Blog Posts

Big Ideas for Better Health for All in the U.S.

December 22, 2022

By Gabrielle

Better health for all is possible. Better health for all (or health equity) is achievable when healthcare providers and communities work together for systems change. Across the United States and territories, from Hawai’i to New Jersey, equity centered leaders are collaborating from every healthcare discipline. Big Idea Talks are in the TED Talk style meant […]

Oral Health Care for All

July 22, 2022

By Gabrielle

Oral Health Care: Addressing Barriers Oral health care isn’t accessible to all people in the United States. Many people want to to visit the dentist but face too many barriers. In Atlanta, in can be up to a 10-mile trip to get there. There’s also the fear of ending up with costly bills. These barriers […]

Community Fridge: Addressing COVID-Heightened Food Insecurity

May 17, 2022

By Gabrielle

1500 families provided with fresh, culturally appropriate meals through community fridge Food insecurity doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic but a community fridge can help. Samara Grossman led multiple projects in the Boston area with Clinical Scholars Fellows Annie Lewis O’Connor and Hanni Stoklosa. They listened to their community and applied for rapid response grants to […]

Health Equity Stories of Success, Sustainability & Scalability

May 4, 2022

By Gabrielle

Advancing health equity calls for a new approach to leadership A Health Equity Panel of Clinical Scholars alumni shared how their collaborative and systemic approaches were successful in reducing health disparities and how their teams were able to sustain and scale those efforts. The panel was moderated by Derrick Stephens, MBA, LCSW featuring: Michael Hasselberg, […]

A Wicked Problem: Solutions from Cohort 2020

April 13, 2022

By Gabrielle

To move the needle on our country’s Wicked Problems, a new approach to leadership from and with communities is needed. A Wicked Problem has no defined rules of play or clear end points; rather it is an ever-evolving, ever-lasting challenge. Despite major advances in medicine and healthcare, Wicked Problems persist and particularly for marginalized groups. […]

COVID Rapid Response Grants Support 22 Communities Nationwide to Improve Health Equity

July 8, 2021

By Gabrielle

In response to communities experiencing increasing health disparities due to COVID-19 related challenges, Clinical Scholars provided $298,000 in rapid response grants for 22 projects nationwide. The national leadership program for health care providers led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation pivoted program funds which […]

Health Equity Awareness Calendar

June 15, 2021

By Gabrielle

Health equity awareness months, weeks, and days help promote a Culture of Health. The health equity awareness calendar below highlights many disparities in health that are rooted in inequities in the opportunities and resources needed to be as healthy as possible. The determinants of health include living and working conditions, education, income, neighborhood characteristic, social […]

COVID Puts Extra Stress on Foster Care Youth

May 24, 2021

By CS

Youth who’ve aged-out of foster care face challenges transitioning to adulthood. These challenges have only worsened with the pandemic. First published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Annette Bell, M.D. You’re barely out of your teens when amid the COVID-19 pandemic, you start to feel rundown. You go to bed and convince yourself it’s just a […]

COVID Vaccine Equity in 3 Steps

April 6, 2021

By Melissa

Conquering the epidemic is a practical reality with effective rigorously tested vaccines but it requires COVID vaccine equity.  Getting vaccines into communities and into the arms of everyone who wants one takes many steps. Three important steps to increase access and COVID vaccine equity are more vaccines, vaccinators, and vaccination sites. Clinical Scholars Fellows are […]

Food Insecurity Help in the Face of COVID-19

April 1, 2021

As a result of COVID-19, food insecurity increased by at least 15%. Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as limited access to quality, affordable food. Health outcomes associated with food insecurity include many chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Poverty and unemployment impact food insecurity and 2020 resulted in […]

Self-Care: Preventing Burnout and Building Resilience

March 24, 2021

By Gabrielle

Knowing that health care professionals face many demands—especially during COVID—we asked Clinical Scholars teams and program co-directors how they nurture themselves to create personal well-being and stay fresh professionally. We’re sharing their ideas to encourage all health care providers to take a minute to renew their own self-care commitments. Individual practices We heard a lot […]

Why & How To Go Back to School During COVID-19

March 15, 2021

By Gabrielle

Questioning why and how to go back to school safely? Clinical Scholars Fellows offer evidence-based resources to help schools reopen in-person. Last March, the swift closure of U.S. schools directly impacted more than 60 million K-12 students, teachers, and staff. A year later, the ripple effects of these closures have affected us all in some […]

Health Equity Leadership Lessons During COVID-19

January 13, 2021

By Gabrielle

Change, while not easy, is natural and necessary. This is one of the realities of the world we now live in. A world dominated by COVID-19 and accelerating conversations about structural racism in health care and our country broadly. To address needed changes, we need health equity -centered leadership. Health care providers and Clinical Scholars […]

One Health Day 2020

November 3, 2020

By CS

Today marks the annual observance of One Health Day, an international campaign co-coordinated by the One Health Commission, the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team and the One Health Platform Foundation. What is One Health Day? According to the One Health Commission, “the goal of One Health Day is to bring attention around the […]

Clinical Scholars Fellows Take On COVID-19

August 31, 2020

By CS

Clinical Scholars Fellows Hope Bussenius and Dr. Charles Moore, along with others, have recently developed a smartphone app to help patients and healthcare providers to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [TechTank] allows patients to self-screen for COVID-19, and enables providers to view real-time positive screening counts by zip code. TechTank Project COVID19 There […]

Advance Care Planning à La Mode

August 6, 2020

By CS

Justin Porter, Washington paramedic and registered nurse, urges us all to consider advance care planning in this lighthearted YouTube video. He also provides in a Methow Valley News editorial an in-depth look at ensuring our loved ones are made aware of our wishes in the event we become ill, particularly during this time of COVID-19. […]

Building Trust During COVID-19

July 10, 2020

By CS

Dr. Syed Ahmed recently wrote an essay for Pulse, an online publication that promotes humanism and compassion by the Voices from the Heart of Medicine. Entitled “A Question of Trust,” Dr. Ahmed shares his discoveries of how essential trust is always, but especially in the times of COVID-19 as it impacts People of Color the […]

Channeling Anger to Fight Racism

June 10, 2020

By CS

Polly Gipson, clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, was recently featured on NPR’s Morning Edition sharing ways with which we can can redirect our anger over the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others into productive and meaningful change. She says that “It’s uncomfortable […]

Clinical Scholars Welcomes Newest NAC Members

May 29, 2020

By CS

Clinical Scholars is ecstatic to welcome two new members to our National Advisory Committee (NAC) this year! Our NAC serves the program by playing an instrumental role in the selection process, providing strategic planning and advice, offering technical assistance to the Fellows, and more. Jerome Williams Jr, MD, MBA Dr. Williams is a practicing Interventional […]

Conquering Canine Anxiety During Vet Visits

February 17, 2020

By CS

Are you anxious about doctor visits? Animals experience anxiety with their visits, too. Erica Tricarico writes in dvm360.com that, according to veterinarian Marie Hopfensperger, a majority of dogs “show signs of fear or apprehension at the clinic.” Dr. Hopfensperger, who runs the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center’s Behavior Service, shared at this year’s Veterinary […]

Influencing Policy: Tips for Health Care Providers

January 31, 2020

By CS

We’d like you to meet Clinical Scholars teams whose work is influencing policy change in New York. In addition to making a difference in the lives of those they serve directly in hospitals, clinics, and other settings, health care providers tackle complex health problems in their communities. Their work can also help shape and support […]