Save Service District Day is a nationwide advocacy event to prevent dismantling  national services programs (AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, City Year, among many others). Today, Friday February 25, 2011, community service advocates visited their local representatives speaking to the importance of national service.

I participated in District Day at Senator Scott Brown’s Boston office.

First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge how helpful and welcoming the Senator’s staff was. They did their best to accommodate a very large group (that I believe did not have an appointment). They were happy to collect our stories of service and relay our message to the Senator.

It was also great to meet so many passionate alums, members, and friends of AmeriCorps. It was especially moving to meet family and friends of AmeriCorps members.

I was so impressed by the ~60 people who braved the cold rain today to show their support. Diverse range of programs were represented: AmeriCorps state/national, City Year, VISTA, Community HealthCorps and Jumpstart. I am sure other programs were represented too! I didn’t get a chance to speak with everyone since it was such a large group.

I am 2nd row center, tan coat (partially obscured). Photo Credit: Save Service blog

Lastly, a big thanks folks at Serve Next and Be the Change for organizing District Day.

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I officially plan on applying to Nurse Practitioner programs to start in the 2012-2013 academic year.

I am registered for the first of my prerequisites at Quincy College and start Spring 2011. Thanks AmeriCorps Segal Education Award!!!

I’ve been itching to start volunteering again after AmeriCorps. I’m going to start volunteering with FriendshipWorks, an organization that connects volunteers with elders in need. I will be in the Medical Escort program helping folks get to and from medical appointments. I’m really excited to get started and learning more about health systems navigation for older adults.

One day I was reading up on grad schools that match the AmeriCorps Education Award, and I came across Brandeis University’s Heller School  offers a scholarship to AmeriCorps alums. I’m really interested in the Master of Public Policy in Social Policy. It’s definitely something to keep in mind for the future….

In other news…I found a kitty living in the parking garage in my apartment complex.

Her name is Fiona and she suffers from numerous ailments. Umbilical hernia, conjunctivitis, fleas, and an URI. She is on 4 medications. She is the sweetest little thing and we love her!!! I’ve been to the vet with her once a week for the 4 weeks we’ve had her. It’s been keeping me real busy…

Cleo, our first cat, is not at all impressed with her new sister. She longs to return to the days when she was an only cat.

The conclusion of my series reflecting on my year of AmeriCorps service with a community health center.

To catch up:

Check out my AmeriCorps week post to learn more about the Community HealthCorps program I participated in.

A year of service: Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4

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I can’t believe it, but there is still so much that I didn’t mention here.

I developed new skills that I know will help me at the next steps of my career. I was able to work with all departments of the health center and was able to develop a sense community health center operations, and how primary care is delivered.

I made many connections, and feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity. I believe strongly in programs like the HealthCorps that focus on developing the future primary care workforce. This experience confirmed my desire to become a primary care provider.

As Jim Hunt, the CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers told my AmeriCorps group during pre-service orientation,

“If you’ve seen one community health center, you’ve seen one community health center.”

This was just a snapshot of my year of service with one community health center. The other members of my program had totally different experiences which reflect not only the diverse populations community health centers serve, but the wide range of services they provide.

Visit http://www.americorps.gov/ to learn more and apply.

The next installment of the series reflecting on my experience as an AmeriCorps member.

To catch up:

Check out my AmeriCorps week post to learn more about the Community HealthCorps program I participated in.

A year of service: Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3

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Part 4

May

In May we taught our own Food for Life class. My fellow AmeriCorps member worked really hard recruiting patients and community members. All that hard word definitely paid off, we had an excellent turnout of about 13 people our first class. Our participants were really enthusiastic and we had some really enriching group discussions. Teaching the Food for Life series was another amazing, unforgettable experience. I am so glad my fellow HealthCorps member took on this project!

We made a delicious Easy Bean Salad, that required lots of beans. We also had an array of plant based milks to sample (soy, almond and rice). Everything we made was so delicious, and filling.

The Cancer Project is a strong proponent of a low fat plant based diet. I definitely have changed my eating habits to include more fiber, more whole grains and more fruits and vegetables. I personally don’t like dairy very much (except my weakness for cheese), so switching to soy/almond milk was really easy. I guess I never really considered nutrition too seriously and didn’t know a lot about it before this experience. I had no idea how to estimate fiber content of common foods. I was actually surprised to learn that animal products have zero fiber. It was a really neat to gain that skill, and it has really helped me make healthier choices.

June- August

At the end of June my fellow AmeriCorps member left to go to medical school. Our tiny office suddenly seemed so empty! However, things were as busy as ever. I was seeing a lot of spirometry patients, and there were some upcoming National Health Center Week events to prepare for.

Our health center hosted two events for National Heath Center Week, it really felt like I came full circle at the health center.

The year ended on such a high note, our health center planned a wonderful luncheon in our honor. I left my AmeriCorps with rich experiences of what primary care looks like today.

Continue to part 5: the conclusion

This is the third post in a series reflecting on my experience last year as an AmeriCorps member.

Recap:

My AmeriCorps Week post explains the program I participated in. 

A Year of Service: Part 1, Part 2

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Part 3

February

February flew by! At this point, it became very clear that the H1N1 pandemic was not as severe as predicted, which was very good news! It brought the logical end to our community flu outreach sessions. This month was the beginning of probably my favorite project of the entire year, spirometry clinics.

Spirometry is a simple breathing test that can be carried out in an outpatient setting by a trained health care worker.  It includes many fundamental pulmonary function tests which help providers assess the severity of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  We spent weeks training and studying and by March we each had 10 appointment slots per week! This was my favorite experience of the year for so many reasons. It was great to have the opportunity to work directly with clinical staff conducting an important diagnostic test and to work educating patients one-on-one.

March

In March my AmeriCorps group completed our second service project: Relay for Life. We were narrowly beat by another group for the honor of top fundraising team, but in the spirit of the event we didn’t mind. It was fun to get competitive about fundraising. I remember checking the stats frequently the days leading up to the event, we were neck-and-neck with the other team for most of the day. It was not only a great time, but the Relay we participated in at Stonehill College raised $30,000 for the American Cancer Society! I am also proud to say, I’m among one of the 4 or 5 of us who made it the whole night without passing out.

April

At one of our monthly AmeriCorps meetings we learned about The Cancer Project, a nonprofit that is dedicated to fighting cancer through nutrition and education. The Food For Life Series are cooking and nutrition classes that teach participants the important role food plays in their health and cancer prevention, with practical demonstration and tasting of Cancer Project recipes.

The other AmeriCorps member at my health center decided to bring the program to our health center. The first step was to go through the Food for Life series ourselves. We were so lucky to have the managing director of The Cancer Project come to our health center to train us. I learned so much from the course manual, The Cancer Survivor’s Guide, and to this day I continue to incorporate things I learned into my life.

Evidence:

My obsession with Green Monster smoothies. I love to add Quinoa to mine!

And my love of PB-Chick pea delight.

Stay tuned for part 4, how we did teaching the Food for Life classes…

I’m reflecting on my year of AmeriCorps service, September 2009- August 2010.

In case you missed it… about my AmeriCorps program, and part 1.

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Part 2

December

December was very cold! We spent our time working with the outreach team in the community helping people sign up for health insurance. We also got to branch out and we linked up with a few local fitness centers to do our flu outreach and education.

The outreach aspect of my year of service was definitely one of the most memorable, and where I felt like I made the most difference. I created some materials for community members on local venues to get a flu shot and came prepared with loads of Mass DPH materials and printed some stickers from the CDC to make it fun.

My goal was to promote prevention at the community level. It was important to meet people where they’re at, not not try to change any minds. A strong held belief that vaccinations are dangerous a short interaction will not change that. But the goal was just to bring educational materials to the community, meeting them where they are: at the gym! And hopefully reinforce the prevention message laid out by the CDC and DPH: get vaccinated, cover your cough, wash your hands and stay home if your sick.

January

January rang in a new year, and fresh ideas. I really wanted to start 2010 on a high note, so my fellow AmeriCorps member and I worked hard brainstorming ideas for projects for the rest of our year of service. We continued working with the outreach team, and our flu education in the community. During January my AmeriCorps group completed our first of many service projects. For MLK National Day of Service, my AmeriCorps group volunteered sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

…continue to part 3.

I can’t believe a month has gone by since my year of AmeriCorps service ended. Now that I’m in school full swing, and in a new job, this distance has given me to reflect on my year of service.

For details about the type of AmeriCorps program I was in, check out my AmeriCorps Week post.

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Part 1

September

Like most freshly sworn-in AmeriCorps members, I began my year of service full of enthusiasm and ready to make a difference.

I recently found the letter I wrote to myself during an activity during pre-service orientation, and it definitely captured that enthusiasm and excitement to get to my health center and start working.

The health center where I was placed had 2 AmeriCorps members. I was lucky to be paired with another HealthCorps member. We spent the month of September getting got acclimated to the health center and trained on the information systems and in outreach. We studied the ins and outs of MassHealth enrollment to prepare to assist the community outreach team. In addition, we spent much of our time helping out with flu clinics This was our first patient interaction, and it was our orientation to the clinical side of the health center.

October

Most of October was spent gearing up for the health center’s 30th anniversary celebration auction and dinner. It was great working with the development team, yet another facet of the health center. My fellow AmeriCorps member and I worked hard on a diverse range of tasks in preparation for this event. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we created palm cards with information on local breast imaging centers. These cards were distributed to all health center sites and were made available in the patient waiting areas. We also assisted with a quality improvement project providing 100s of reminders to patients that are overdue, or due for a range of quality indicators.

November

November we continued our work with the flu clinics and I had the opportunity to participate in a Community Flu Educator training through the Boston Public Health Commission. This was a great opportunity to address the community’s growing concern about the H1N1 flu, and become informed to debunk misperceptions going around. For instance, we were trained to promote the message that the H1N1 vaccine is safe and wasn’t “experimental”. Also that it is not only safe, but strongly recommended for pregnant women. 

This training inspired me to start a community flu outreach initiative. More details about this fun project to come, as we really got started with this during the frigid winter months. November concluded with a great trip home to Long Island for Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and I definitely tried to use the holiday as a teachable moment about the flu and came home prepared to share the message: get vaccinated, wash your hands, cover your cough and stay home if you’re sick!

…continue to part 2.

AmeriCorps Week is a time for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on AmeriCorps and to motivate more Americans to serve.

About AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps, similar to the Peace Corps, is a community service program but focused within the US instead of abroad. AmeriCorps is a umbrella term for a very diverse range of service opportunities.

AmeriCorps Programs fall into 3 main categories:

1. State and National
2. National Civilian Community Corps
3. *VISTA

However, there are opportunities to work in almost any human service setting you can think of within each of the 3 categories.

About my program

I am currently serving as an Community HealthCorps member through the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers program. This program is considered a national AmeriCorps program, and HealthCorps members are placed at various community health centers throughout Massachusetts. There are 16 members placed at 11 health centers this year.

The HealthCorps was founded in 1995 by the National Association of Community Health Centers. It is the largest health-focused, national AmeriCorps program that promotes health care for America’s underserved, while developing tomorrow’s health care workforce.

As a group, my fellow HealthCorps members have completed several service projects together including:

• MLK Day of Service at the Greater Boston Food Bank
• Relay for Life
• Wake up the Earth (community festival)
• Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger
• and more in the works….

About the HealthCorps

Focused on direct services, HealthCorps members provide a variety of health services/programs for patients and community by serving as community health workers (CHWs).

• Navigating the health care system;
• Establishing a “medical home” and improving utilization of health care;
• Individual and group health promotion/disease prevention education;
• Adopting “self-care” practices that lead to improved health status;
• Follow-up, case management, and support on treatment plans;
• Enrollment in public health insurance; and
• Assessing other patient needs (financial assistance, housing, legal & etc).

Source: http://www.communityhealthcorps.org/healthcorps-americorps.cfm

Click below for more information and to apply



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