2017 summer cohort is made up of 8 volunteers (we are all college students) split among three teams since there are three supervisors who conduct HIV tests themselves. It was an honor to be one of those selected and I was glad to be a part of Care Alliance once again. This summer, LaChanee was my supervisor and I was on her team along with another volunteer. (She is currently a HIV test counselor with Care Alliance and graduated from college in 2015.) Another impression accomplishment is that she runs her own dance business on the side.

HIV has stigma attached to it, and my hopes while I was volunteering was to decrease the discrimination and dispel common false perceptions about it.

In May, I applied and interviewed for the volunteer position, which was posted on Care Alliance’s Facebook page, which I follow. I was immediately drawn to the role because of how much impact it could have on my community and the valuable skills I would gain from the experience. Some requirements for this HIV prevention role were good verbal and communication skills, cultural sensitivity, open-mindedness, optimism, responsibility, and accountability. Being at least 18 years old with a high school diploma or equivalent was also needed. I was chosen to be in the cohort after showing that I was serious and committed to the betterment of the community. Afterwards, there were mandatory training sessions later in May, and prior to that, I had to research more on HIV to get a firm grasp of the topic.

TRAINING
Training took two days in their Central Neighborhood clinic. I brought a tote bag that was large enough to carry water, my planner, pencil pouch, and a binder and notebook to jot down notes. It pays to be prepared.

The first day, we were welcomed and did introductions. Each volunteer was provided with a folder containing documents, including the Volunteer Program Handbook. I read this handbook over multiple times to refresh my memory. The volunteer coordinator gave us training, which involved an interactive PowerPoint about patient confidentiality and we had to answer if the scenario was confidential or not. We reviewed general volunteer information like the code of conduct and expectations. We were given a packet of HR documents to complete too. Next we were provided a comprehensive information presentation, which was a run-through of HIV/AIDS, STIs, PrEP, and PEP. The counselors also covered risk reduction (with a demonstration of proper condom usage).

Image result for prep and pep

PrEP is for HIV negative people who are at high risk for contracting HIV because they engage in risky behaviors like unsafe sex with an HIV+ partner. This is taken daily for the rest of your life. PEP is post-exposure, and for people who have recently engaged in risky behaviors (such as unsafe sex or sex while intoxicated) within the last 72 hours. This is taken daily for 28 days.

The second day of training, we learned about funding streams for HIV testing, universal precautions for testing, forms and data-collection when working with clients, pre- and post-test counseling, and positive procedures. Additionally, we reviewed databases and data entry. Training ended with us getting into our teams and meeting to discuss anything we had to do before June. Leaving training, I was excited about the scope of my volunteer work with Care Alliance (which I’ll call CA). However, I was informed that I’d be finger pricking clients, and I assumed I’d only do cheek swab tests. I was not feeling that comfortable taking even a drop of blood from a person. Then I was told that cheek swab tests (or OraQuick) are more expensive and may not be as accurate. So I had to do this even if it made me uneasy. Besides training, I had to complete a drug screening.

Throughout my volunteer tenure, I was required to wear business casual clothing for the office and more casual while we were doing outreach on the streets. With outreach, especially if outdoors, jeans and sneakers are allowed! A CA volunteer badge was also worn to identify that I was with the organization. Personal hygiene was important, as well as high respect for everyone I encountered. I held myself to the standard of treating each client as if they were my own family member. But above all, the number one important thing during work was to protect and maintain patient confidentiality!

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This is the Alere Clearview Complete 1/2 HIV Test, which Care Alliance workers call Clearview for short. This test involves pricking the finger to draw blood. In 10-15 minutes, results are ready!

In June and July, I helped work towards preventing HIV transmission through a variety of methods like conducting rapid testing and risk-reduction counseling around the community. I conducted HIV testing in clinic as well as at community events with the HIV Testing Mobile Unit; some activities were in the evenings/on weekends. My work schedule conflicted with my volunteering one and did not allow me to conduct HIV education sessions like originally planned. Additionally, I assembled and distributed risk reduction materials such as condom kits. Also, I scheduled primary care and PrEP appointments as well as assisted with quality control of all required paperwork. Everything I did, I recorded in my daily journal. I was required to keep and turn in a monthly log for my volunteer tenure as well.

In one or two hours, my colleague and I prepared over 100 condom kits, which consisted of five condoms, five lubricant oil tubes, a business card, and a sticker. This was for Safe on the Scene, a CDC-funded initiative.

Rapid testing is done at the site of care and can be completed in about 20 minutes! They are highly sensitive and specific tests, so results are usually accurate, but they need to be confirmed by additional testing if the result is positive.
Risk-reduction counseling involves discussing with the client what are things they can do to lower their risk, realistically. For example, some people who have had 50 sexual partners within the last year will not likely change to becoming abstinent. They may lower that to 25 partners a year. It has to be something they can stick with, and be completed incrementally (baby steps!)

One major project I was involved with was a CDC-funded HIV prevention initiative called Safe on the Scene (SOTS). Their slogan is Safe Just Got Safer. This $4 million initiative is intended to turn around incidences of HIV in Cuyahoga County, and the target population is African American males who have sex with males (MSM).
According to HIV/AIDS surveillance records at the Cleveland Department of Public Health, approximately 200 county residents were newly diagnosed with HIV-only or HIV-with-AIDS in 2013, and 42 percent of all HIV cases in 2012-2013 were among African American males ages 13-29. That’s almost one in two men.
(Source URL: http://www.carealliance.org/2015/07/07/newsletter-july-2015/)
Therefore, the most at risk for HIV contraction are African-American MSM.

Recovery Resources and Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio are partners of Care Alliance for this initiative. From this project, it is estimated that over 30,000 people will be served during the five-year span. Progress can already be witnessed; in 2015, Care Alliance reported that they provided risk reduction counseling and HIV testing to 3,314 individuals!

JUNE
Most of my time was concentrated around Care Alliance’s Stokes Clinic (6001 Woodland Avenue, second floor), on the east side of Cleveland, and outreach events at places like Walgreen’s and public centers.

East Side Clinic for Care Alliance Health Center

  • June 5 – Walgreen’s in Lakewood, OH
    • I went on the Mobile HIV Testing Van to recruit people and conduct the questionnaire to assess their sexual health behaviors.
    • Recruited two women!
  • June 7 – Prepared condom kits at our Stokes Clinic for distribution and recruited people around the neighborhood for walk-in testing
    • Tested real citizens for the first time! I tested three men!
    • Went to Woodland library nearby and hung poster on bulletin board!
  • June 15 – LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland
    • This was my first time at this center, which is a huge, great resource for not only the LGBTQ community but also allies. It was a lovely facility, and colorful. My colleague Bailee and another volunteer Katherine were present with me; they focused on recruiting people outdoors. Altogether, I tested four people, all of whom were walk-ins, and my testing skills were getting better. I did have awkward silences with the first couple of clients, but one client and I had a nice conversation. I found myself sharing life details with that person! He made me appreciate my work more.
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  • June 17 – Park Village Apartments (Section 8 Housing) in Hough neighborhood
    • There was a community event in this public housing neighborhood, including a cookout, bouncy house, DJ, and resources fair. The booths in the courtyard included Planned Parenthood, University Hospitals, and more.
      We parked our Mobile Testing Van close to the action, and set up our materials to test people. That afternoon, we tested four folks, which was not as much as we hoped, but Planned Parenthood also used our van to test people since they’re one of our partners.
    • I personally tested two people and distributed the condom kits I made!

      The interior of the Mobile Testing Van has four chairs and a table that serves as the work surface for testing. It is actually very comfortable in the back.

       

  • June 24 – Cleveland’s 28th Annual Pride Festival
    • For five hours, I attended my first Pride! With a handful of Safe on the Scene workers, we walked in the Parade at noon and held a giant banner! I do not have a strong, powerful voice when I shout out so I couldn’t be heard well but the others hollered out “Who are we? Safe on the Scene! What do we want to be? HIV free! Safe on the Scene! Safe on the Scene! Safe on the Scene!” And then another worker following behind the banner yelled out “Get tested! Know your [HIV] status! Knowing is sexy!” It felt so different to be walking in a parade with hundreds of people watching you from the sidewalks and the rooftops. I never knew the feeling until this day. I was so fortunate to be a part of this moment.
    • At the booth we set up, we had a table in front as well as one in the back. The front table held a spin-the-wheel trivia game, free promotional items, fans, and business cards, and a clipboard. One or two people manned the front to ask the booth visitors trivia questions related to HIV, and then ask if they wanted their prize as a keychain, phone wallet, condom case (in black or pink), or a wristband. In the back, I was in charge of the build-your-own-condom-kit station. Participants write down their demographics and then get a goodie bag. They can put as many condoms and lubricants as they like into the bag, and it must fit. We had an assortment of condoms in a variety of flavors. We also had female condoms and flavored dental dams. Our lubricants were water-based and silicone-based.

      The condom station at our Safe on the Scene booth

    • In just the four hours I was at the table, we had over 120 people stop by to make condom kits. Since the Safe on the Scene team would remain until 8 pm, I am sure that we would see at least 200 people total for Saturday. We gave away all the female condoms and dental dams we had. The one thing that bothered me at this station was that one man overstocked on our condoms and I did not say something to him. His goodie bag was overstuffed and he also placed a good number of condoms into his backpack. At least he’ll have protected sex. Overall, I had a great experience and we did a good amount of outreach.
    • According to our organizer Lawrence White, who stayed all day, we interacted with 250 people. Furthermore, the festival staff said that we were in the top 10 most visited booths at Pride! Apparently they surveyed visitors about which booth was most memorable and recommended and people said “Safe on the Scene!”
  • June 25 – “Buck on the Scene” event @ Cleveland Exotic Dance Studio
    • This dance workshop event was made possible by Buck Out Cle LLC and Safe on the Scene! These two entities partnered together in efforts to raise awareness around HIV testing, prevention and linkage to HIV services. The workshop was lead by two members of the group Prancing Elites, Jerel and Kareem. The Prancing Elites are from Mobile, Alabama, and are featured on the hit show on Oxygen “The Prancing Elites Project.”
    • We had the Mobile Testing Van out by the entrance for HIV testing and the upstairs where the dance studio was, we had HIV testing as well as STD testing (a restroom is needed to collect a urine sample). I had my phone out so I could ask the event attendees to fill out the registration form, and so we could keep track of how many people attended.
    • Admission for the event is free if visitors get a confidential HIV or STD test provided by Safe on the Scene workers/volunteers. Otherwise, they pay a $10 admission fee.
  • June 27 – Walgreen’s in Lakewood – National HIV Testing Day!

    awarenesshivtesting_122.png

    • The first National HIV Testing Day was observed on June 27, 1995 (www.hiv.gov).
    • All afternoon, we recruited a total of 19 people for HIV testing at Walgreen’s, which partners with health departments/AIDs services each year for this special event! We had four volunteers, including myself, wearing our red shirts. While we are trained to test people, our job for the day was to recruit citizens to get the tests. The HIV testing counselors handled the bloodwork and paperwork. We also handed out $5 Dave’s Supermarket and McDonald’s gift cards, as well as Care Alliance Health Center goodie bags that included condoms, a sticker saying “I got tested”, and much more.

      The volunteers!

    • There were quite a number of people out, but we did get many rejections. However, 19 people is phenomenal because our goal was to get at least 12 people tested.

      Me squinting into the sunlight.         Taken by my college mentor and HIV Testing Coordinator, Carly.

      Our station set-up. Results were given inside the Mobile Testing Van for confidentiality.

  • June 28 – Walgreen’s in Lakewood, OH
    • This day went by faster than anticipated. The first hour there, we tested five people! Wow! We tested over a dozen people total, exceeding our goal for the day. We even had a client talk with us for over 20 minutes.
  • TOTAL HOURS: 29 (including May training: 36)
    Total Personally Tested: 9

JULY

  • July 19 – Stokes Clinic
    • I assembled 47 condom kits in an hour. The kits had five condoms, five lubes, and a business card. It was just me and LaChanee in the office. LaChanee was answering emails and doing other administrative duties.
    • I read part of a book called 100 Questions & Answers about HIV and AIDS, third edition.
      Image result for 100 questions and answers about aids third edition

      Then I distributed flyers advertising Care Alliance’s Block Party, held the next day. I went to the library, police station (no luck), Boys & Girls Club, and an apartment complex (no luck). I also handed some to a Beechbrook staff member, who shared the rest with her team.

  • July 20 – Care Alliance Block Party @ Central Neighborhood
    • CA hosts an annual block party. This year it was at their newest branch clinic, Central Clinic. This was a community celebration of health and wellness. Food, beverages, and entertainment were provided, along with raffle prizes and free giveaways!Services included bike repairs, blood pressure checks, cancer screenings (lung, colon, etc.)and information, health education, appointment scheduling, fitness activities (such as Zumba), CMSD student enrollment, and SNAP enrollment. We also had other community resources such as the neighborhood food bank, Molina Health Care, and our HIV van. A face-painter was available for the kids.

      The role I had was to greet visitors at my booth and have them sign in if they wanted a meal ticket and/or a BINGO score card. Those who completed the card by going to each booth inside and outside the clinic would then get a raffle ticket to enter the giveaways. We gave away two child bikes and two Dave’s Supermarket gift cards as well as a goodie bag. Everyone who attended the event left with something though – pamphlets, free food, and more. I was amazed at how we had hundreds of people come! Even the CEO and COO of Care Alliance stopped by to thank the staff for our hard work. This was my last day of volunteering for the summer too, and this block party was a great way to end my term.

       

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  • Thank you to Carly Hill, my college mentor and HIV Prevention Coordinator of Care Alliance. You’re so motivational and positive! You make things all run smoothly and no one gets left behind when they’re on your team. I am always grateful for you.
  • Thank you to Annette James, HIV Prevention Specialist of Care Alliance. Your laidback demeanor was always appreciated! During training, you pushed the volunteers by asking us “Why? Explain it to me. Teach me.” Your presence is calming.
  • Thanks to LaChanee Davis, my team supervisor. I really enjoyed working with you. You were very flexible with working out my schedule. You motivated me to be better and was honest with me about my strengths and weaknesses. I also love how you are involved with your own business in addition to what you do with Care Alliance.
  • Thank you Mohamed Yugo, for your bright personality. You are very polite and look out for others. You also made me smile often when you danced or sang while driving us in the Mobile Testing Van! Good luck with your MPH at BU!
  • Thanks to Bailee, my fellow volunteer. You help make me feel comfortable when we work together. You’re in Public Health as well and you’re going to be a great doctor! You’re hardworking and easygoing.
  • Thank you to Karl Kimpo, who works with Planned Parenthood. I have done some community outreach and testing with you. I am glad to meet someone who’s had decades of experience with sexual health and marginalized populations.
  • Thanks to the people I have met through Planned Parenthood and Safe on the Scene. It was great to work with you all! Lawrence White, you rocked for organizing our parade walk and booths for Pride!
  • Thanks to Care Alliance in general for what it has done for the community. All volunteers have to pat themselves on the back for assisting in carrying out CA’s mission.
  • Thanks to the organizations CA collaborated with; community partnerships are a key to success! I learned more about the resources around Cleveland.
  • Thank you to my supporters, including the readers of my blog.

REFLECTION

I spent a total of 43 hours with Care Alliance this summer. I enjoyed the work I have done with Care Alliance as part of their HIV Prevention Team. The summer was productive and I reached dozens of individuals. The most pivotal moment of my work (and biggest struggle) was getting over my discomfort with pricking patient fingers. Some really hated needles, and I share their pain. I was able to work with diverse groups of people: people in public housing, people who were incarcerated, people who were MSM, and transgender people.

The amount of knowledge I gained while volunteering was tremendous! I furthered my own knowledge on HIV and the stigmas people have towards it. I learned about the Ryan White CARE Act, which made it possible for more treatment, attention, and funding to be allowed for HIV/AIDS. We have come a long way since AIDS was called an epidemic in the 1980s; before, public discourse perceived AIDS as contagious and people with AIDS would not be allowed in schools or other areas. Fear guided people’s actions. With technology and education, there is less controversy over it. Public health is such a rewarding field and I am happy to be in this major at OSU.
During winter break, I strongly believe I’ll return to Care Alliance to help out more with their HIV efforts.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please see these resources to learn more:
“Giving HIV Test Results”, April 2013, by Maria A. Corwin, LCSW, CAC III, and edited by Lucy Bradley-Springer, PhD, RN, ACRN, FAAN.

HIV/AIDS
http://ryanwhite.com/rwcareact.html
https://www.aids.gov/
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html

To find a testing site near you:

  • visit ActAgainstAIDS,
  • text your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948), or
  • call 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).

For Care Alliance:
www.carealliance.org
Follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well!

For Safe on the Scene,
http://www.safeonthescene.com
https://www.facebook.com/safeonthescene/
#SafeontheScene #KnowingisSexy

For LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland:
https://www.facebook.com/LGBTCLEVELAND/
http://lgbtcleveland.org/index.html

NEOMED Work

This summer, I had an interesting employment opportunity. I was employed by Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and while I was listed as working primarily at the NEOMED-CSU Partnership Building at Cleveland State University, in reality, I was able to spend time as a supervisor not just at CSU’s campus but also spent a week at a library and a few days at a rural college. This was truly a unique summer job and this is solely because of my great relationship with a NEOMED Health Profession Program Pipeline Coordinator named Ms. Johnson! I’ve known her for about 4 years now, and she’s all over northeast Ohio running programs and going to different high schools. During the summer, she’s also busy with different programs. She’s a wonder woman and one of the hugest role models in my life.
Here’s how my summer went:

June 12-30, I supervised at the CHAMPS (Careers in Health and Medical Professions) program at Cleveland State University. This three-week summer camp provides high school students with skills and knowledge about health/medicine through hands-on activities like labs and field trips. I LOVED being with CHAMPS!

Mad about microbio

The link to my comprehensive blog post on CHAMPS is here:
https://u.osu.edu/dang157hseportfolio/2017/06/21/champs-careers-in-health-and-medical-professions/

July 3-7, I participated in and helped execute a NEOMED-sponsored Academic Boot Camp at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Cleveland near University Circle and my high school. This camp involved financial literacy (taught by a credit strategist), ACT tutoring, math and science teaching, as well as leadership training. I learned a lot during this short week. High school and college students could attend this event. We had majority high school students, mostly rising juniors and seniors, and about five rising college freshmen. I was the only college sophomore present.

The financial literacy instructor Mrs. Murphy-Williams was phenomenal and extremely effective in getting her messages across to us! I could actually listen to her talk about finances for hours. She just has a voice and charisma that draws your attention. From her, I learned that everyone has a brand. It’s how people perceive them or remember them by. I believe my brand is that I am sweet, determined and hardworking. Many people, especially those close to me, have described me using these traits.
My elevator speech (a quick way to introduce myself) would most likely resemble this:

Hello, my name is Melinda. I am a rising sophomore at The Ohio State University studying Public Health with a Sociology specialization and a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
I am an ambitious go-getter who always wants to help others. I tend to be competitive but my drive is so strong and I never procrastinate. I’m a person who can be relied on to get the job done.
I am passionate about equity and access to high quality, affordable healthcare and education for all. My goals are to reduce racism/discrimination and health disparities, and prevent poverty. I want to improve lives for people worldwide. My future goals also include obtaining my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Health Behavior and Health Promotion in five years.

Mrs. Murphy provided us with so much valuable information – a sheet with 50 of the most common interview questions and booklets relating to credit history/scores and background checks. We also had sheets about budgeting.
Furthermore, this pro directed us to collect all coins we had, even the disrespected pennies in society – they add up over time!

Image result for financial literacy clip art

Edutopia clip art relating to financial literacy – Save and make more money than what you spend.

Her plethora of tips are listed below:

* Don’t share personal info. Don’t put out your birthday for others to know and use against you to steal your identity!
*A credit card is part of your brand.
*Everyone you meet is secretly interviewing you. First impressions matter so much!

* Avoid payday loans if you can.
* Don’t spend money faster than you make it.
* Credit is not about how much you have, it’s about WHO you have credit with.
* Have a beneficiary card or Upon Death card with your bank so that your account money can go to your loved ones (younger sibling or parents or children) and not the state.
* Never co-sign or be on your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner’s plan for anything. Money and love should be separate. Good advice!
* Be careful with your debit card. Leave it at home if you do not have a purpose for using it. Carrying it around makes you more inclined to buy.
* Don’t keep all your personal information in one place, like your purse. If that’s stolen, then you lose everything.
* Make sure your voicemail message, email address and signature, and social media accounts are appropriate and represent you well. Employers and schools check your presence online!
* Do things for other people so that they can do things for you one day.
* Do things that matter, and know what you want.
* Every 12 months, check your free three credit reports using www.annualcreditreport.com
Other tips she had were to bring a can opener to your college dorm and to have a side-hustle (selling $1 water bottles at games).

Another component of the camp was leadership training; people from Effective Leadership Academy (https://effectivela.org/), which has impacted over 15,000 students.

Image result for effective leadership academy

It’s headquartered in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. This week, ELA had three college interns and one staff person come to the camp. I was skeptical of the effectiveness of ELA because I initially assumed it would involve cheesy ice-breakers and would not offer me any important skills. However, I did gain some soft skills and the activities were not a torture. Through the activities, I explored my values and my views about myself and the world. The interactive sessions involved games and worksheets. Some topics covered were self-empowerment, growth mindset, embracing change, reflecting on values, and interpersonal and communication skills.
I learned about ego and a communication rule: 7% of the words I say matters compared to 38% tone of voice, and 55% nonverbal body language. This means that body language is crucial in relaying your messages across to others.

*Tip* To get someone to like you more, try to mirror their body language. Leaning forward towards the person you’re talking with also shows that you’re interested in the conversation.

Another topic that resonates with me is the concept of pushing outside your boundaries and stretching yourself. There’s the comfort zone that we all know; we tend to stick to people like us and have habits such as sitting in the same seat for a class. However, if we stay in the same area and never explore or take risks, we won’t grow. The stretch zone is also called the growth zone. It’s about trying new things. When you push yourself too far, you can reach the panic zone, which can turn out poorly. For example, let’s say that a timid person remains comfortable not speaking out and staying in the corner of the room. He/she can enter the stretch zone by chatting up a classmate sitting next to him/her. They might not be ready to be in front of a crowd of strangers, which could lead to them running out the room or fainting. As I enter adulthood, I am in my growth zone for many area, such as being in a new city and learning how to succeed in college.

Image result for comfort zone growth zone panic zone

 

Another way to learn about yourself is to do a SWOT analysis. This stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Something interesting we did involved ethical decision making. The college students and I were told to imagine that we were on a boat which had a hole in it, and there was just one life preserver, with a rope attached to it. Only one person can be using the life preserver, and one person using the rope. This taught us more about each other and how we analyze situations, especially when it comes to who lives and who dies.

One of my favorite parts of ELA was when we did a cube personality test.
https://www.davidwolfe.com/japanese-cube-test-reveals-personality/
The link and any videos titled “Cube Personality Test” would have the same layout. This takes just five minutes of imagining and then the answers reveal surprising knowledge about ourselves. For me, the test was accurate!

The other favorite moment in ELA was when they provided us with a keychain holder that had five blank papers. They are for you to write quotes on. The ELA instructors told us a story of how a boy who went through one of their programs carried this keychain for 3 years, and on the day of his high school graduation, he pulled the keychain out of his pocket and gave it to the founder of ELA. The program changed his life and kept him focused. Therefore, I will maintain a record of motivational quotes so I can continue on my path to greatness and not lose faith in myself either.

A couple of key concepts of Organic Chemistry

The science and math tutor and ACT prep teacher was Ms. McClay. She taught the high school students on preparing for the ACT and some basic chemistry knowledge. For the 6 college students in the camp, she had us research science careers or how we could incorporate science into our careers. We also covered some hours of Organic Chemistry material, specifically carbon structures. We took a pop quiz on it as well.

The college students put on a skit directed by Ms. McClay, and the performance revolved around a 21-year-old patient’s recent admission to the ER and how the visit lead to the discovery of other issues in his life and a diagnosis of a mental illness as well as diabetes. We played the roles of doctor, public health nurse, psychiatrist, social workers, and case manager, while Ms. McClay played the patient’s girlfriend. The skit showed how several factors contribute to a person’s health, and impact how they receive treatment. For example, the patient was a Jehovah’s Witness, and other issues he had were impulsivity, reckless driving, suicidal tendencies, and more. He could never hold a job for very long, and he just came out of a long relationship with a girlfriend, and also had strained relations with his family. We were not trying to portray anyone in particular – this character was entirely made up! It could be possible that there are some individuals in real life like the patient in our skit. It helped to remind us that we cannot see someone’s struggles just by glimpsing at them. There could be a myriad of issues they’re going through. This is what I will try to do when I am a healthcare/public health professional.

Sharing our knowledge and reflecting on our experiences

Every day before camp ended, Ms. Johnson asked us all to sit in a circle and reflect on the day. “Share some knowledge! What did you get out of this?”
At the end of the week, Ms. Johnson surprised the high school and college students with backpacks filled with school supplies! Loose-leaf paper, highlighters, black pens, colored pens, mechanical pencils, folders, a notebook, a water bottle, a USB flash drive, and index cards! I was amazed at how this camp provided us with so much. Ms. Johnson asked NEOMED for the funds to have this summer camp since it can help reach youth and allow them to better themselves.

School supply stash! I am so thankful.

July 10-20, participate in activities including art therapy, daily discussions, implementing SOLE mode, community health work training, and more.
Daily duties include helping with set up and clean up of activity areas, completing timesheets, tracking attendance, and helping other participants with any issues.

July 10 – Cleveland State University
– We completed a SOLE session. (SOLE stands for Self Organized Learning Environment). We broke out into groups to answer the question: “What are your roles and duties as a citizen in your community, and what are the influences of your roles and duties?” Each group has a few minutes to dissect the question and then find at least two sources and statistics to back up their findings. We had a great discussion.

– We later watched videos from the documentary People Like Us. One episode was about Tammy Crabtree’s family living in poverty in Waverly, Ohio, a rural village. It’s so saddening to witness people in terrible conditions, living without heat or transportation. Tammy had to walk 10.5 miles to work. She had no car or working furnace at home. Furthermore, her kids did not seem to appreciate how she struggled to make ends meet and feed them. Then outside sources intervened to alleviate some of the family’s burdens. This lead to an exploration of rural poverty and discussion of whether my peers felt sorry for Tammy or felt like she deserved it.

Watch these two videos to see Tammy’s story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ZpauS5Doo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqs4_Zs2GvI

– Norman Rockwell photo interpretation followed by art therapy

Image result for norman rockwell

Next, we looked at a Norman Rockwell painting. The facilitator Anita Iveljic (Hiram Class of 2014 and now AmeriCorps Associate Director at NEOMED) guided our discussion. She asked about what we observed in the print. Then she asked how we felt, and why the artist may have made this piece.  The Problem We All Live With, an oil on canvas from 1964, captures Ruby Bridges being walked to school by four U.S. marshals. We discussed that racism is still a prevalent issue today, but it’s more subtle than in the ’60s. We all have prejudices, but not inherently, and there’s widespread implicit bias as well. We learn about stereotypes in media and in conversations overheard when we were little. Hopefully, in America, race will no longer be a divide between people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_We_All_Live_With
http://www.politico.com/story/2011/08/art-sends-rare-wh-message-on-race-061677
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/america-has-a-big-race-problem

To end the day,  we used oil pastels, watercolor pastels, and paints to draw a portrait of a partner in the room. I am always welcome to art therapy but it was a challenge to draw a person. However, my partner said that I did a good job and she liked how I drew her.

July 11 – Cleveland State University

– Overview of Upcoming Trip
– Reading of story
While I do not recall the title of this story, although I am sure it is fictional, the summary is that a woman lost her husband in a tragic accident (murdered by someone who stole his car when the husband simply wanted to help an elderly woman with a flat tire). The 33-year-old deceased man’s organs: cornea, heart, pancreas, and more, went to various places around Texas, and to a total of eight individuals. The woman felt utterly empty and sought the person who now possessed the husband’s heart. Coincidentally, this transplant recipient was also 33 and she mails this person back and forth, because all she wanted to do was to listen to the beating heart for an hour. It was a touching story.

Hiram Excursion Trip – July 12 to July 14

This rural educational experience trip was overseen and supported by the NEOMED HPAC Program, the HRSA HCOP grant, and AmeriCorps. The purpose was to expand professional and educational growth through lab experience, scientific discussions, and learning about rural culture, while experiencing a movie and campfire s’mores.

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We stayed at East Hall for three days, two nights.

Wednesday, 7/12  
– Campus Tour of Hiram College
– Lunch (all you can eat)
– Hiram Lab Experience in Gerstacker Science Hall
We split up into two rooms because there were a lot of students. We extracted DNA from cheek cells and also from our saliva, and used these in tests to analyze our genetic diversity. We used PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification and electrophoresis. Specifically, we looked at the Pv92 sequence presence or absence in our genomes! You are either +/+ if both parents gave you this, +/- if one parent gave you a Pv92, or -/-, if neither of them did.

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From Bio-Rad Pv92 Informatics Kit

This lab took hours to complete because the procedure was complex, involving pipettes, tubes, micro centrifuges, and other equipment. Sadly, not a lot of students’ results appeared, most likely because there were errors during the experiment. Mine showed up though; I was +/+. According to the handout we received, people of Asian ancestry were more likely to have positive (+) allele frequencies. For example, 86% Chinese, 80% Filipino, 84% Java, and 90% of Taiwanese have the + allele. In comparison, the chart on our packet also showed that people of European origins are more likely to have the negative (-) allele; 18% for Euro-Americans, 10% for German, 12% for Hungarian, 18% for Syrian and 20% for Swiss. This was all very interesting, but I wish I understood more about the material.

– Bioethics Dilemma Prep

We were provided with a packet of articles relating to athletes using enhancements such as inhaling xenon gas or blood doping to improve performance. Steroids, injecting hormones, or living/training in high altitude environments help with strength or red oxygen cell formation. The various essays offered insights on the issue from experts and former athletes themselves. Is the use of these various methods cheating and therefore unfair? What qualifies as fairness? I learned about how one side supports the fact that all athletes should have wide access to the same drugs, so the playing field is level. However, critics claim that if all drugs were allowed, there’d be pressures on the athletes to use them. Some say that athletes should have the same opportunities to use drugs, and then their use can be optimized. According to one author, we should invest in developing safer forms of enhancement since people are going to continue using them anyways.

– Dinner
– Biomedical Humanities Discussion

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/08/12/sunday-review/12DOPING/12DOPING-articleLarge.jpg

The entire camp group came together to discuss what we believed were fair and unfair ways to enhance athletic performance. I personally think that living or training at high altitude environments are fair. Things like low oxygen tents or blood transfusions require thousands of dollars. This is a waste of money to me; people are in need of blood everyday. We even heard about abortion doping; women runners reportedly aborted their babies before races, while they benefitted from the extra red blood cells in their bodies. This is ridiculous and inhumane.

– Chopped! S’mores Competition
We divided campers into groups of eight people to get together and create s’mores that were healthy and creative. They could use four ingredients off of our provided list, which had 26 ingredients. They could pick from Nutella, wow butter, cream cheese, vanilla chips, powdered sugar, soft tortillas, green apples, sour brite octopus, air head extremes, pineapples, and mangos, to name some from the list. Then 15 minutes before they were supposed to present their concoctions, the staff members introduced to each group their secret ingredients.

– Campfire
Outside, each group presented their s’mores to the five judges. We had 10 groups total, and some groups stuck with the traditional graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallows. Almost all used fruit in their s’mores as well. In the end, Groups B and E won. Their prizes were Hiram Health water bottles.

Thursday, 7/13 
– Breakfast
– Middlefield Cheese Co-Op Visit

Image result for middlefield cheese co-op

Elmer was the employee that greeted us and gave us an overview of the operation. He actually helped build the factory. I learned a lot and saw what it’s like to make cheese. There are about 18-20 employees and 70+ farmers, who are 98% Amish. The cows that provide the milk all have names, and milk is delivered in jugs. The cheese is made by hand in open vats. No artificial growth hormones are used.
(More information on the co-op can be found here: http://www.geaugamapleleaf.com/news/a-slice-of-tasty-tradition-in-geauga-county/)

– Amish Farm Visit
Dan Chardon in Middlefield, OH is a mutual connection of a Hiram or NEOMED worker. He allowed us to visit his farm, which he said was 70 acres of land. He has six kids, who were adorable and quiet. While they did not talk, they watched us and followed us around as Dan showed us city folks a tour. We were as curious of the family as they were about us.

Dan presented his 40,000 pieces of garlic he had picked over three days. They could be sold for $15,000! What a whopping harvest! The farmer also butchers deer; he does not hunt them, but people bring them in to him. He raises livestock as well: chickens, sheep, and horses. I believe he said there’s 300 sheep, and the lambs are eventually sold and separated from their families. The horses are used only for transportation purposes, not for riding on, but for pulling the carriages. Also, the eggs of the chickens are sold. Although he makes minimum wage, he does not complain; he is comfortable and happy with his life. The students asked what he did in his free time, and he replied that he did not have much. Most of his time was spent on the farm. There was always something to do.

The Amish life was meaningful to Dan because three or four generations of his family lived on the land. He attended a private school until eighth grade, and a kid muttered to herself why Dan did not continue to high school. Actually after age 13/14, vocational training begins, and that’s when the individual pursues their craft or skilled trade. Amish people can have jobs in carpentry, farming, etc. The Amish lifestyle is interesting and is simple. Some kids did not understand and called it weird. Dan did not condemn the outside world for using technology or electricity. He respects us, just like we should respect them. Personal questions I had written and did not get to ask were “Has the Amish community decreased? Do you hear much about the outside world?” We all clapped and thanked Dan for our tour and departed for Hiram College.

– Lunch
– Water Balloon Battle
Hundreds of water balloons lay in containers out on an open playing field near the dorms we were staying in. This was optional, but about several dozen students participated. They brought their own Nerf guns and Super Soakers. We had plenty of photos of the battle. The kids had fun. Those who did not partake had free time to go to the gym or remain in their dorm. A student and I did walking and jogging around the track circling the football field.

– Dinner
– Stress relief therapies (mindfulness, music therapy, art therapy, pet, yoga, drum circle)

Plans had to be changed regarding this activity; many speakers cancelled, so we only had a mindfulness speaker, but she captured everyone’s focus and I truly enjoyed being with her. Rebecca Reynold is a health coach, certified drugless practitioner, certified Thai massage practitioner, and a raw and vegan lifestyle educator. Based in the Lakewood area of Cleveland, she also does women’s retreats and much more.

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Being mindful is different than having your mind full. Free yourself and just be in the moment. Do not think about the past or future, but focus on the present. Photo from Friendsaction.co.uk

She began our session by rubbing peppermint oil on our wrists and telling us to smell them. We were then directed through imagining something we wanted. We kept our eyes closed during this. We had to picture what we wanted. What did we look like when we eventually obtained what we wanted? How did we feel? What were we envisioning? Then she said to imagine us receiving an award stating that we deserved what we received. Some students shared their goals of obtaining careers. Another boy dreamed of having a sports car. I went through the activity too, and I dreamed of finding love and true happiness, and the public health career and traveling the world appeared after.

We learned about an artist who looks into people’s eyes as a performance art. For one piece, in 2010, Marina Abramovic sat in a chair at a museum and people lined up, to the point that the line stretched outside the museum, to sit across from her and have her stare into their eyes. This can be a few minutes to even 40 minutes. She looked into 1,500+ people’s eyes. This is incredible. A shattering moment was when Ms. Abramovic had her head down as she always does before an art patron sits down. When she felt someone take a seat across from her, she gazed upwards and tears flowed down her eyes soon after, because she was looking at a former lover of hers that she’d seen decades ago. Hearing this story touched me. The campers were asked themselves, if brave enough, to look into someone else’s eyes, for three minutes, and then share what they learned about their partner from just observing.

http://www.marinaabramovic.com/bio.html
https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/06/03/marina-abramovic-the-artist-speaks/
http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/artist-marina-abramovic-former-lover-ulay-reunite.html

‡

Next, we discussed and practiced doing a few ancient mudras. When we do a peace sign with our pointer and middle fingers, that’s a mudra. Furthermore, from Ms. Reynolds, I learned that energy is like a boomerang. She told us that she was 5 foot 7 in the seventh grade. She was already taller than most of her teachers, and was called Big Bird and Tree Woman during her childhood. When we exhibit anger and hate, we will get it in return. That is why we cannot allow our negative energy to linger. Our session was just an hour and it was too soon. The kids really enjoyed being with her as well.

Image result for Buddha Hand Mudras and Meanings

The Buddha is doing the mudra of No Fear. Sometimes He is portrayed having both hands up.

Here are Rebecca Reynolds’ websites to find out more about her.

https://www.facebook.com/SoultoEarthWellness/
https://twitter.com/wellwithrebecca
http://www.soultoearthwellness.com/

– Movie with Discussion
We watched a movie that was planned to have a discussion along with it, but this did not happen. Gattaca is a 1997 sci-fi, drama, and thriller movie. The plot summary provided by IMDB:

Gattaca Corp. is an aerospace firm in the future. During this time society analyzes your DNA and determines where you belong in life. Ethan Hawke’s character was born with a congenital heart condition which would cast him out of getting a chance to travel in space. So in turn he assumes the identity of an athlete who has genes that would allow him to achieve his dream of space travel.

Friday, 7/14 
– Breakfast
– Check-out
– Tour of NEOMED
I have been to NEOMED three times before. I have fond memories here. It was fortuitous to me that I saw an incoming med student there who actually spoke to me at my high school a few years ago while he served in AmeriCorps. He’s now starting medical school. He looked familiar and then I saw his name tag, and indeed it was the same guy. I should have wished him kind words and good luck for school, but I did not stop to talk to him.

Image result for neomed

NEOMED new campus

– Back to Cleveland State University for the Summer Internship Celebration
– Lunch
– Speeches
– Videos of Amish Farm trip and Water Balloon Fight were played.

A post assessment evaluation will be emailed to us, asking us about how our experiences went.

REFLECTION

The five weeks being with NEOMED were short. I had a splendid time with CHAMPS and the other camps/excursions in July offered me new perspectives on underserved communities. This was also my first time being a camp counselor (supervising people on an overnight visit.) I was responsible for knowing the whereabouts and activity of the four girls in my suite. Other supervisors had to handle six kids, or even another group altogether in addition to their own. I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses. An example of how I employed professionalism and maturity is when I put the girls’ needs above my own. One of them forgot her jacket in the dorm, and I finished my dinner abruptly to let her into the dorm across the street from the dining hall. Supervisors are the only ones with keys to the building and the suite. I have to listen to them and if they are not comfortable with something, I have to try to help them feel safe.

Overall, the girls I had were easy to get along with, and posed no major issues. An issue I personally had was not being in the camp counselor group chat, which included the program/camp coordinators. Sometimes the supervisors themselves were not sure of what was happening because the schedule was adjusted if we finished an activity early or events are cancelled. There was confusion but we went with the flow.

A huge challenge was the loud, disrespectful campers. On multiple occasions, we reminded them to be quiet and listen when a speaker is talking, yet they did not obey. I often heard cursing from a few people, such as on the bus and around the college. People continued to talk during the movie too. Additionally, some did not keep hands and feet to themselves; I noticed girls lounging in a chair with their feet on the wall or on a school bus with their feet dangling over the top of the seat. I was frustrated and enervated. But they are high school students, and rowdiness and hyperactivity is expected. I actually played the game of Telephone with the other Cleveland campers.

Another problem was when I had to clean up scraps of candy wrappers left over from the children’s messes. When it was time to check out of the dorms, I did a final sweep of the suite, and noticed leftover water bottles and granola bars. We had to leave the room in the exact same condition as it was when we entered the dorm. Even though I conveyed to my suite-mates that I was sorry for being a bad supervisor since the camp was not going as smoothly as expected, and that I myself was unsure of what to do at times, they said it’s 50/50, meaning that both sides have to put in effort.

I did enjoy my experience at Hiram College and NEOMED. While I wasn’t the best supervisor, and also possibly the least experienced, I am glad to have been a part of the camp. I got to walk my suite-mates around Hiram to our various scheduled events. The knowledge about Amish people and rural life will carry with me during my career. I want to help ensure that people in the country also receive quality healthcare, which can be problematic since they’re surrounded by fields of corn or wheat or cows. They could be miles away from a primary care provider. There also may not be a grocery store nearby. When we went to NEOMED in Rootstown, Ohio, gas stations and convenience stores, along with a smattering of pizza parlors, were lining the main road. It’s a different way of life in this rural area, and I want to gain more experience working with the rural populations in the future. A possible entry-level job for me can be Community Health Worker. My desire to work with a variety of people and travel the planet still remains strong after these past few months.

I hope to positively impact my people of Ohio.