One of the programs available to students to gain early clinical experience and give back to their community is the Camden Saturday Health Clinic (CSHC). The CSHC provides urgent, primary and preventative health care to the underserved population of Camden, NJ. The CSHC will also strive to educate the community on per tinent medical issues. Patients whose needs extend beyond the scope of the clinic will be referred to physicians, many of whom graciously donate their services.
The CSHC is managed by the students of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic medicine. Students work in collaboration with practitioners from various healthcare fields, including the medical school’s Departments of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, in order to foster an interdisciplinary environment. CSHC affords students the opportunity for community service and promotes cultural awareness through the development of community relations. With the help of fellow students and t he UMDNJ-SOM Departments of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, space was secured in downtown Camden for a clinic. Funded entirely by student efforts and donations, and staffed by medical student volunteers, the clinic has settled in as part of the Camden community since 2003.
Each student volunteer is paired with another student (1st or 2nd y ear students are paired with 3rd or 4th year students). Together the pair will interview the patient and perform a phy sical and report to the attending and share what information they have gathered. Together with the attending they will re-examine the patient and finalize the plans for the patient. The experience provides valuable time to practice history and physical exam skills.
Some of the services offered by the Camden Saturday Health Clinic include adult and child examinations, work and school physicals, chronic disease management as well as a free prescription program. The clinic, which is located at the OEO Building, 538 Broadway, Camden, NJ 08103, is open from 10 am – 1 pm every Saturday.
In 2011, the student leadership of the CSHC embarked on an am bitious strategic planning process to improve awareness of the clinic in the community and broaden their services.
In 2012, the CSHC, which was headed at the time by the director and member of the class of 2012, Andrew Kelly and supervised by our own Dr. Timothy Dombrowski, was honored by the American Osteopathic Foundation with a “Spirit of Humanity” award this past year. The Spirit of Humanity award is a national award that honors the extraordinary efforts of those who provide urgently needed health services to the indigent, underserved or those with barriers to health care.
The CANCER INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY (RWJMS)
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is committed to expanding its capacity to provide exceptional and innovative outreach to New Jersey’s medically underserved populations. The CINJ Office of Community Outreach works in conjunction with the Gallo Prostate Cancer Center, the Middlesex Country Cancer Coalition, the Healthier New Brunswick 2010 C ommunity Health Advisory Group, the New Jersey Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan members and the New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection program to meet the cancer education and outreach needs of its community constituents.
The Dean and Betty Gallo Prostate Cancer Center
The Center has developed many strong community ties that have been instrumental in increasing prostate cancer screening and educ ation programs throughout the State, including screenings held at churches, clinics, and village gatherings and advertised through local papers, radio stations, bulletins, food stores, and community centers. Continuing Umbrella for Research Education
The Continuing Umbrella for Research Education (CURE), originally established in 2003 with a grant from the National Cancer Institute, is now funded by Johnson & Johnson. The program enrolls eight students each year – four from Rutgers and four from the New Brunswick Health Science Technology High School – to conduct research at CINJ. Running for two summers and the academic year in between, the program provides students with an excellent opportunity to experience the research environment and develop and pursue opportunities for careers in science.
Community Activities
The Office of Outreach also designs curricula for cancer prevention and screening educational programs as well as informative treatment-related lectures to community organizations.
The Office of Community Outreach (OCO) maintains an O utreach Calendar to help plan, coordinate and track CINJ outreach and screening activities. In 2011, staff and faculty of CINJ have:
• participated in 6 outreach activities (including cancer-related community education presentations, health fairs and community festivals) attended by almost 1,225 individuals;
• educated 579 community members about CINJ, cancer, its early detection, prevention (including prevention trials) and clinical trials; and • participated in a r adio interview regarding the benefits of early cancer
screening, reaching almost half a million listeners. Other CINJ Activities
• A patient-relief fund was established with patient donations to assist with transportation, parking, etc., for indigent individuals.
UMDNJ-Annual Institutional Profile, September 1, 2012 PUBLIC/COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES
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• CINJ is active in New Jersey Cancer Education and E arly Detection (NJCEED), a program sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control that provides cancer screenings for uninsured individuals in all 21 New Jersey counties. O ur physician faculty members serve actively on NJCEED’s Medical Advisory Board, most recently chaired by CINJ’s Deputy Director for Extramural Affairs. The CINJ Outreach Director co- chairs the NJCEED educational committee.
• CINJ received a m ulti-year grant from Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop a pr ogram to increase nutrition education and physical activity within houses of worship in the Greater New Brunswick area. Approximately 20 houses of worship have been selected to participate in this multi-phase program.
Health Education Materials Archive: The Office of Community Outreach maintains a health education materials archive for clinically accurate and c ulturally appropriate materials from sources across the United States. As a joint initiative between OCO and CINJ’s Bioinformatics team, this interactive portal will allow for searching via keyword, population, and cancer site, as well as submission of materials for inclusion and ordering of materials. I nformation is provided in multiple languages, and t he portal is the first search engine known to offer comprehensive cancer educational materials in multiple languages.
OCO is committed to supporting the objectives contained within the New Jersey Comprehensive Cancer Plan. Moreover, the work of New Jersey’s Cancer Education and Early Detection Program (NJCEED) is aligned with OCO’s charge to ensure education and s creening is provided to all New Jerseyans. Members of CINJ’s OCO and OEA serve on s everal statewide committees sponsored by the NJ Department of Health and H uman Services, such as the New Jersey Cancer Education and E arly Detection (NJCEED) – Public and Professional Education Subcommittee, Statewide Melanoma Workgroup, Statewide Evaluation Workgroup, and various County Cancer Awareness Coalitions. Samples of statewide projects include:
• Choose Your Cover: Sponsored by the Statewide Melanoma Workgroup, a multi-site melanoma screening held over two days at the Jersey Shore. Since 2010, this program was expanded as a statewide initiative for all outdoor areas (park, pools, and beaches) throughout all 21 counties in New Jersey.
• Breast Cancer Update (October 2011): H eld at the Chart House in Weehawken, CINJ faculty provided a k eynote address to health professionals regarding issues and c urrent treatment options for patients with triple negative and HER2 positive breast cancer.
• Prostate Cancer Education (2011): CINJ Faculty published an ar ticle regarding current prostate cancer screening guidelines in Perspectives, the peer-reviewed CME publication for the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians.