DUNN – On Saturday, September 21, fifteen second year medical students from the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine participated in the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry’s 24th Annual Farmworker Festival in Dunn, NC.
The students hosted a booth with one of Campbell Medicine’s partner organizations, CommWell Health. Farmworkers and their families who visited the booth received osteopathic manipulative treatment, health information in Spanish and English, and health screenings. Campbell medical students took patient information and performed initial intake tasks of taking blood pressure readings body mass index (BMI) measurements, and patient histories. Several medical students and CommWell Health staff who are fluent Spanish speakers served as translators for the team. The CommWell team also worked with the students to draw blood for STD, cholesterol, and blood sugar tests.
“The people attending the festival were very receptive to the medical treatments we were able to provide,” shared James Salisbury, President of the Global Health and Community Outreach Club. “They were happy to interact with the students as well as the CommWell healthcare providers. Everyone wanted osteopathic manipulative treatment – it was great to see so many people interested in receiving care!”
The school of medicine is excited about their relationship with CommWell health because the organization is a Federally Qualified Health Center where patients pay on a sliding scale according to their income, and CommWell has fourteen locations in rural and underserved areas of eastern North Carolina. CommWell officially became affiliated with the school of medicine in early 2014 and will host third and fourth year medical students for rotations.
“Partnering for the farmworker’s festival was a natural fit,” shared Oscar Aylor, Director of Global Health and Community Outreach for the medical school. “The patients are familiar with CommWell as a healthcare provider they rely on and some of them have already met our students last year during the outreach events in Newton Grove with the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry”.
After the success of the Farmworker Festival, thirteen first and second year medical students are participating in a Local Mission at five CommWell locations during their Fall Break shadowing clinical providers in the areas of family medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, an HIV/AIDS and learning about medical and dental operations. “We consider the experience a mission because the students are volunteering in a medically underserved area,” says Oscar Aylor, Director of Community and Global Health for the school of medicine.
CommWell began as Tri-County Health Care at the Newton Grove/Spivey’s Corner location in 1976. Since then, they have grown in their physical locations and the profile of services they provide. CommWell is Joint Commission Accredited in ambulatory and behavioral health care and is certified as a Patient Centered Medical Home – a model or philosophy of primary care that focuses on the individual, is comprehensive, team-based, coordinated, accessible, and focused on quality and safety. CommWell Health has also received 14 international health care service excellence awards for outstanding achievement in patient care and patient satisfaction and for its development of best practice models in clinical care and service excellence.
“The Patient Center Medical Home model addresses the mind, body, and spirit of the patient which is a natural fit with Campbell’s Mission,” said Pamela Tripp, CEO of CommWell. “The Campbell medical students are part of the next generation of healthcare providers who we believe will bring this model into reality and positive change to our healthcare system.”
The students will be exposed to this emerging healthcare model as well as the logistics of a FQHC provider in a rural and diverse population. Over 50% of the CommWell staff is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish, which enables them to have good rapport with the many Latino patients they serve. CommWell provides healthcare to the migrant farmworker population who live and work on the farms in eastern North Carolina March to October each year as well as the permanent population. CommWell also serves many veterans and residents of eastern North Carolina.
Students will participate in the treatment of patients in the areas of general practice ranging from dentistry, to behavioral health, to HIV/AIDS treatment. “The goal is for students to gain patient understanding as well as the FQHC system,” said Dr. Brian Kessler. “Learn from anybody – from the good and bad experiences,” he advised the students as they completed paperwork to prepare for the Fall Break mission.
Kessler is also the faculty advisor for the Global Health and Community Outreach Club. “I’m proud of our students because they think beyond what they can do as healthcare providers. In addition to their experiences with CommWell health this week, they partnered with St. Stephens Episcopal Church of Erwin and the Episcopal Farmworkers’ Ministry to deliver clothing donations.”
“The medical students will see the challenge with many of our patients is assessing what is the biggest, most immediate need and balancing that with what they can afford,” said Tripp. “We know the experience will enrich our practice and serve them well while they are in medical school. Our doctors and nurses are already excited to work with the medical students from Campbell University – it is a great relationship that will truly benefit the rural and underserved patients in our community.”